What is "sleep regression"?

"Sleep regression", as the name suggests, is a decline in the quality of baby's sleep. Originally, shortened sleep time or increased number of night awakenings are the main manifestations. Medically, it is called "infant sleep regression."

The inconsistency between the development of the human brain and the development of large-scale exercise is the main cause of "sleep regression". Individuals are affected by this in different ways, so not every child will have "sleep regression".There are also some children whose sleep quality is continuous during the development process Rising.

"Sleep regression" is a normal physiological phenomenon. Although the baby's sleep will be affected to a certain extent, it will not cause physical discomfort, so parents do not need to worry too much.

What are the symptoms of baby sleep regression

For babies who have not developed the habit of falling asleep on their own before and have to rely on milk to sleep and hug, this stage is more difficult for moms. Because of this stage, they basically formed the sleep association of milk sleep and hug sleep. To solve the problem, it is necessary to interrupt the relationship between the baby who wants to be hugged or drink when he wants to sleep. At this stage, you can start moderate sleep training.

1. Appetite changes. Because the baby is in the regressive period of sleep, the daily rest and sleep time may be greatly reduced compared to before, so the appetite will also change with it, either eating more or losing appetite.

2, wake up often at night. Before the sleep regression period, many mothers will find that the baby sleeps very well, sleeps for a long time and rarely wakes up, but in the regression period, the baby may wake up very easily at night, and the number of waking up at night becomes more than before. frequently.

3. Don't sleep. During this period, because the body and brain are undergoing certain adjustment activities, many babies will become sleepy, difficult to coax them to sleep, or their sleep time has been significantly reduced compared to before.

4. Emotional problems. Changes in the body will also affect the baby’s emotions. Many babies will start to become irritable and cry easily, and the methods that could be used to calm the baby and make it quiet are no longer effective. The baby cries frequently and frequently. It's hard to calm down. These signs all indicate that the baby may have entered a stage of sleep regression.

What is the hazard of sleep regression to the baby

a. The baby does not have enough sleep, his appetite is affected, and his activities during the day are not active;

b. If the baby is not helped at this time, the original regular biological clock will be disrupted, which will have a long-term impact on growth and development.

3 reason of sleep regression

1. Physically uncomfortable

I remember three years ago, just a week after giving birth to Xiaobao, Xiaobao would wake up every day after sleeping for 20 to 30 minutes, and wake up several times at night, and crying, which was very annoying. As a result, after disassembling the gauze on Xiaobao's belly button, he discovered that Xiaobao's belly button was inflamed, swollen and pus. Only then did he know the real reason why Xiaobao was crying and didn't like to sleep.

2. Sleep upside down

Some babies are very excited during the day, lying on the bed and looking around, eating little hands, kicking the quilt with their little feet, they are very energetic, and it is difficult for mothers to sleep. In this way, in the afternoon, the baby will start to fall asleep when he is tired and insists on eating. After his parents enter a deep sleep state, the baby will wake up at two or three in the middle of the night. After a pee, the baby will start playing. Sleep, sleep upside down.

3. Environmental factors

I believe that many mothers have the habit that when their babies sleep during the day, they will involuntarily draw up the curtains to block the strong sunlight, fearing that the sun will be too harsh and affect the baby’s vision development. And this will cause the baby to not be able to adapt to the normal natural environment as soon as possible. In addition, some parents usually have a busy business. One phone call every three to five minutes, and the ringing of the phone is very noisy, which also affects the baby's sleep, causing the child to hear the noise and excitement and reduce sleep.

Because the baby is very young, can't speak or express his thoughts clearly, we can't understand the reason why the baby's sleep is reduced. The change in baby's sleep is an important performance that can directly express whether the baby is comfortable. In addition, we must also consider external environmental factors and the details of the parents' care for the baby.

Four sleep regressions, the corresponding method

You may encounter your baby four times (four months, seven to nine months, more than one year old, two years old) sleep regression, how should we deal with it separately?

4 months of sleep regression

At this stage, for babies who have previously developed the habit of falling asleep on their own, the possible causes of sleep regression are: prolonged periods, turning over periods, and brain skipping periods (for the content of prolonged periods and brain skipping periods, you can specifically reply to "frequent waking up at night". Check the related articles, according to the perspective of the brain jump period, there will be two jump periods in this interval, the fourth jump in the 14.5 week and the fifth jump in the 22.5 week, which will have a certain impact on the baby's sleep.

In addition to the corresponding methods shared in the previous article, the time for this month-old baby to fall asleep at night is best controlled between 6-7 o'clock. Because babies at this stage usually only need 3 naps during the day, one less time than before, so falling asleep earlier at night is helpful for your baby's sleep.

For babies who have not developed the habit of falling asleep on their own, relying on milk to sleep and hug, this stage is more difficult for mother. In addition to the above possible reasons, the main reason is the formation of a sleep association between milk sleep and hug sleep. To solve the problem, it is necessary to interrupt the relationship between the baby who wants to be hugged or drink when he wants to sleep. At this stage, mother can start moderate sleep training.

1. For babies who are accustomed to sleeping with milk, Mother can feed the baby first. After feeding, put the baby on the bed when the baby is awake, massage or sing hypnotic music for comfort, so that the baby will calm down slowly. Some babies may eat their hands or suck on a pacifier(can baby sleep with it?) to soothe themselves and fall asleep.

