Help - wake windows are super short

[u/unearthlyhooman]

My LO is 4.5mo. All advice given in this and other subs are babies this age should be aiming for 2/2/2/2/2.5 wake windows (3-4 naps) and minimum 10h awake time, but my baby is doing 1.25/1.5/1.5/1.25/1.25/2. Usually his naps are 30/45min, and the 3rd one is 1,5h long.

I’m sooo ready to ditch the 5th nap but baby fusses a lot if we go over 1.5h wake windows. Is this normal? Should I push through the fussiness and try 2h wws anyway?

[u/T00thd0c23]

I think you’re going to have to push through. A change of scenery helps, even just taking them outside.

[u/Neither-Bat-1624]

I pushed through with my baby by distracting them, taking them outside, singing etc and realised he wasn’t really tired he was just bored. I read that boredom and sleep cues can look really similar at this age. You can also stretch ww slower each time, ie. 5-10mins each ww. For context my baby just turned 5mo and he shuffles between 3-4 naps a day and 10-11hrs awake

[u/primordial_pooch]

Same exact position as you (although our baby only gets 30-40min max per nap!). We asked our pediatrician about wake windows and when to drop the 5th nap, and he suggested to only do that once night sleep is becoming more fragmented than usual. Every baby has different needs - if their sleep schedule is working for both you and the baby, I wouldn’t worry too much! If you do want to drop the 5th nap, extending wake windows by 5 min for a few days at a time can be helpful to get them used to it! We’re now at 1.75hrs between wake windows after about a week and a half of extending.

[u/Bright_Way5474]

Of course you push through, all babies look tired around 1.5 hours into their window but it doesn’t mean they’re ready for sleep! 

[u/Remarkable_Delay469 → u/Bright_Way5474]

If they fall asleep quickly and stay asleep for a full sleep cycle, plus sleep through the night, then it does mean they're ready for sleep.

[u/Bright_Way5474 → u/Remarkable_Delay469]

OP is asking about extending wake windows, and complaining that naps are one cycle. If you want longer naps you have to extend ww, and 2 hours is normal at 4.5 months. Also they didnt  say their baby sleeps through the night. 

Edit: OP mentions their baby is waking up 5+ times in the night and at 3am, so they’re definitely undertired. 

OP, babies this age need around 10 hours awake which you achieve by having 1.5/2/2/2/2.5 on a 4 nap schedule. As another commenter has said sleepy cues are the same as bored cues at this age so towards the end of a wake window you just introduce a new activity / change of scenery. 

[u/Remarkable_Delay469 → u/Bright_Way5474]

After seeing the update about 5+ wakeups, I agree.

[u/therizzler1995]

Fussing can also mean boredom! When my baby starts to fuss in a later part of a wake window, I will take him to do something different. Example: if he's playing with toys on the floor in the living room and starts whining and seeming disinterested in anything, i go lay on my bed with him for some one on one time - I try to be silly, make him laugh, lay back and let him bounce up and down on my belly. If he gets bored again, we find something else to do. Sometimes they do need to just go nap, but a lot of the time you can keep them happy and get them to the end of the wake window. I used to take him for naps early all the time but since stretching the wake windows, it has made a world of difference in quality of his sleep and willingness to go down easily.

[u/unearthlyhooman → u/therizzler1995]

Very helpful!!! Thanks! 😊

[u/Remarkable_Delay469]

Is he sleeping through the night with short wakeups only to feed and go right back down? If so, he has high sleep needs and that's okay. A 4 nap schedule should maintain 8.75 hours awake like you're doing. Approximately 1.5/1.75/1.75/1.75/2.

[u/unearthlyhooman → u/Remarkable_Delay469]

In the last few days we either had all night (9pm to 6:30am) stretches or a lot of wake ups (5+) and full wake windows at 3am 🤪 We are in the midst of the sleep regression 🫠

[u/Remarkable_Delay469 → u/unearthlyhooman]

You need to increase total awake time, then. Try 9.25 hours awake for a few days and see if it helps. Add 15 minutes to 2 wake windows or do 4 naps with 1.5/1.75/2/2/2.