Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Nested Bean. All opinions are my own. Please visit my disclaimer page for more information.
The dreaded 4 month sleep regression. It’s no coincidence that babies go through a sleep regression around the same time they start rolling over, and therefore cannot be swaddled anymore.
When this happened with Sawyer (my oldest), it was killer. I remember the sleep deprivation all too well. So when Oliver started creeping up on 4 months, I started preparing myself. When he started rolling, I got out the trusty sleep sacks, and I prayed.
Nothing could have prepared me for how awful it has ended up being!
Oliver’s sleep regression has been 10 times worse than Sawyer’s. He’s 7 months old now. SEVEN MONTHS. His four month sleep regression has been going on for 3 months. The last time he slept through the night was the night before Thanksgiving. And even that was just a fluke.
The last time I updated you guys on his sleep and reviewed a swaddle, he was sleeping completely through the night. I’m talking 12+ hours without a single peep. Ah, those were the days.
Since the Nested Bean swaddle helped him sleep through the night the first time, we figured we would try out their sleep sack as well, and I’m so glad we did!
I’m not going to sugarcoat things and say he’s magically sleeping through the night again now, because he’s not. But we’ve implemented a few things that have gotten him sleeping longer stretches- which I’ll definitely take! At the peak of the regression he was up 3-4 times a night and only sleeping 2.5 hour stretches and it was basically torture.
The first thing I do is make sure all our teething bases are covered. He’s currently working on his first tooth and gets pretty uncomfortable, which can attribute to him waking up more throughout the night. So right before bed I make sure to apply my favorite essential oil teething blend (check that out here), that helps with the pain and keeps him calm. If he’s been extra uncomfortable that day I’ll also give him a dose of infant tylenol (ask your pediatrician for dosage information).
Next, I make sure he’s nice and full. We eat dinner around 7pm and bedtime is 8pm. At dinner he gets “solids” like pureed sweet potato or oat cereal. Then, directly before bed he gets a 6oz bottle. This will usually keep him sleeping for 4ish hours.
And we always make sure to use a sleep sack. Sleep sacks help ease the swaddle transition by keeping your baby a little restrained so they’re not constantly waking themselves up, but not so restrained they cannot move or roll over (once your baby is rolling over, you want to make sure they’re arms are free to do so while they’re sleeping). We’re really loving the Zen Sack from Nested Bean. Just like their Zen Swaddle, the sack has a lightly weighted patch on the chest that stimulates your touch and helps to soothe them. It also has a 2 way zipper system at the bottom so you can change their diaper without waking them which is HUGE! It also has adjustable shoulder straps so it can grow with your baby and be used for a long time!
The weighted pouch is so genius and such a game changer. Often times baby just wants to know you’re there and feeling your touch will soothe them. By mimicking that touch, the Zen Sacks can help babies sleep longer stretches and fall asleep faster. And when you’re transitioning them out of their comfy swaddle, they need all the soothing they can get! We’re really liking the Zen Sack so far. Now, Oliver is sleeping 4-6 hour stretches, and when he does wake up, he usually just eats and falls right back to sleep. It’s still rough to wake up 1-2 times per night and feed the baby, but I’ll take it any day over 3-4 times per night! I know one day he’ll sleep through the night again, I just have to get him there! The teething tricks, keeping him full, and Zen Sack are definitely helping!
*Disclaimer: When Oliver isn’t doing fun blog photo shoots for Mom, he sleeps on his back, on a firm surface, with no Donald Ducks present 🙂
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xoxo.
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