If the baby is still crying and yelling, mother can also compromise a little bit, such as feeding a little more milk to soothe the baby, put him down when the baby is about to sleep, and let him try to fall asleep on his own. However, this process needs to be repeated many times, and mother must be patient.

2. For babies who are accustomed to hug sleep, you can reply to "hug sleep" to view related articles. In short, Mother  can first try to put the baby down when he is confused (not completely asleep), and then slowly transition to awake and then put it down. If the baby is more resistant, they can pat them gently, or sing gently beside them to soothe them.

If you fall asleep at night, you can form a regular sleep program before going to bed, such as drawing the curtains, turning off the lights, telling stories, etc., so that the baby knows it's time to go to bed as soon as he experiences these emotions. If you really cry, pick it up and let it go, which may have to be repeated many times. There is also mother mentioned that if he sees the baby is sleepy, he can put it down and cover the baby's eyes with a small handkerchief. He will soon fall asleep.

7-9 months of sleep regression

The main reason for this stage of regression is: ushering in the period of development of big sports and the period of brain jumping. The baby has learned a lot of new skills at this moment: sitting, climbing, and standing up on the bed rail. So mother often found that the baby started to sleep unsteadily, and suddenly sat up in the middle of the night.

To deal with this situation, mother must increase the amount of exercise for the baby during the day to exhaust his energy. If you find that your baby suddenly sits up in the middle of the night, or stands up while leaning on the bed rail, mother can gently comfort, gently guide, and slowly put the baby down.

The second common cause is separation anxiety. Babies at this stage begin to recognize and are more dependent on people who often accompany them. But at this stage, a lot of mother has to go to work again. Therefore, the baby's separation anxiety problem is more prominent. So mother should accompany the baby as high quality as possible when they can accompany the baby, and then they can often play peekaboo games with the baby. On the one hand, the baby likes it very much, and on the other hand, it can make him understand gradually, mother Will not disappear, just leave for a short time, and will always be with him.

The third reason is that three sleeps become two sleeps. Generally speaking, 6-9 months is the time when twilight sleep disappears, so there will be a period of confusion. At that time, the big Y mother’s son had difficulty falling asleep in the evening and had a bad nap, and then would wake up crying in the middle of the night. Later, I simply cancelled his evening nap and took him out to get some breath. He was also in good spirits. Then I advanced the time to fall asleep at night by a little bit, so that my son would go to bed after 7 o'clock. Within a few days of adjustment, he was fully adapted.

In addition, this stage may also cause sleep regression due to teething and other conditions.

Sleep regression over 1 year old

Most mother’s feeling is that after one year old, the baby’s sleep will be much better. Yes, that's right. But sleep regression can still happen. Between 15 months and 18 months, the baby will also experience a sleep regression.

First of all, the baby's sense of autonomy has increased significantly. Most babies over one year old can walk, eat and play by themselves, and their independence and sense of autonomy will increase accordingly. So there are so many temptations to them from the outside world, and they start to have small thoughts, not going to sleep or going to bed late.

At this time mother can't compromise. At the point, he has to go to bed. mother must be gentle and persistent. Especially at night, when you turn off the lights at one point, you will not speak, and the baby will move you. Big Y's baby would roll around for a long time at that time, I also held back, ignore him, just follow him, and slowly he will fall asleep.

For babies at this stage, teething has also become a major cause of sleep regression, because most babies teething intensively at this stage.

The same as the previous stage of sleep regression, dysfunction will also affect sleep. After one year old, two sleeps and one sleep at the same time, my son no longer needs a morning nap after he is one year old. So I correspondingly advanced the time for him to take a nap and fall asleep at night.

Separation anxiety still exists. The mother have gone through the previous stage. This stage will not worry too much, but they need better patience than before, because the regression may last a longer time.

Sleep regression at the age of two

My son slept very peacefully after he was one and a half years old, and I had a lot of time on my own at night. Announcement with my family, finally ushered in a good day. Unexpectedly, my son started to toss me again at night when he was about two years old.

Later I learned that at this stage he started to feel scared of the darkness, because at this age, the children began to have their own imaginations . For example, when he saw the shadow on the curtain, he would tell my mother that he was afraid. He called "Mom, hand" because he needs to know that his mother is next to him. As long as you pass your hand in time, he will feel at ease .

In addition, at this stage, his brain has developed rapidly. I already know to find reasons to go to bed late or not to sleep. For example, he will say a while, mother tells a story; later, he will say, mother, I want to drink water; later, he will say, mother, I want to pull the smelly... In fact, everything is his "Sleep Delay". mother can't compromise and can communicate with him well. For example, tell him, then we will tell a story and go to sleep after finishing the story. Usually my son will agree and do it, but occasionally he will be upset a few times. At this time, I will ignore him and just turn off the light and go to sleep. Usually, mother can also try to tell him a picture book story about going to bed early, and they will slowly absorb it.

By the way, the training of bowel movement will also affect the baby's sleep to a certain extent. My son doesn't need to be diaper during the day, he will tell me to pee, and then he ran to his toilet to urinate. So occasionally I woke up in the middle of the night to pee. So on the one hand, let your baby urinate once after drinking the milk before going to bed; on the other hand, tell him that it doesn’t matter if you sleep in a diaper. He understands it completely.

Literature reference: "Utility Program Parenting Law", "Faber Sleep Collection", "Infant Sleep Bible".