The 2am Wake-up Call - Regressive sleep in babies

I cross the finish line setting a new world record. My body feels like a feather and I am not even sweating. The crowd roars with applause and I put up my hands in acknowledgement. 

I, in pride, receive my country flag to parade around the stadium and, I hear a cry. 

First in the distance, then closer till it rings in my ears.  

I open my eyes.  

She is awake. Again! 

I stumble out of bed and retrieve my crying baby. I have endured this for 2 weeks and can’t understand it. 

She has slept through the night for 18 months? 

I cuddle her, calm her and offer her a bottle. It takes another 20 minutes before she falls back to sleep. I crawl back to bed, hit my head on the pillow and pray I won’t have to do this again, but I know what is coming tomorrow night. 

Sleep regression, I have read, occurs when a baby who normally sleeps well begins to wake often at night, fights sleep, or refuses to have their regular naps. It has been identified that regression pops out its ugly head around 4 months, 9 months and or 18 months. Most parents are not prepared to handle this change and this leads both baby and parent to exhaustion. 

Where does this sleep regression come from?  

My paediatrician told me that as my baby grows and develops, her habits change. Tricks that once soothed my baby, now act as a stimulant. Rocking her now caused interest. Singing to her encouraged interaction. When she hit her growth spurt at 18 months, her sleeping habits were the first thing to go. 

I read that straight deep non-REM sleep that existed in her as a new born becomes more adult like. This means she begins in light sleep. When I rocked my little one to sleep, she appeared to be sleeping, but as soon as I put her down, she would be wide awake. So I would try again, and this repeated behaviour made my baby overtired and even more resistant to sleep.

I realised that my methods needed to adapt. This was the beginning of restoring our uninterrupted sleep. Just because I started one way, doesn’t mean I had to continue this way. I looked for guidance from multiple sources and put together what I felt was best for my baby. 

I would like to share what worked for us, and maybe for you and your little one too: · 

• Routine is imperative. I stuck to it for a good two weeks. (A repeat with revised methods may be called for – don’t give up) · 
• I ensured my baby got in at least one nap during the day. I found ten in the morning or after lunch to be the best times. · 
• I slowed down the pace of my baby’s activities towards bed time. · She enjoyed a nice warm bath with her toys. · 
• I massaged her body with baby cream or baby oil to relax her. · 
• I chose to avoid any television time that would continue to busy her brain and instead, quietly read her a story. · 
• Once it was time to tuck her in, I kept the room dark and ensured my goodnight was short and sweet. · 
• Then I left the room. · 
• When she cried (and she did so for a few nights), I allowed between 5 and 10 minutes for her to work through it on her own. If this was unsuccessful, I re-entered the room, calmed her down and offered a short good night again. This I repeated until she did in fact fall asleep. 

I needed my baby to know you that I wasn’t abandoning her. Repeatedly re-entering the room after 10 minutes sends the message of reassurance that you are there and the short good-nights conveys that is it time to sleep. 

I found that after a few days she went to bed without a fuss and after about 12 days she did not wake in the night anymore. It took me those good two weeks, but eventually we both adapted and we finally had a goodnight’s sleep. 

Image courtesy of pixabay