Recently I was discussing sleep with a new mom. I brought up the subject of wake windows and she had no idea what I was talking about. I am so used to the term that I forget many new parents are not always aware of what a wake window is and what an incredible tool it can be for their baby’s sleep. I figured I’d just do a quick explanation here and give some information about them.

Wake windows are basically the maximum amount of time that your baby should be awake between naps. These windows shift as your baby gets older. A newborn baby (between birth and about 2 months) will typically be able to stay awake for 45 minutes to 60 minutes before needing a nap. Often with a newborn it feels like by the time they wake and finish a feed they are ready to sleep again and that is usually the case! A typical feeding can take between 20-40 minutes so that really can be their entire wake window! As your baby starts to move towards 2 months of age, their wake window will increase to about 90 minutes in length. They will be able to stay awake after the feed and maybe spend some time on a blanket on the floor or just hanging out with you.

Wake windows are not an exact science so certainly there are some days when the wake window will be a little shorter or a little longer. Also wake windows can often be disrupted when you have a busy day or a trip to the pediatrician or you’re meeting up with friends. It’s okay to have disruptions, and also important to get babies back on their rhythm when possible. They are helpful when used as a general outline to help you understand your baby’s sleep needs.

A baby that has gone past their wake window can easily get overtired and then be harder to put to sleep. One would think it was the opposite but it rarely is! Overtired babies have a much harder time falling and remaining asleep. This goes for day and nighttime sleep. Often when babies are waking very frequently during the night, simply adjusting their daytime wake windows will have a positive impact on their night sleep. Also, If you are trying to get your baby to learn the skill of falling asleep on their own, making sure you are putting them down to sleep after an age appropriate wake window will make this way more successful.

If your baby is having a hard time going to sleep it might be that their wake window is starting to expand. For example, if they wake at 7am and have always gone down for a nap at 8:30am but now they are fighting the nap, you can try moving their morning nap to 8:45 or 9am and see if this helps.

Every baby is different and will have a slightly different rhythm based on many factors but blow are some general wake windows by a baby’s age:

0-2 months 45-60 minutes

2-3 months 90 minutes

3-5 months 2 hours

5-6 months 2-3 hours

7-8 months 3 hours

9-11 months 3-4 hours

12 months 3-5 hours