Infant sleep can be such a tricky thing. Just as soon as you get reaccustomed to resting through the night, all of a sudden your baby reverts to waking multiple times a night. Welcome to the 8 month sleep regression. Interruptions in sleep patterns often coincide with the development of new skills and somewhere around 8 months you’re due for the biggest of them all. That’s because your baby is becoming mobile - and putting all the skills together to roll, crawl, and even pull to a stand in their crib. For infants this is a HUGE breakthrough. Imagine having spent your entire life mostly stationary, with your ability to pursue your own interests - or even adjust your view - subject to the whims of a caregiver. Somewhere between 6-9 months most babies begin discovering a host of new abilities. And let’s face it, some of them are a lot more entertaining than sleep. The good news (at 3am) is that the novelty here is temporary…but there are some important ways you can help your baby to navigate this period safely. Perhaps the most important one is illustrated in this video. And that’s adjusting the height of your child’s crib mattress to its lowest level. With newborns and immobile infants, it’s often convenient to elevate their mattress so they can be placed into and retrieved from the crib more easily. But when your baby begins pulling to a stand it’s critical that you lower their mattress to prevent accidental falls. Babies are top heavy and can easily go tumbling out without such adjustments. You may also find that your baby masters pulling to a stand faster than they master sitting back down - which can create a crib dilemma and a need for assistance. You can navigate through this phase more quickly by providing lots of wakeful practice in both standing and sitting, which may involve gently guiding your little one to bend their legs at the knee - or even placing an appealing toy on the ground near their feet to incentivize sitting back down. As for the sleep regression, it’ll be over before you know it. And while it can be frustrating in the middle of the night, think of it as a breakthrough. Your baby is reaching new developmental milestones - and about to go fully mobile. This sweet little guy was shared to IG by fesgheliha_. #earlychildhood #earlyyears #eyfs #parenting
I swear he’s proclaiming “I did…I did”. Parenting is tough. Being able to see these breakthrough behaviors as developmental celebrations is key to managing the energy we need to parent a flourishing infant. Thank you, Dan Wuori, for adjusting our lens to see that more clearly.
Dr T Berry Brazelton often warned parents that at critical milestones babies or toddlers would spend waking and non-waking hours in mastery of key milestones: crawling, cruising, standing, walking, etc. Much like the adult brain has a hard time shutting down when solving problems, babies’ brains may stay semi-wakeful when mastering new skills.
How about a lulabye or rocking the child to sleep by singing?
Dan, thanks for sharing these insightful tips on navigating the 8-month sleep regression. Your practical advice on crib safety and helping babies master new skills is incredibly helpful for parents dealing with these developmental changes. Great read!
Love this
Love this
Lovely, informative post as usual. I only wish there was no CoComelon going on in the background here. Screen-free til three, please!
Founder and Managing Director of Consumer Advocacy at Little Sparklers home of The Beyond Sleep Training Project and Podcast. Winner of Pro Bono Australia’s 2022 Impact25 awards 🤩
3moWhat a cutie! A few of things to discuss though, this isnt a cot, it’s a play pen with a rug/ play mat in it. Babies do not have sleep ‘regressions’ they are not going backwards. They are moving forwards as ever and the negative connotations and stress that the notion of ‘sleep regressions’ cause families is not helpful. Sleep does get bumpy, babies do go through more unsettled times, particularly while they’ve got big things going on developmentally but it is simply not true that this is restricted to certain months or times or regressions. Also, there’s a whole other very viable option to manage this standing in cot challenge- do a way with the cot entirely and create a floor bed to share sleep with your baby while they make their way through the ups and downs of infant sleep. This is important to note because it often helps parents get better/ more sleep through this time as well. Safer shared sleep is a thing. Cots are a cultural invention/ tool and definitely not the only way for your baby to sleep. Dan, I love your work and commentary on so many things but this one definitely needs a tweak.