4 month old only sleeping on Mom’s chest

4 month old only sleeping on mom’s chest

If your baby will only sleep while being held or on your chest THEN Emmett’s story is for you.

Keep reading to learn about the reassuring possibilities to transition your baby from cosleeping and/or chest sleeping to crib sleep and see the amazing sleep transformation that can occur when consistently following our sleep recommendations. 

Emmett’s sleep story

Sweet Emmett was only 4 months old when his mom reached out to us for sleep coaching support. She was desperate for a good night’s sleep and more predictability with his day. Mom thrived on routine and was craving this back in her life.

Up until 4 months, Emmett had struggled to sleep more than 3-4 hours at time. He had resisted crib sleep as a newborn and Mom resorted to holding him to sleep in an attempt to help both of them get more sleep.

sleep patterns changed at 4 months

Around the time he turned 4 months, his sleep started to shift and his parents found themselves up every 1-2 hours with Emmett and resorted to breastfeeding him to get him to fall back asleep as a comfort tool.

On top of the frequent night wakes, his once easy bedtime started to take 1-3 hours before he would finally fall asleep.

Each night seemed like a mystery as to when he would fully fall asleep at bedtime. The exhausting cycle of rocking, walking around with him, offering the pacifier or breast and holding him had Mom and Dad feeling emotionally and physically drained.

In addition to struggles to initially fall asleep, Emmett also struggled to stay asleep. Parents thought the frequent wake-ups would pass within a few nights, but the pattern continued and it now seemed like the only way to get him back to sleep was to feed and hold him all night.

As a result of the overnight feeds, he was distracted during the day and started to snack and graze. Instead of being hungry in the morning, he would take an ounce or two and wouldn’t take a full feed until after his first nap. Does this sound familiar? This reverse cycling pattern felt never-ending.

Because of his broken overnight sleep and short cat naps he was fussy and tired throughout the day struggling to stay awake between his naps.

Emmett’s Mom had tried a few things she had read online such as following wake windows and making his room dark for sleep, but nothing seemed to change. Mom wasn’t sure if his poor sleep was because of the 4 month sleep regression and wondered if it would end on it’s own.

Feeling like the 4 month sleep regression will never end? We can help you get through it! Say “Yes!” to better sleep with our 1:1 support plans and courses.

Time to make a change to sleep patterns

Mom had been following Well Rested Wee Ones on Instagram since Emmett had been a newborn. She was nervous about how Emmett would respond to the changes, but knew that their sleep patterns were unsustainable. They had seen multiple testimonials and positive stories and were excited to have expert support. Mom and Dad were ready to make positive changes and knew the positive impact it would have on the whole family.

chest sleeping to crib sleep

Our first step was to transition Emmett to the crib. With our guidance, parents exposed Emmett to the crib while awake to create a positive environment and while still supporting him to sleep would start bedtime and naps in the crib. Although he was still waking frequently overnight and only taking 30 minutes naps in the crib this small step helped us when we officially started sleep training. This was just the beginning of setting him up for success with more sleep. 

adjustment to his bedtime routine

We then made adjustments to shift his bedtime earlier and how his bedtime routine was structured. Instead of feeding and offer the pacifier to sleep while holding him our goal was to keep him awake during the entire routine and lay him in the crib awake.

Using a consistent method at bedtime and overnight, Emmett learned to self-soothe and fall asleep independently. No more feeding or holding him to sleep for what seemed like hours every night, all night. His bedtime shifted from 9-10 PM to 7 PM.

weaning overnight feeds improved daytime appetite

Emmett was using the breast as a comfort and soothing tool overnight. He was suckling at the breast every 1-2 hours overnight anytime he stirred. Mom was confident he didn’t need any of the feeds overnight and was ready to remove them on night one. His frequent wakeups occuring every 1-2 hours turned into 11-12 hours of consolidated sleep within the first week of our 1:1 sleep coaching plan.

from contact to crib naps

The increasing predictability continued when we taught Emmett to accept independent naps in his crib. At the start, Emmett was not sleeping in his crib during the day. As his overnight sleep improved we were then able to make more adjustments to his daytime schedule to meet age-appropriate needs and coached mom the entire way as we monitored wake windows, sleep cues, total daytime sleep, and nap lengths. 

Sleep resources to help your family

If you feel like your baby shares similar sleep patterns to Emmett with a 3 or 4 month old only sleeping on Mom’s chest, we are here to reassure you that more predictable sleep is possible!

We supported Emmett’s family with our 1:1 Ultimate sleep plan. We provide a personalized sleep plan, track feeds and sleep in an app that we monitor daily, and provide daily email check ins for support, guidance, and accountability. 1:1 personalized sleep coaching is available to families worldwide starting at 3 months of age up to 4 years!

Looking for a customizable and self paced approach? The Well Rested Course will walk you step-by-step through a completely customizable sleep training experience. The Well Rested course includes my expert methods and tips that I have used with 1:1 coaching over the past 5 years but allows you to take it at your own pace. A step by step approach to teach your baby to fall asleep independently, wean overnight breast and bottle feeds, sleep 11-12 hours overnight, AND you’ll have a plan to navigate any future regressions or bumps in your journey. I’ll also help you set up a daytime routine and nap schedule that fits your family’s lifestyle and values. And you’ll get age-specific guidance to meet your baby right where he or she is developmentally at every stage from now until your baby turns 2.

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