In today’s world, we are hearing more and more about wake windows by age. Do they work, are they a real thing, should I follow them? In many things parenting, wake windows are simply a guide. Some parents want to have a set-in stone schedule, but in the early days of having a baby, you’ll soon find out nothing is set in stone. Wake windows are awesome in that it allows you to learn more about your child. You can pick up on their sleepy cues quicker when nearing the end of their wake window and can prevent overtiredness.
As a general rule, wake windows are the time period when your baby or child is awake between their naps and before bedtime. These awake times include a feeding and diaper change. This means there may not be much more time for anything else in the early days. Sleep begets sleep so when they take the appropriate number of naps (or at least the appropriate number of hours of naps) during the day, you can set your child up for success for nighttime sleep.
In this post, you’ll learn about the appropriate wake windows for your child, how to identify sleepy cues, how to extend wake windows along with some exceptions to the rule.
Wake windows by age
The whole idea of wake windows by age includes providing you with a guideline for when your baby needs to go to sleep. In the early stages of newborns, there is no set schedule. Rather, you rely on wake windows to lead the way. Wake windows will work in conjunction with sleepy cues. Utilizing wake windows can be beneficial when you are learning your little one’s sleepy cues. The combination of the two, both wake windows as well as your child’s individual sleepy clues will set you up for success for optimal sleep.
Let’s say your child is nearing the end of their wake window and you notice them staring off or becoming less engaged. There you have it! They are showing you signs they are tired which is great because they’re not overtired yet. Instead of staring off or becoming less engaged, they might yawn or have some redness around their eyelids. The more you pay attention to the way they act at the end of their wake window, the better you will learn their sleepy cues. They might look different with kids, or even differ between siblings. Just another amazing reminder that each and every kid is unique.
0-2 weeks | 30 minutes |
2-4 weeks | 30-45 minutes |
4-8 weeks | 45-65 minutes |
3-4 months | 1 hour 15 min-2 hours |
5-6 months | 2-3 hours |
7-15 months | 3-4 hours |
1-3 years | 4-6 hours |
How to identify sleepy cues?
Sometimes babies and kids have very obvious sleepy cues, while others will have very subtle ones.
Trying to catch your little one with the optimal amount of sleepiness requires a fair amount of trial and error. You are getting to know your baby and your baby is truly getting to know themselves. When you start to see the first signs of sleepiness, it’s time to get going on your naptime (or bedtime) routine.
Let’s start with early signs of sleepiness for babies
- Pulling at ears
- Closing fists
- Yawning
- fluttering eyelids
- difficulty focusing – your baby might even go cross-eyed or seem to be staring into space
- red around the eyes
- making jerky arm and leg movements, or arching backwards
- frowning or looking worried
- sucking on fingers – this could be a good sign and might mean that your baby is trying to find ways to settle to sleep
Signs your baby is overtired (ring the alarm)
- Crying (tell me something I don’t know)
- Arching backwards
- Inconsolable
Here are some signs your toddler is tired
- clumsiness
- clinginess
- crying
- demands for attention
- boredom with toys
- fussiness with food/throwing food
Once you realize your little one is ready for a nap, it’s time to start decreasing the stimulation of their world. Provide them an area or space to have some quiet time (like reading, snuggling or singing). This may also include your naptime or bedtime routine.
The beneficial part of understanding wake windows is the fact that it is not a ‘clock’ schedule. You can base their next nap off the time they woke up from their previous nap. Bedtime might shake out to be oddly early based off their wake windows, but that’s okay. The sun comes up again the next day with a fresh new opportunity to tweak the schedule that works for your child and maybe get a little bit later bedtime.

What to do during wake windows with a newborn?
Having a newborn is an incredible, busy, overwhelming, worth-it experience, but you always hear people say, “enjoy it while they’re little,” etc etc. Then you have a newborn and don’t exactly know what to do with them since they can’t talk or interact yet. You know you want to foster their growth and development in between naps, but how?
First things first, let’s talk about what wake windows by age include, specifically with newborns and young babies. Your child’s wake window doesn’t start until you pick them up out of their crib or bassinet. You know the feeling in the morning when you wake up and lay in your bed. You’re not quite sleeping but not quite awake. That is why when you lay your baby in their crib or bassinet, it is considered the end of their wake time. This also includes your routine. So, if your routine takes about 10 minutes, be sure to remember to include it in your child’s wake time/wake window.
Following up with what makes up a wake window, let’s talk about all the things you need to accomplish during a wake window. This includes a feed, burp, diaper change, etc. Sometimes feeds can take up almost the entirety of the wake window when your baby is a newborn. It’s OKAY if you didn’t ‘do enough’ for them during their awake time, I promise you that you are. Other great options to pass the time during their wake time include practicing tummy time (click here), giving them a bath as well as reading to them. You can read baby books to them, but even if you read a novel that you are interested in, that’s still just as good. Your baby just loves your voice!
Toddler wake windows
If your little one is not in daycare or preschool, you have options. I suggest getting out and in the sun as much as possible. I remember talking to a teacher asking for advice on what to do with my 3 year old. Here’s what she said, “the best thing you can do for your child at this age is read to them and let them play.” Sometimes we make it more complicated than it needs to be. If you’re looking for ways to help with quiet time, check out this blog post (click here).
When would you need to extend wake windows?
Certain times you would need to extend or increase wake windows include when you are transitioning your child’s nap schedule (dropping a nap). Extensions for wake windows is not a one stop shop. You can’t just add 30 min onto a baby’s wake time and expect your child to respond perfectly. It will take “baby steps” and consistency. Pushing your baby’s wake time by even 10 minutes will be helpful when dropping a nap. It’s all about consistency and patience.
If your little one is dropping from 4 to 3 or 3 to 2 naps, heck even 2 to 1 (click here), you will need to try and keep your little one awake longer in between naps. Once you find success in keeping them awake a little longer (or extending their wake windows), you can put them down for the night a little earlier than normal while adjusting the schedule. You’ll notice when dropping 4 naps to 3, it is simply extending wake windows and bumping up bedtime.
You might also prepare for travel or daylight savings and needing to extend wake windows. This is done for about 3 days prior to travel and up to 7 days prior to the time change.
Babies are always growing and always developing so you will want to reevaluate their wake windows every few weeks.
Exceptions to the wake window rule
Remember if your baby is premature, to follow wake windows that go along with their ‘adjusted’ age. There is no age set in stone when to stop using that age, but most healthcare professionals agree that around age 2 you don’t need to use their adjusted age any longer.
Recap
So now you know that wake windows are a guideline to help learn your baby’s sleepy cues and prevent overtiredness by putting them down for a nap or bedtime. You can save the image of wake window timing if you need to check at it at a later time. We talked all about the different sleepy cues and which ones mean overtiredness. I discussed how newborn awake time is pretty much taken up with basic needs. Lastly, I talked about how using the adjusted age is very helpful in finding preemies’ awake times.
If you are still struggling with how to navigate wake windows, please reach out or email me at clementineparent2020@gmail.com . I am more than happy to help however I can.