I am not a fan of the term ‘sleep regression’. If it were an actual ‘thing,’ why don’t all babies/children go through them at the same time, or at least why don’t all babies have each sleep regression? In my opinion, sleep regression isn’t a thing; it occurs when a baby has a huge developmental leap, and their sleep regresses due to the new skill they have developed.
How to help your baby manage a developmental leap when their sleep regresses.
- Make sure they have lots of calm-down time before naps or bedtime.
- Stop your little one from practising their new skill just before they go to sleep. For example, if they have just learnt to crawl, keep them on your knee and read to them so they can’t practice crawling just before sleep time.
- Practice the new skill with them after they have had a nap or when they wake up in the morning.
- If your baby’s sleep regresses, try to work out what new skill they have developed. It could be something obvious like crawling, or it could be just a new hand-eye coordination.
