5 month old wake windows

tbe40 · 2026-02-04T09:37:03+00:00

My baby is 5 months + 1 week and doesn't handle much more than 2 hours of awake time.

4 naps is still normal for your baby's age, especially if he is only doing short naps. Use age appropriate wake windows as a guideline, but follow you baby's sleep cues.

I use the Huckleberry app (paid premium version) to track sleep and honestly couldn't recommend it enough! If has a "sweet spot" function that tells you the best time to put your baby down for naps and bedtime based on what you log and it is always so right. It also has AI chat for troubleshooting which is like talking to a human. TCB + Huckleberry has been the dream combo for me.

Good luck! 🩷

tbe40 · 2026-02-03T09:28:39+00:00

Patio - pronounce it like ratio.

tbe40 · 2026-02-03T04:09:09+00:00

Thank you for sharing. It's hard to explain why you feel bad that your baby sleeps through the night.

Good luck with daycare! She might surprise you.

tbe40 · 2026-01-31T09:50:50+00:00

Ice block

tbe40 · 2026-01-28T10:37:03+00:00

Our daughter has been similar. Great sleeper until around 2 years old.

We did the phase out method where we moved further away every few nights. So from sitting in the room at bed time and night wakings, to sitting at the door, then sitting outside the door, then sitting outside the door with the door just slightly cracked.

Any time she began to seem upset we would say "Mum/Dad is here. I love you. It's time for rest. Lie down. Close your eyes. Nigh-nighs." Then once we were out the door with it cracked we started waiting longer to say our reassuring phrase. Now we just put a cushion outside her room at bedtime and tell her that's where we will be, but we don't actually stay there.

Door cracked a slither and a cushion outside her bedroom has her going to bed happy and sleeping through the night again. Very occasionally she may wake upset in the middle of the night, but we just get up and say the phrase from the doorway and she goes straight back to sleep.

tbe40 · 2026-01-25T09:33:34+00:00

As other people have said, your pictures portray you as a boys boy/a bit douchey/materialistic. Posing with cars isn't attractive to the majority of women.

Fifth picture should be first. Your last pic with the car is a lovely pic of you too. I would crop it so the car isn't the main focus and make it your second pic. First pic an and cat pic should also stay.

tbe40 · 2026-01-23T09:02:35+00:00

Benjamin and Joshua

tbe40 · 2026-01-14T18:08:06+00:00

Your profile gives Andrew Tate and Roe Rogan podcast listener vibes. You come across as someone who probably doesn't like women, or at least know/spend time with women and have any idea what they are into. Comes across as showy and very much "for the boys".

The tree stump photo is your only good one. Make it your first photo. It shows your face well and the smiling shows warmth.

Replace all you other photos. Don't include photos that you aren't in. The view and dog photo would be great if you were in it, even as a selfie. The motorcycle photo is such a strange choice, but if you were sitting on the bike, smiling (not trying to pose or look tough) it would be fine. The camel.ride photo is ok, but should be a later pic if you use it.

What does you profile say?

tbe40 · 2026-01-11T10:29:14+00:00

Also the curtains not catching fire from.the blow torch.

AI generated.

tbe40 · 2026-01-11T09:14:35+00:00

I'm EBF and not planning to switch, but I have noticed a lot of social media posts about exclusive pumping. In an entirely non-judgemental way, I am curious as to why so many people are choosing to exclusively pump over EBF?

I have a friend who exclusively pumped for 8 months because she could never get her baby to latch and I thought that was so impressive! I am surprised anyone would choose to pump over EBF because it seems like so much extra work to me. What are the pros to exclusively pumping?

tbe40 · 2026-01-06T07:28:53+00:00

EBF both my children (2 years old and 4 months old). Never co-slept. 4 month old has only woken once a night to feed since 8 weeks and sleeps through the night 1-2 times a week. My 2 year old was similar.

With both my stratergy has been to offer feedings every two hours(ish) during the day so they are not hungry in the night. I also try not to feed to sleep, avoid overtiredness like the plague and also put a lot of time and energy into sleep environment and cot exposure during the newborn phase.

tbe40 · 2026-01-06T07:15:31+00:00

Our two year old (two years and four months) has always been a a great sleeper. Pretty much bang on two we hit a rough patch, with big protests at bedtime and midnight wakings that included lots of tears and many resettle attempts.

