# The 8 to 10 Month Sleep Regression: Why It Happens and What Helps

> Why sleep often gets harder around 8 to 10 months, from crawling and standing to separation anxiety, and how to help.

Stage: baby - Topic: Sleep - Page: https://www.askcladle.com/guides/baby/eight-to-ten-month-sleep-regression

Grounded in: AAP HealthyChildren guidance on infant sleep and on separation anxiety, CDC "Learn the Signs. Act Early." milestones, and American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) sleep-duration recommendations. Summarized in Cradle's own words; none of these sources endorse Cradle. General information, not medical advice.

Reviewed: 2026-11

## TLDR

- Around 8-10 months, crawling, standing and separation anxiety often disrupt sleep for about 2-6 weeks.
- Practice new skills (and getting down from standing) during the day, and lower the crib mattress.
- Keep night responses brief and calm. Fever, ear pulling or fewer wet diapers suggest illness instead.

## What's going on

- Somewhere between about 8 and 10 months, many babies who slept well start waking more,
  fighting naps or standing up in the crib. It usually lasts about 2 to 6 weeks.
- It's not a true step backward. It tends to come with big leaps:
  - **Movement:** crawling, sitting up, pulling to stand and cruising. Babies practice new skills
    everywhere, including at 2 am.
  - **Separation anxiety:** babies now understand you exist when you leave, and they protest it
    (see the separation anxiety guide).
  - **Nap transition:** many are moving from 3 naps to 2 (see the nap transitions guide).
  - **Teething** and more interest in the world, which makes feeds and naps distractible.

## What it can look like

- Waking crying one or more times a night after months of longer stretches.
- Standing in the crib and not knowing how to get back down.
- Short naps or refusing the second or third nap.
- More clinginess at bedtime.

## What helps

- **Practice new skills in the day.** Lots of floor time to crawl, pull up and cruise. Show them how
  to lower down from standing by bending their knees, with your hands guiding, many times a day.
- **Lower the crib mattress** to the lowest setting once they can pull up, and remove anything they
  could climb on.
- **If they stand in the crib,** lay them down once or twice calmly, then let them work it out.
  Many sit down on their own once they've practiced it.
- **Extra daytime connection** for separation anxiety: peekaboo, hide-and-seek games, and saying
  goodbye when you leave the room (see the baby games 6 to 12 months guide).
- **Keep the routine steady.** Same steps, same order. A short extra cuddle is fine; avoid
  adding new habits you don't want to keep.
- **Watch total sleep and wake windows** (about 2.5 to 3.5 hours by now). An earlier bedtime can
  help while naps are shaky.
- **Full feeds in the day.** Busy babies sometimes eat less in the day and make up for it at night.

## Responding at night

- A brief check, a calm voice and a pat can reassure without starting a new pattern.
- If you used a sleep method before, return to the same steps once any illness or teething pain
  has passed.
- If you didn't sleep train and want to now, it's a reasonable age to start (see the gentle and
  graduated sleep training guides).

## When it isn't a regression

- Fever, ear pulling with fussiness, a cough, fewer wet diapers or refusing to eat suggest illness
  rather than a sleep phase.

## When to check in

- Mention it at the next checkup if night waking stays frequent for more than about 6 weeks, or
  your baby snores loudly most nights.
- Bring up development if by about 9 months your baby isn't sitting without support, doesn't bear weight on their legs
  when held standing,
  or has lost skills they had.