When you’ve got your 4 month old waking every 2 hours, everything can seem a bit nightmare-ish.
The four month mark is challenging. Usually dad is back at work and mum is doing the brunt of the baby care. That’s not to say that’s how things should be – us dads love to do our fair share – but it’s still more common for maternity leave to be in full swing at this stage, while the dads are back in the office.
Whether you split the night shift 50/50, take it in turns or play it all by ear, having your 4 month old waking every 2 hours affects the both of you.
Below are some solutions that we have tried and tested on our little ones. They come with a disclaimer that every baby is different (as we found out when what worked for our son seemed hopeless on our daughter).
There’s a lot of trial and error involved when it comes to finding out what works for you. I’m hoping that knowing these suggestions definitely worked for someone (me at some point) will be reassuring and give you hope that you might eventually sleep at some point.
4 Month Old Waking Every 2 Hours – Sleep Regression!
Before going into what we did when our 4 month old was waking every 2 hours, its mega important you know about the 4 month sleep regression.
The four month sleep regression is caused by developmental milestones. This is usually down to teething, growth spurts, and developing motor skills.
It’s an important time for your baby – but an exhausting time for you and your partner!
The sleep regression can last a couple of weeks to a couple of months. Not what you want to hear when you’re in it, but it honestly won’t last forever!
How to Encourage Sleep When Your 4 Month Old is Waking Every 2 Hours at Night
If your 4 months old is waking every 2 hours and it seems to go a little beyond what you expected from a sleep regression, then you’re probably willing to try everything.
The truth is, there could be any number of things causing this. You’re probably going to have to go through a troubleshooting routine to crack just what’s going on.
Below are some of the things that could be keeping your baby (and you) up at night.
Hungry Baby
I get that this seems obvious. I’m sure you’ve fed your baby and check if they want more food. Perhaps they’re responding well to a feed every two hours but just don’t stay full.
A hungry baby isn’t as easy to fix as you think. When I was a baby, the advice was to start babies on solids at the four month mark. They don’t recommend it now, but nannas everywhere will tell you how they started their little one on baby rice and they slept through.
I’m not suggesting you start your baby on solids earlier than healthcare professionals recommend, but it just goes to show there really is an appetite increase at this age.
Instead, what we did was trying to squeeze more day time feeds in so our daughter was satisfied with her bed time feed. She didn’t sleep through straight away, but waking up once or twice is much better than waking every 2 hours.
Our son was a different story and was just very hungry at night. We were reluctant to keep offering milk because it seemed like he was snacking and not taking a full feed. Instead he seemed to like little and often and wanted to wake us constantly for more.
We were combi feeding with our son because he was a big boy (10lb 9 at birth) and my wife felt she couldn’t fully keep up with his demands. We tried him on some ‘hungry baby’ milk if he woke after his bed time feed and it seemed to do the trick.
For people who are breastfeeding, the health visitor told my wife to up her protein and eat more oats to help make better quality milk. I’m not sure what sort of magic was involved, but that also seemed to help.
Overtired Baby
I know it sounds insane, but if your baby is overtired, it sleeps even less. When I’m overtired I just zonk out and I’m done for the night.
Cruelly, overtired babies sleep much worse.
We had this problem with both of our babies and had to start putting them to bed really early. Moving bed time did seem to give better sleep quality. They also finished their feeds before nodding off which could have helped too.
Try moving bed time to an hour earlier just to see if that helps. Even if they look full of energy, they might still be ready for a sleep. Overtired kids are often incredibly wired for some reason.
Teething Baby
Teething is a tough one because there’s not a lot you can do. It’s awful seeing your little one in pain, and while pain relief options are available, not everyone is happy to medicate their baby.
Teething pain can come in surges, so with this one, it could just be a case of riding it out. Keep plenty of teething toys to hand – and maybe some in the freezer too.
Again, giving a feed can help ease the pain and bring some comfort.
I know I’m suggesting a feed for nearly all of these solutions, but I promise they’re all for different reasons.
Energetic Baby
Because the 4 month sleep regression is due to all kinds of developmental changes, it can mean your baby needs to do more of these new skills.
At four months your baby will be awake more (don’t I know it) and keen to move more.
If you think this is the problem and your little one is full of pent up energy, try offering more stimulation. Tummy time is important, as are interesting things for your little one to look at and grab. You don’t need a lot of money or toys to entertain them, just get down on the floor with them and entertain them.
Just Not Tired
So we’ve dealt with the overtired baby, and if that’s not your problem, your baby might not be tired enough.
If you haven’t properly worn your baby out, a big stretch of sleep might just not be that appealing to them.
Try putting them to bed later. If that doesn’t help, try cutting out or cutting short a nap. Entertaining them tired them out, so try to give them plenty of attention between their last nap and their bed time.
I think this is a particularly hard part of the day to give them attention as if you’ve got other kids, they’re probably coming in from school needing their tea and to practice their spellings etc. If that’s the case, just do your best. You can’t split yourself in two, and no one expects you too. Your baby might be delighted at the sight of your other kids and that can be great for them to focus on.
The Wrong Temperature
Being too hot or too cold is unbearable as an adult, so how do you think a baby feels? Babies aren’t great at regulating their own temperature, so room temp and sleepwear play a big part in their night time comfort.
Check you’re following the guidelines around temperatures and sleepwear. We always used those sleeping bags for our kids, and they’ve been quite good. So good, in fact, that our three year old is still squeezing into (and age appropriate) one and won’t use a quilt – even though she’s been in a big girl bed for ages.
Are the Mornings Getting Lighter?
The worst thing that can happen is that is gets light at 4am at the exact same time as a sleep regression. If you’re already dealing with your 4 month old waking every 2 hours, light mornings are your enemy.
If your baby is starting to stir then they notice it’s light, they will 100% think it’s play time.
We got some blackout blinds fitted and they were life changing. Before we had them fitted we had a stick on blackout blind, but it wasn’t as good because you have to unstick it if you want to let the light in. Alternatively you can leave it up, but it’ll just always be inconveniently dark.
These are the most common reasons your 4 month old could be waking every two hours. As always, seek advice if you have any ongoing concerns. This advice is just an anecdotal guide and nothing beats professional advice – not even musings of a dad who’s been through it already.