• They’re becoming more aware. Which is so fun! Though, your baby now notices more easily when you walk away or the interesting things around the room. They’re more likely to become stimulated by a shadow on the wall or the mobile overhead.
• Developmental milestones that affect sleep (like rolling) commonly occur around this age.
• Between 3-5 months, babies shift from a 2-stage sleep cycle into a 4-stage NREM sleep cycle. Now they’re spending more time in light sleep and can be woken more easily than in the newborn phase!

This regression tends to be tougher on parents if sleep associations that were once working are now needed with every waking or they’re not working at all anymore (i.e., you used to be able to rock your baby to sleep and easily transfer them and now that’s “no-go”). If this is something you’re struggling with, sleep training may be a path for you to consider! It helps babies to get back to sleep independently (assuming all their needs have been met).

Remember, not every baby goes through a sleep regression at this time. So, don’t stress over it in anticipation! The best way to avoid or minimise it is to stay consistent with what you were doing before the regression when your baby was sleeping well, as well as practice falling asleep independently as consistently as possible!

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