Newborn wake windows
Congratulations on your little bundle of joy! We’re sure that you’re soaking up all the love with your newborn baby. But maybe you’re not managing to get a good night’s sleep anymore and you want to know more about newborn wake windows.
This blog includes:
- What are newborn wake windows?
- Why are wake windows important?
- What are a newborns wake windows?
- Sleep schedules
- Newborn wake windows at night
- Do wake windows include feeding and changing?
- What are some things I can do with a newborn baby during wake windows?
- Does following wake windows help?
- Newborn doesn’t follow wake windows
- Newborn wake window tips
- How do you know if your newborn’s wake windows aren’t right?
- Can you stretch out wake windows?
- What are signs my newborn baby is tired?
- When should I transition out of swaddling my baby?
- What are the wake windows by age?
Trying to maintain a sleep schedule with a newborn baby can be tough. Some parents might be lucky and their baby might have a set sleep routine. While others may find their baby is struggling to settle throughout the day and at night time.
If you find yourself in this situation, it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. All babies need different sleep periods, so sometimes following age appropriate wake windows doesn’t work. There are methods that you can try to help your baby sleep better.
What are newborn wake windows?
Awake windows are the amount of time between a baby waking up from a sleep and going back down for their next sleep.
This can be at night time as well as the daytime. Your baby’s wake window is likely to be different to your friend’s baby’s, even if they’re the same age.
Some babies can sleep easily, while others can’t. You may find that your newborn cries when put down, or whenever you are not close. Just because your baby doesn’t take well to naps as a newborn, doesn’t mean they won’t in a few months either.
Baby wake windows change quickly as your baby grows, so make the most out of the time you have now. Even when your baby is one month old, you will notice a big difference in their wake windows. Find out more about wake windows by age.
Why are wake windows important?
Awake windows are important because this is the typical amount of time that a little one can be awake before they start getting overtired and therefore find it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. The right amount of sleep pressure will also help your little one nap for longer.
What are a newborns wake windows?
Generally speaking, newborns (up to 6 weeks old) can only manage between 45-60 minutes awake before then need to sleep again. Once they get a little older, between 6-12 weeks, their awake windows stretch a little and they can generally manage between 60-90 minutes awake and you will notice they are more alert during those windows.
Sleep schedules
With a newborn baby, there is often a lot of pressure on parents to perfect sleep schedules. At this point, it’s important to ensure that your baby is healthy, happy and sleeping when they actually want to. Read our blog on a newborn sleep schedule.
If your baby or child becomes too tired, you will know about it. Therefore, you can make adjustments to the schedule to accommodate a little extra sleep. Similarly, if you find that your baby is taking a while to nod off, you can think about making changes. Changes may include taking time off the night sleep or adding time to a wake window in the day time.
Don’t forget that you’re just at the beginning of this amazing parenting journey. Things will get easier as babies fall into natural bedtime routines.
Newborn wake windows at night
Your newborn’s wake windows at night will usually follow the same pattern as the day time. This is because newborns cannot differentiate between night and day. This is one of the reasons why a child may have a 6 month sleep regression.
To help teach your baby the difference between night and day, there are a few things you can do. These include:
- Keeping the noise down at night time
- Keeping lights to a minimum
- Encouraging some household noise during other naps
- Encouraging play during a wake window in the day
- Encourage quiet time before your baby’s naps for a better sleep
Some of these may become easier as your child gets older as they will stay awake for longer. Therefore, you’ll have more time during wake windows to do fun things.
Do wake windows include feeding and changing?
Awake windows start from the moment you get your little one up, in the morning or after a nap, and end at the point in which you put them back in the cot to go to bed or have another nap. So yes, wake windows include feeding and changing. Like we said, with a newborn baby, you typically won’t have much time to do much else when they wake up.
After welcoming a new baby into the world, new parents are often advised to sleep when the baby sleeps. So while your little one is having their nap, it might be a good time to have a nap yourself or get a couple of jobs done.
Typically, a newborn baby will sleep between 8 and 16 hours per day. This sleep will be broken up by wake windows when your baby needs a feed or a nappy change.
What are some things I can do with a newborn baby during wake windows?
Newborns (up to 6 weeks) do a lot of eating and a lot of sleeping and little else! It is important to allow your newborn to do as much eating and sleeping as they want during the first few weeks and in reality, once you have fed them, changed their nappy and had a cuddle – they’ll likely be ready to go back to sleep again after 45-60 minutes!
Does following wake windows help?
Little ones have a very fine line between being tired enough and being over tired, and they’ll have a much more difficult time falling asleep and staying asleep when that’s the case. Being over tired can also cause early morning wake ups too. Naps can be tricky because they are just based upon sleep pressure (tiredness, basically) so, if your little one does not have enough sleep pressure, they are likely to have short naps but too much sleep pressure means they become overtired. Following awake windows, in addition to watching for sleepy cues, can help you to gauge the right amount of sleep pressure for your little one.
