Let me tell you a bit about age appropriate awake windows and why they are so important.
Before I became a sleep consultant, I can't tell you how many times a came across a facebook forum where one mother would ask for advice about how to get their little one sleeping and the response was, 'make sure you follow the right awake window'. I mean, that's all well and good but how much do you actually know about awake windows and what they should be based on your child's age and development? Let me walk you through this one.
Has someone ever said to you 'make sure you follow the right awake window'? I'm sure your thinking, thanks for the advice but what the?
Age appropriate awake windows are timeframes we as sleep consultants know that your little one will cope with being awake. Not all babies are the same, some cope with a little more time and some with a little less, this is part of the reason why we use sleep logs to help us establish what your little one copes with.
If your awake window is too big between sleeps, it is likely that your child will become overtired, and an overtired baby is incredibly difficult to settle. On the other hand, if your awake window is too small, you may have a child that fights naptime or bedtime, or they could fall asleep easily and wake up after one sleep cycle not wanting to sleep anymore.
Below is a rough guide of the awake windows your little one will be following based on their age.
An awake window is not just the time your baby spends playing. It actually includes the time it takes your little one to feed and go back to sleep. So, it's super important that you start a wind down routine 10-15 minutes before the end of their awake window to set yourself up for a successful sleep.
If you found this helpful, drop a comment below.
Claire x
Claire De Simone is the founder of Hush Baby Sleep. She is a certified baby sleep consultant, a paediatric nurse with 10 years experience, a wife and a Mumma to 2 precious little human beings.
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