Infant Wake Windows

While we're on the subject of infant sleep, have you heard about infant wake windows? They are the key to unlocking your baby's sleep! Many parents try to put baby right back to sleep after feeding and get frustrated when it doesn't work. That's because babies actually need time to be awake during the day! Read on to learn more and for your free downloadable guide to infant wake windows.

The idea behind infant wake windows is this: a baby should be awake for a certain amount of time in between each nap. If the wake window is exceeded, you get into overtired territory, which counterintuitively leads to less sleep. 

There are two things I want to stress here before diving in:

1. Babies are not robots. Just because they should behave a certain way does not mean they will. Babies are not always sleepy when the schedule says they are, just as with hunger. You will cause yourself much less stress if you try to adopt a "go with the flow" attitude and listen to what your baby is telling you.
2. These windows are general ranges. Your baby might just be a more awake baby or sleepier than expected. If your baby doesn't follow these guidelines, it does not mean theres a problem! These ranges give a general expectation of when to look for cues, but when it comes down to it, follow your baby's cues! 

So now that you know about wake windows, what do you do with that information? You'll see that for each age there is a range of time for the wake window. Baby's awake time should lengthen as the day progresses, with the longest window being the last before bed. You do not need to apply wake windows overnight! 

You are probably wondering what counts as awake time? Or more specifically, does feeding time count as awake time? Yes, active feeding time counts as awake time. Things get less specific if baby falls asleep during feeding. My general rule is to pause the clock on the wake window if you expect baby to wake up as soon as you take away the breast or bottle. But remember, babies are not robots, so this is by no means a hard and fast rule. 

I like to refer to the time from the beginning of one feeding to the start of the next as one cycle, and each cycle will probably be different throughout the day. You might find that your baby doesn't want to nap every time they should, especially once they become more aware and interested in the world! If baby won't go to sleep, continue to give them the time to rest and be calm so they have the opportunity to nap. In this case, do not try to restart the wake window for the next cycle, but attempt a nap right after feeding (if they don't fall asleep during). 

​You can download your free guide to infant wake windows below and let me know if you find it helpful! Make sure you subscribe for blog updates and recommendations to come!