My four-months-old baby has hit sleep regression. We have had the luxury of quite good sleep and a very happy and content baby, but now he wakes up in despair crying every second hour during night and has a hard time napping without my presence. When we were at the hospital for a last check up on Monday, the woman said “The one thing we know for sure when it comes to babies is, everything will change. The good just as the bad.”

As our little baby usually adapts easily and quickly I thought we would be done with the sleep regression after a couple nights, but it lingers. My patience started to dry up and our Honesty theme made me ask, is there another way to look at this than with my tired eyes and daily headache?

Yes.

Instead of sticking with the hope that he will go back to great sleep NOW (or the coming night), I started to lean in to the idea that it will change when it’s time for it to change. What if both me and the baby need this time to be what it is?

That question was crucial. The situation tells me that my baby is struggling with sleep for two reasons. First, he is taking giant developmental leaps at the moment. Second, his sleep changes from an infants sleep cycles to our sleep cycles, but he doesn’t yet know how to soothe himself.

So what he needs from me is to be there with him. And what do I need?

To be there right with him. To learn patience. Presence. Connection. Play. How to rest when the moment is given. How to be less rigid. To let go of preconceived notions. To be okay with the unknown and the uncomfortable. To let to go of control.

So I soften to the experience, and let it be what it is – right now.

All we ever know in life is, everything will change, the good just as the bad.