Do you force wake windows? - March 2024 Babies | Forums | What to Expect (2024)

Wake windows are just a general average of all babies. Some babies will be completely different from the average. I wouldn’t encourage forcing your baby to fit into a generalized pattern, following his cues will get you better results 100% of the time. If he is sleeping I would let him sleep because it means he needs it. Also with babies sleep begets sleep. If he is woken up when he needs rest, he will get overtired and have a harder time sleeping overall which might explain why he doesn’t have great sleep at night and fusses in the evening.

Is there a medical reason you are waking him up to eat ? At this age (based on March group), they do not need to be woken up for feedings anymore.

My baby is sometimes awake for 30min and then 2h and naps from anywhere between 45 min to 4h. He is pretty consistent with his 24h routine but within those 24h, the routine doesn’t really follow the “standards”. I don’t care though, he is thriving and my instinct is telling me I’m doing the right thing by catering to his needs based on his cues instead of trying to impose something that’s clearly not what he currently naturally leans toward.

I keep baby on a feed every 3 hrs routine throughout the day, but other than that I just kinda let her do what she wants to do. She generally naps more in the mornings/early afternoon, and then stays awake more mid afternoon/evening before bed. She is a little fussier in the evenings, but it’s manageable.

She’s sleeping about 6-7 hrs in a row at night, so it seems to be working out fine. I don’t expect her to sleep longer than that, honestly.