If your baby isn’t quite ready for sleep coaching, don’t despair. You can try Wake to Sleep, or work on weaning off the swaddle. Additionally, make sure that your baby is getting naps any way you can get them, in fact, it’s best to do what works for nap time at this age.
For now, do what works
There is no hurry to improve your child’s sleep at this age. It is fine to continue to nurse, feed or comfort your baby to sleep as long as you like. You can always make changes later on and you will not create a life-long sleep problem, despite what you may have heard.
Many families find it easy and manageable to nurse or bottle feed their babies until fully asleep or very drowsy and then transfer them onto their sleep surface.
If feeding to sleep is not the answer for you, you may have found that carrying, rocking, holding or the motion of the swing, stroller, car or vibrating/bouncy seat does the trick. It is not very difficult to transition out of motion sleep as baby gets older.
What if what you are doing is not working for you?
This fourth month is challenging for many families. Sometimes these struggles are magnified by concerns that that parents are doing things wrong, concerns that the problems will last forever or worries that the baby is somehow being negatively affected by the reduced sleep or increased wakings. If these are the reasons, then understanding the 4-month milestone better will give you some insights that should alleviate your concerns.
Remember, we do not recommend sleep coaching if:
- Your baby is under 18 weeks of age
- Has not entered the 4 month developmental stage
- Is experiencing challenges (not gaining weight, medical issues such as reflux, feeding difficulties, etc.)