Newborn doesn’t follow wake windows
You’re probably thinking ‘help! How are we going to get into a routine when my newborn doesn’t follow wake windows?’ And the answer…relax!
With a newborn baby, it’s almost impossible to have a proper routine in place. Your baby’s needs are changing so frequently, it’s likely even they don’t know what they want. The best thing you can do is listen to your baby.
If they’re having a harder time falling asleep when you put them down for nap time then maybe they’re not ready. Some babies absolutely love sleep while others are happy with a little less.
If your baby’s struggling to nap, you could try taking them out for some fresh air. When your baby wakes you can get them home in time for their next sleep period. At your child’s age, it’s all about learning and teaching good habits. You don’t want to teach them that you can take them out at all nap times.
Contact a certified paediatric sleep consultant if your baby is regularly sleeping less than 8 hours per day. Similarly, get in contact if your baby sleeps for more than 18 hours per day. They can advise you on the best practice and give you sleeping tips for later down the line.
Newborn wake window tips
Every baby is different
The most important tip is that every baby is different. How your newborn baby sleeps might be completely different to someone else’s baby you know. It doesn’t mean either one of you is doing something wrong. One baby may just like a good sleep more than another.
Varying wake windows
Sometimes it may work best to try different wake windows. Some parents find their baby sleeps better at night with a longer wake window between the last nap and bedtime. By ‘longer’ we mean by around 15 minutes. At this young age, 15 minutes can make a big difference to your baby’s sleep.
If your baby can’t stay awake for another 15 minutes it’s likely they were already in the appropriate wake window.
With that in mind, it’s important that you aren’t changing the routine of wake windows every day. This can cause confusion and may lead to an overtired baby.
How do you know if your newborn’s wake windows aren’t right?
Like we said, try not to put too much pressure on yourself to perfect your baby’s sleep routine.
You’ll be able to recognise if something needs adjusting. If your newborn shows no interest in sleep, the wake window may be too short and they could be under tired.
You could consider adding an extra 15 minutes to their awake time. After a couple of days, you will be able to see whether that method works.
Sometimes your baby’s wake windows might be too long, even at just 45 minutes. If this is the case then your baby may start displaying sleepy cues. You could knock 15 minutes off the wake time for a few days to see if this makes a difference.
You may find that your baby is less tired and you can go back to the original wake window plan.
You may also find that your baby’s awake windows vary throughout the day. For example, after the first wake window, the first nap may be longer. There might be a pattern that at a certain time of the day, your baby has the shortest wake window.
It might be a good idea to write down this information. Then you can quickly spot short naps and early morning wake ups. This means you can see if your child meets age appropriate wake windows.
Can you stretch out wake windows?
Every baby is different and, also, different babies have different tolerance of how long these windows can be ‘stretched by’ for example, some babies olds can stay awake an extra 10-15 minutes quite easily, whilst others will have a meltdown if they are awake 5 minutes too long. Generally speaking, as little ones get older, their awake windows will get longer as their sleep needs start to shrink and there are some ways in which you can help your little one to manage that extra awake time:
- Take them outside to get a little fresh air (try not to put them in the pram as they run the risk of falling asleep before you get them into the cot)
- Water play – this is great and very stimulating for little ones
What are signs my newborn baby is tired?
Look out for sleepy cues to help you understand when your little one needs a nap or to go to bed. Just bear in mind not every baby will show sleepy cues until they are overtired so keeping an eye on them and tracking how easily your little one goes down will also help you ascertain their specific cues.
- Sleepy cues can include:
- Staring into space;
- Avoiding eye contact;
- Rubbing their eyes;
- Pulling their ears/hair/hands on their head;
- Nuzzling;
- Yawning
When should I transition out of swaddling my baby?
Babies are born with a startle reflex, which a swaddle can really help with. Not all babies like to be swaddled, others love it! It can be really helpful for little ones with a strong startle reflex however as soon as your little one starts to become more mobile (by around 8-10 weeks) you should start transitioning your little one out of it. Start by leaving one arm out for a couple of nights, then the other arm for another couple of nights, and then remove it all together.
What are the wake windows by age?
Below are the wake windows by age which we work with:
- 0 – 6 weeks: 45-60 min
- 6 – 12 weeks: 60-90 min
- 4 months: 1 ½ – 2 hours
- 5 months: 1 ¾ – 2 ½ hours
- 6 – 7 months: 2 ½ -3 hours
- 8 – 12 months: 3 – 4 hours
- 12/13 months – 2 ½ – 3 years: 5 – 6 hours
Hey there, I’m Abigail!
In 2022, I graduated with a First Class Degree in Marketing and since then, I have been working as a blogger and Marketing Assistant. Before heading to university, I also achieved a BTEC in Children’s Play, Learning and Development.
I have been blogging for over four years and have covered many topics during this time. My focus has been on pregnancy, babies, sleep and baby name ideas.
I am passionate about learning new things and helping others. I hope that you find my blogs useful and informative. See you in the next article!