4 Month Progression

Seeing the World Through Your Baby’s Eyes: Rethinking the “4-Month Sleep Regression”

Imagine you’ve just discovered a brand-new place where every sight, sound, and movement pulls at your attention. You feel alive, curious, and eager to explore. Would eating and sleeping be your top priority?

For babies, this is exactly what happens around four months. In the early weeks, they can only see black and white and can barely make out what’s right in front of them—about 12 inches away. But now? Their world is bursting into color. Their vision is expanding, and their awareness of their surroundings is blooming.

So when I hear the term “4-month sleep regression,” I cringe a little.
If we could truly see the world through our babies’ eyes during this stage, we’d realize—this isn’t a regression at all. It’s progression. It’s growth. The only reason we call it a “regression” is because it’s inconvenient for us. Babies aren’t broken or going backward; they’re developing exactly as they’re meant to.

And I get it—trust me, I do. I went back to work with all three of my kids between 8 and 12 weeks. I understand the exhaustion, the pressure, the reality of a society that doesn’t support extended parental leave. But I’ve also seen how often parents try to force schedules, fix sleep, or rush through this stage out of desperation for rest.

Sleep matters for everyone—of course it does—but no matter what we do, babies will continue to grow and develop according to their natural rhythm. Understanding these changes, and having realistic expectations and a few tools to help, will serve you far better than trying to “fix” what isn’t broken.

A Normal and Beautiful Stage of Development

Using the phrase “4-month sleep regression” frames this stage as a problem to solve. Instead, let’s call it what it truly is—normal development. Your baby is waking up to the world. They’re learning, discovering, and connecting in ways they couldn’t before.

This period doesn’t last forever—it just feels like it does when you’re in the thick of it. But it will pass. Every stage does.

During the first year, your baby will grow and develop more than at any other time in their life. The sleepy newborn phase was never meant to last forever. My goal is to help parents approach these transitions with confidence and realistic expectations, not fear or frustration.

When you know what’s normal, you’re more likely to see your baby as a growing human—not as a series of problems that need to be fixed.

What’s Happening at 4 Months

You may notice your baby is more awake during the day, more easily distracted at the breast, and waking more often at night. Congratulations—your baby just hit a developmental milestone!

The first 3–4 months are often called the “fourth trimester.” Even full-term human babies are born underdeveloped compared to other mammals—they can’t walk, talk, or feed themselves. It takes weeks for their liver to function fully (hence the jaundice), for their body temperature to regulate, and for breastfeeding to become well-established.

They depend entirely on you—for warmth, nourishment, emotional regulation, and a sense of safety. It’s no wonder they crave contact and closeness during those first few months.

As their brains and bodies mature, their sleep patterns shift. Their world expands, and you—who once were their entire world—are now just part of it. They’re discovering so much, and it’s exciting for them. That excitement shows up in their sleep.

How to Manage This Phase

While we can’t control development, we can make it easier for both of you. Here are a few gentle strategies:

1. Feed in the sling or carrier.
Babies love movement—it mimics life in the womb. Feeding in a baby carrier keeps them close, calm, and engaged. If you’re unsure how to do this safely, reach out to an IBCLC for guidance.

2. Minimize distractions during daytime feeds.
Babies are easily fascinated by their surroundings. Create a calm environment—dim lights, quiet space, fewer interruptions—to help them focus on feeding.

3. Offer feeds even without hunger cues.
As babies grow, their hunger signals can change. Try offering the breast throughout the day, even if your baby isn’t “asking.” When in doubt—just nurse.

4. Use breast compressions during feeds.
When milk flow slows, babies lose interest. Gentle breast compressions can help increase flow and keep them feeding effectively.

5. Go to bed a little earlier.
You can’t pour from an empty cup. Try to get extra rest where you can—earlier bedtime, quick naps, or asking for support from your partner or family.

6. Keep your routine consistent.
Routines help babies feel secure. A simple bedtime rhythm—bath, gentle massage, pajamas, a story, and nursing—signals safety and sleep.

7. Remember—it will pass.
This stage is temporary. Your baby’s sleep will find its rhythm again as their development stabilizes.

8. Room share or safely co-sleep.
Room sharing for the first 6–12 months supports breastfeeding, helps babies synchronize sleep cycles, and actually increases total parent sleep by up to 1.5 hours per night.
If you choose to bedshare, follow the Safe Sleep Seven and explore Dr. James McKenna’s work on “breastsleeping” for guidance.

A Final Word of Reassurance

If nursing your baby to sleep works for both of you, please know—you’re not doing anything wrong. Around the world, this is the norm. In fact, babies who nurse for comfort are simply following nature’s design.

You are not spoiling your baby.
You are not creating bad habits.
You are responding with love, connection, and instinct.

Pacifiers can absolutely have their place—but if your baby refuses one or prefers the breast, that’s okay. Comfort nursing is developmentally normal and profoundly beneficial.

And if you’re struggling, uncertain, or simply need reassurance, reach out to an IBCLC. Sometimes what you need isn’t a “solution,” but support, education, and encouragement that what you and your baby are experiencing is entirely normal.