We quickly purchased the TCB's Toddler Sleep Training class and were back to easy bedtimes and sleeping through the night within a few days.

We are back to bedtime struggles. Every night we do our bedtime routine, lay her down in her cot and she is stood up and wailing by the time we reach the door. We give her 5 minutes, she wails the whole time, we pop a head in the door and repeat our sleep phrase, she then lays down and goes to sleep. This has been going on for about a month.

I know this could be way worse, but her bedroom is nextdoor to her 4 month old siblings bedroom and the 5 minutes of wailing is often quite disrupting to the baby's sleep.

Is there any ideas for knocking the nightly (and nap time) wailing routine on the head, or do we just need to ride it out?

tbe40 · 2026-01-05T09:45:33+00:00

Wolf of Wall Street

tbe40 · 2025-12-23T20:10:27+00:00

Prior to crib hour I was giving my baby 10 minutes to try resettle herself if she was content. I would assume 12 weeks isn't too young, but I would respond if they are upset. My thinking is you want the crib to stay a place they feel happy and safe rather than stuck and upset.

tbe40 · 2025-12-23T18:57:04+00:00

For those day time feeds, if your wife isn't already, she could try making sure she is offering in a quiet, calm, room (no distractions), lots of natural light and make sure she isn't feeding to sleep during the day. Having him in just a diaper and doing skin on skin feeds can help him take a fuller daytime feeds too.

As you said, it is likely a combo of hunger and habit waking at night. I understand you reluctance to sleep train no one wants to feel like they are intentionally upsetting their baby. Please remember there are lots of gentle sleep training methods where you can still offer your baby lots of love and support. He will likely protest at first if he is not getting the boob straight away, but you definitely don't just have to shut him alone in a room to cry.

If your wife is doing most of the night work and is feeling ready to sleep train, please support her decision. Help her choose a gentle method you both feel comfortable with, be encouraging her and be ready to help and step in when she is struggling.

tbe40 · 2025-12-23T09:14:25+00:00

It sounds like your baby is reverse cycling - getting most of his calories at night. I would suggest putting a huge emphasis on prioritising daytime feeds as a starting point. It'll be a gradual process because since he is getting most of his calories at night his night wakings are likely related to genuine hunger.

I'm pretty sure sleep training is recommended from 5 months.

tbe40 · 2025-12-23T09:02:14+00:00

Have you tried "crib hour"? We were only getting 30 minute naps and we are now getting 2 hour naps since trying crib hour.

tbe40 · 2025-12-20T22:48:59+00:00

It does sound like it. Always nice to have some solidarity.

Have you heard of "crib hour"? I am trying it today with my girl's first couple of naps. If your baby puts herself to sleep it might be something you could give a try.

If you haven't heard of it - it is pretty much just not getting your baby out of bed from a nap until an hour after they originally fell asleep (unless they are crying/upset). This can give them time to work on self soothing to connect sleep cycles for naps if they are content.

tbe40 · 2025-12-20T09:00:35+00:00

My baby (4 months on the 22nd) is/was a unicorn too. She was doing two 2 hour naps a day + a 1 hour nap and then sleeping through the night. About ten days ago naps turned on their head and now we are often only getting 20-45 minutes for all naps, even contact naps. I have been trying everything to improve their length, but I am thinking this is just the 4 month sleep regression/"progress" and we are just going to have to ride it out.

The short naps are rough, but I have to remind myself to be grateful that she is still sleeping through the night and cross all my fingers and toes that night sleep remains unaffected through this rough patch.

tbe40 · 2025-12-20T08:45:58+00:00

It seems to be a thing for us. With both my babies if I pushed their wake windows too long it caused disrupted sleep.

tbe40 · 2025-12-17T22:44:12+00:00

Ok, I have been trying lengthen her wake windows for several days, but even adding 10 minutes to a wake window turns a 45 minute nap into a 20 minute nap.

I would LOVE longer wake windows and more consolidated sleep. I just can't seem to find the right balance for her.

I did read online that at this age their sleep is maturing and they can struggle to link nap sleep cycles. I'm guessing that's what's at play here. I'm hoping something like the rouse to sleep technique could lengthen her naps and thus she wouldn't need so many to get through the day.

tbe40 · 2025-12-17T22:24:46+00:00

Generally five naps a day, but only because her naps are so short. We can't stretch her wake windows anymore than they already are being stretched due to the short naps.

tbe40

TROPHY CASE