Sleep Regressions… Enough Said 😴

As I write the introduction to this post, I sit on my couch feeling defeated by someone who weighs 23lbs. My daughter, who don’t get me wrong is the ABSOLUTE LOVE OF MY LIFE, is kind of an @$$hole when it comes to sleeping. And I don’t say that lightly. Sometimes the truth is ugly. I love and have thoroughly enjoyed just about everything that comes along with motherhood, but sleep regressions, yeah they can suck it. 👎🏼

Avery’s never been a great sleeper, she’s good, but not great. She’ll have her times where she’ll sleep through the night for weeks, going down like a dream, getting 10-12 hrs of sleep and waking up at a reasonable 7 a.m.. Then there’s her moments where sleep is her kryptonite and even more than that, MY sleep is her sworn enemy.

I remember right after having her people (parents) immediately started asking me how she was sleeping. And me, being a first time Mom had nothing to compare her sleep patterns too. Then comes the unsolicited advice on how to get your babies to sleep longer, and I appreciate that people wanted to help. But reality is, every baby is different. You can’t compare apples too plums. They’re just not the same, and honestly it’s unfair to the apple and the plum!

With Jordon and I, we just went with her flow. We tried to set in an early bedtime schedule for her, so she recognized the signs of sleepy time and naturally get drowsy. Which that worked for a while, and we were on a good roll! Then **DUNN DUNN DUNNNNN** her first sleep regression hit at 4 months old. No one warned me about this, so this is me warning you. You’re welcome.

Sleep regressions are these magical moments where your child is developing so they’ve decided they don’t need to sleep (it’s not really their fault, but you get the idea) or just sleep in 20 minute increments. That was Avery’s specialty. What makes it even worse is just when you think you’ve gotten the sleeping routine down, BOOM, they throw you for a loop. Now, it’s easy to lose your cool, and by you I’m referring to myself. I may have shed a tear or two during her 8 month regression (God love Jordon and him constantly reassuring me “everything’s fine Honey”). But you just have to remember that it’s temporary. This too shall pass. I had a friend once tell me, “Sleep Regression is Developmental Progression”, and that was the mantra that got me through her THREE sleep regressions.

I’m no parenting expert, just ask Avery, she’ll give you the tea ☕️ (that’s cool kid lingo for gossip). But there were a few things we did that helped keep the sanity:

1. Keep a consistent bedtime routine. It reinforces the idea of bedtime and sleep.
2. It’s ok to cry (again, this ones for me mostly).
3. Co-Sleeping isn’t the worst thing in the world – this will vary depending on preference. But I’m here to tell you, co-sleeping doesn’t make you the Devil. As long as you, your partner and baby are co-sleeping SAFELY (cannot stress that enough), then it’s going to be ok. I assure you.
4. It’s temporary, it’ll pass, you’ll get through it!! 💪

I could go on about the horror stories of a sleep deprived Kelli, but I’ll spare you the dramatics. Just know that if you’re a parent who’s thinking they’ll never sleep again, you’re not alone. We’ve all been there. But alas, our babies grow up, and will sleep through the night when they’re ready. I always said, “I won’t miss these midnight feedings”, but in a strange way I do. So just try and be in the moment. Because those moments move to fast ❤️ …… and then of course let it out and ugly cry if you need too. No judgement 😘