Usually symptoms of a six-month sleep regression don’t last for very long, especially if parents implement healthy sleep tips. How long these symptoms occur can vary significantly for any infant.
With sleep consolidation, parents may be adjusting sleep schedules or routines, and it may take a baby time to acclimate to change. With an increase in their physical abilities and mental and environmental awareness, they may be more sensitive to overstimulation, separation anxiety, or other disturbances that can affect their sleep. Multiple factors can affect infant sleep, and it’s often not possible to identify one single cause for a sleep regression. As babies grow, their development can unfold at an uneven pace, and this can result in periods when their sleep seems to hit a plateau or worsen. In most cases, there’s no clear-cut cause for a six-month sleep regression. All of these factors may play a role in a baby’s activity level and sleep habits during the day and at night. Awareness of their environment increases, they become more responsive to sounds, engage in more laughing and babbling, and they may gain physical abilities like rolling over or sitting unsupported. Infants at six months are also undergoing significant physical and mental growth and typically reaching a number of development milestones.
Although they still usually nap a couple of times per day, more of their sleep shifts to nighttime, and many six-month-olds start sleeping through the night. Most babies of this age are starting to stay asleep for longer stretches at a time, a process known as sleep consolidation. How Does Infant Sleep Change Around Six Months?Īt six months of age, it is recommended that infants get between 12 and 15 total hours of sleep per day. Knowing the background about infant sleep and strategies to improve it can help parents during a six-month sleep regression and beyond. Although rarely long-lasting, a six-month sleep regression can be a challenge for parents. This is often called a sleep regression, and it represents a stop or a step backward in a baby’s process toward normal sleep.
But sometimes that progress hits a snag, and sleeping difficulties can rear their ugly head. Not only is it a baby’s first half-birthday, but it also frequently kicks off a period of major changes in development, activity, and sleep.īetween four and six months, many infants start to show noticeable progress toward sleeping for long periods and sleeping for much of the night. “Once he’s getting the right balance of milk and solids, he should naturally give up this feed.The six-month mark is a milestone for many reasons. Then make sure you reduce it very gradually, either with 2-3 minutes less on the breast every few days or ½oz less in his bottle. “But only look to limit the amount of milk he has at night once you’re down to one night feed and he is sleeping through consistently until 7am. As his daytime solids increase you can look to cut out the first of the two night feeds, just as you did before. “When you’re down to two night feeds, continue to encourage him to have more solids during the day. But when your baby wakes the second time it’s important to give him as much milk as he wants.
“Once you’re happy he’s having a decent amount of solids, you can look to cut out his first night feed – ask your partner to settle him however he can. Increasing your baby’s daytime solids should automatically reduce his need for milk at night. “If he’s had a feed at 5am, for example, you might consider this his ‘breakfast’ milk, then when he wakes up for the day go straight on to solids.
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