7 Month Sleep Regression: Why is your baby refusing sleep and how long will it last?

Your baby just turned 7 months and all of the wonderful sleep habits you have worked on have started to slip. At first bedtimes are tough then you start seeing night wake ups. Will you ever get a full night’s sleep again? Does this sound familiar? If so, it is time to examine your babies sleep habits and sleep schedule to help solve this regression.

Is This the 7 Month Sleep Regression?

At 7 months old there are still a few main factors that can lead to your baby refusing to sleep. The main culprits are your schedule, the needs of your baby, and possible developmental issues/ teething. It is very important to address the needs of your baby. Make sure they have a clean diaper, they are burped, they are fed (24-32 ounces of milk), and are comfortable. At 7 months of age, a lot of babies will be going through the teething process. It is important to make sure you help them through any pain while not creating new habits. Successful sleep comes from babies learning to put themselves to sleep at night.

How Long does 7 month Sleep Regression Last?

The 7-month sleep regression is the result of babies adjusting to new wake windows and developmental leaps. Adjusting your babies schedule can be overwhelming but is something you want to slowly start doing to help overcome the 7 months regression. Like all schedule adjustments it is best to slowly start adjusting wake windows to stretch the day and move to a 2-nap schedule. The process of aligning your babies’ schedule can take a few days up to a few weeks. The most important thing is to be proactive when you start seeing short naps or other issues with sleep.

Nap Transition from 3 to 2 naps at 7 months:

Having appropriate wake windows is one of the main cornerstones of successful sleep for babies. Around 7 months can be a trickier time because most babies wake windows are starting to stretch to around 2.5-3.5 hours which often leads to the question of I my baby ready to move to 2 naps. A few signs that your baby might be ready are if they are taking short naps, your baby is having early morning wakings, or your baby is protesting the last nap. If you are having any of these signs it might be time to move to 2 naps and embrace a longer wake window.

Nap Schedule for a 7 Month Old:

If you want a 12 hour day, for example, with a 7:00 am waking and a 7:00 pm bedtime. {Kids sleep 11-12 hours overnight at this age, but that’s the “window” we use.}

• Wake for the day at 7:00 am
• Nap #1 always at 10:00am
  • 10:00-11:00, 10:00-11:30 or 10:00-12:00 are the 3 scenarios
• Nap #2 will be 3 hours later
• • 2:00-4:00, 2:30-4:00 or 3:00-4:00

All 3 scenarios give you child the right wake window at 7 months and also the right total daytime sleep to balance their needs without getting overtired.

In conclusion the 7-month sleep regression can be caused by teething wake windows and other leaps. It is important to make sure you have your schedule aligned and to make sure you are paying attention to wake windows.

I am Chris Nosal, a sleep consultant with 4 young kids. Remember I have been through what you are going through and love to help families get the sleep they need. If you would like to discuss further. Schedule a preliminary call with Chris Nosal.