Anyone else think wake windows are a cruel joke?!

Yes 100%. I don’t follow wake windows, I go off my baby’s cues. Every baby is different so wake windows won’t be a one size fits all, so I ignore it 😂

I'd never even heard of them until I joined peanut, not sure if it's just a made up social media or money making thing or actually proven by research as never read about wake windows in any of the resources I read before I had the baby. When I did find out about them it was only through apps where they make money and were completely useless for me 😂

@Louise I had heard of them before, but definitely more since being on this app and TikTok, but I don’t think there is any evidence based research around wake windows. Much better just following your own baby’s cues x

Honestly there’s no scientific evidence to back them up! Definitely better to follow your little one’s cues and figure out their individual wake windows x

I followed wake windows for a little while but I found myself getting stressed out that I was going to miss the “perfect time” to put him down for a nap and it was always a battle. So when I stopped and followed his cues it was truly life changing, no stress around how long he’s been up, not fighting naps etc. it’s been great and he sleeps better at night too! He usually sleeps 6pm-7:30am, recently he has been waking up a few times after 4am but I think he’s just cold because I’m cold😂x

@Evie and @Louise Its crazy that on every sleep consultants socials this is the advise they give. I genuinely think that these “sleep consultants” put these wake windows out there to mess up babies sleep and drum up business. That’s disgusting!

@Gemma I wish I’d known sooner. I’ve been absolutely knackered, killing my self to get my baby to sleep when clearly he didn’t want to, only to make things worse! X

Desperate sleep deprived mums are a great business for making money for the sleep consultants on social media. I'm definitely guilty for being sucked into it all when I was a new mum 😂 realise now what a load of rubbish most of it was.

Honestly I thought I was doing something wrong for such a long time!

Yeah i don't follow wake windows, I just look for my babys tired cues. She wakes 1-2 times a night, she also goes to bed anytime from 7pm to 8:30pm depending on how much sleep she's had that day!

@Rosie same. It’s so sad to think about all the tears that we have cried that could have been avoided! 😔. That’s amazing! I hope we get some full night sleeps soon. Awww bless it has been bitterly cold recently! X

I actually do follow wake windows and find it works for me. She might start giving me a little yawn at the end of her expected wake window when I’m already about to take her up but if I wait for full on sleepy cues before acting then I find she’s already overtired and harder to settle. That said I worked out her wake windows rather than follow whatever the Internet says. Just shows how there’s not a one size fits all approach. She’s napping twice a day and sleeping around 7.30-7 with two night feeds.

I know right🥺I just follow him and what he wants and it’s so much better. We get roughly 2 hour wake windows, sometimes more sometimes less Fingers crossed for you🤞🏼I honestly don’t know how I did it, put him down for a nap one day and he just slept all the way through😂caught me really off guard ahah x

"wake windows" are only useful in the sense that if you know roughly how long your baby can usually stay awake for, then you know when to expect their tired cues to start happening and be ready. But that's all they are, guidelines, and I do 100% believe that some sleep consultants prey on overtired parents by telling them they can "fix" baby's sleep - sleep is almost entirely a genetic lottery whether you have a natural soother or a signaller. That or they're a parent who knows what worked for their own baby and think that makes them an expert. 😂

I followed wake windows for 2 days before going back to following tired signs.

Hasn't worked for me either. Babies cues. Depends on how active the baby is during the wake window...for the next sleep I think. But the activities are never consistent and so we don't follow wake windows

Every baby is different so following a one size fits all guide is a joke to me. Some babies need more sleep than others. Some babies can be perfectly happy and healthy with less sleep. My first 3 kids slept through the night from 2m and never had a night feeding. Never woke until morning. Never needed any extra rocking etc to fall asleep.. my youngest is 8m and wakes 1-2 times at night. Sleeps half the night in crib and half the night with us. Contact naps (starting to transition to crib for naps). His wake windows some days are super short and some days super long. Just follow your babies ques. If your baby looks sleepy they probably are. If they aren’t showing signs then they probably don’t need as many naps.

I went through a similar thing. We went through a 2 month stint of bad sleep. I was so stressed out about her sleep it consumed my day and night. I spoke with a sleep consultant who made my stress worse. I then decided to follow cues instead and she's now sleeping through the night at 5 months.

We’re currently following wake windows but something isn’t working as my little boy is terrible at night time and is always showing sleepy cues before the suggested time. Anyone have a 9month old, if so, how many naps do they have following sleep cues or does it not matter?

@Sierra my baby is very similar to yours! She's 8 months too and wakes 1-2 times a night, we follow sleepy cues rather than wake windows, it does mean her bedtime cab vary by 1.5hrs but at least that way we don't fight with her over it. She also ends up in our bed halfway through the night 😄.

i wish i never looked into all the sleep and stuff when my son was a baby. first time mum thought was helping myself but wasnt. now 4yrs old and only just getting used to what sleep he actually needs in 24hrs for him x

@Laura my little one has 2-3 naps a day. 1x 1.5hr and 1-2 x 40 min and sleeps 12 hours at night. Definitely better off following tired signs. It takes about 4 days to break an overtired cycle and following wake windows can put babies in overtired cycles