Newbie! ... and Dreaded 4 Month Regression!

[katethoren]

Hi Mamas -

This is my first time joining the forums but have read the book and in need of connecting with other moms! Our LO is 4 months and I fear we've hit regression mode! Looking to learn from all of you.

We have our guy on a schedule (for the last 3 days) of naps at 9am (2 hrs), 12pm (2 hours) and 3pm (1 hr) but we are really struggling with bed time. Any thoughts or existing posts I can check out? Also, our LO just missed his 9am nap and finally went down at 10am. How long should we let him sleep before waking? Concerned he'll get too close to his 12pm and his schedule will be off for the day - but I know he's exhausted!

Thanks mamas!

[SDER]

Hi there and welcome!

The 4 month mark seems to be a notoriously difficult period for most.  A whole bunch of factors can influence sleep.

To answer your question, EASY is more of a routine than it is a schedule.  If you can have LO down at the same time every day, more power to you, but if it takes longer to put him down, then by all means let him sleep as long as he needs to and move his next nap back until he shows signs of being tired again.

From what I see, you seem to have LO on a 3 hour EASY.  Usually, around 4 months, they are ready to gradually move to a 4h EASY.  Perhaps, the problem with bedtime is that he is undertired.

Here are a couple of posts that might help you out a bit.
3-4hr EASY Transition – In 5 Minute Increments
Time to Transition - 3hr, 3.5hr or 4hr EASY
Average A times- BOOKMARK ME!

Hope this helps a bit.  If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask!

[creations]

Hello and welcome to BW forums

Great advice and useful links already given (well worth checking those out)

I just wanted to mention that the day could be a bit more even. Looks like maybe 2 hours awake in the morning then a nap 9-11 but then only 1 hour awake followed by another nap 12 - 2, another single hour before the next nap 3-4 but then possibly 3hrs before bed time.  You didn't say when WU (morning wake up) and BT (bed time) was so I am making guesses on those.  It could be that you are struggling at BT because he is OT (over tired) with the 3hrs A time which is too long for him, OT babies tend not to go to sleep very well.

A more suitable routine could be:
WU 7
A 2hr
S 9 - 11 (if he repeatedly refuses this nap you might need to look at WU time or extend the first A time a little)
A 2hr
S 1 - 3
A 1hr 45 (shorter because you only want him tired for one sleep cycle or less)
S 4.45 - 5.15 CN
A 1hr 45 (shorter because it is after a CN)
BT 7pm

hope this helps