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Baby wake window calculator

Tell us how old your baby is and what time they woke up this morning. We'll map out today's nap windows and bedtime — no signup, no guessing.

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Wake windows by age

How long a baby can comfortably stay awake between sleeps, with the nap count and total sleep that usually go with it. Windows lengthen across the day — the stretch before bedtime is the one babies tolerate longest.

Wake windows by age
AgeWake windowNapsDay sleepNight sleep
Newborn45m – 1h57h 30m8h – 9h
1 month1h – 1h 30m46h9h – 10h
2 months1h 15m – 1h 40m45h 15m9h – 10h
3 months1h 30m – 1h 50m44h 30m10h – 11h
4 months1h 55m – 2h 15m33h 45m10h – 11h
5 months2h – 2h 20m33h 40m10h – 11h
6 months2h 10m – 2h 30m33h 30m11h – 12h
7 months2h 15m – 2h 30m33h 30m11h – 12h
8 months2h 45m – 3h 15m22h 45m11h – 12h
9 months2h 50m – 3h 20m22h 45m11h – 12h
10 months3h – 3h 30m22h 45m11h – 12h
11 months3h 5m – 3h 35m22h 40m11h – 12h
12 months3h 15m – 3h 45m22h 30m11h – 12h
13 months3h 20m – 3h 50m22h 20m11h – 12h
14 months3h 25m – 3h 55m22h 10m11h – 12h
15 months5h – 5h 30m12h11h – 12h
16 months5h 5m – 5h 35m12h11h – 12h
17 months5h 10m – 5h 40m12h11h – 12h
18 months5h 15m – 5h 40m12h11h – 12h
19–24 months5h 20m – 5h 40m12h11h – 12h
2 years+5h 30m – 5h 45m11h 45m10h 30m – 11h 30m

Ranges reflect published guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Sleep Foundation, which give total sleep needs by age rather than fixed schedules. Healthy babies vary widely; treat these as a starting point and follow your own baby's tired signs.

Common questions

What is a wake window?
A wake window is how long your baby can comfortably stay awake between sleeps, measured from the moment they wake up to the moment they fall asleep again — it includes the time it takes to settle. Windows are short in the newborn weeks, often under an hour, and stretch to five or six hours by toddlerhood. They are a guide to timing, not a target to hit exactly.
How do I know if the wake window was too long?
An overtired baby fights the nap, takes a long time to settle despite obvious tiredness, wakes 30–45 minutes in and can't resettle, and often starts waking earlier in the morning. If you see that pattern for two or three days, pull the window in by 10–15 minutes rather than making a big change.
Do wake windows get longer through the day?
Yes, for most babies. The first window after morning wake-up is usually the shortest, and the stretch before bedtime is the longest — sleep pressure has built all day and the drive to sleep is strongest at bedtime. A schedule with identical windows from morning to night tends to produce a late, difficult bedtime.
What time should my baby go to bed?
Past the newborn stage, bedtime usually lands between 6:30pm and 8pm, and it is calculated backwards from the last nap rather than fixed to a clock. A bedtime that drifts later and later is usually a sign the last window is too long or the last nap ended too late. This calculator holds bedtime between 6pm and 8:30pm for exactly that reason.
Should I use my baby's actual age or adjusted age?
If your baby was born prematurely, use the adjusted age — their age from their due date rather than their birth date — until at least 12 months. Wake windows follow neurological development, not the calendar. Your paediatrician can tell you when to switch to actual age.
My baby's schedule doesn't match this. Is something wrong?
Almost certainly not. Published sleep guidance gives ranges, not schedules, and healthy babies vary enormously in how much sleep they need. If your baby is generally happy, feeding well and growing, a day that looks nothing like this one is fine. Use these numbers when something isn't working — not as a standard to measure your baby against.

Keep exploring

Solids readiness checkSix signs that say whether your baby is ready to start solids. About three minutes.Development milestonesWhat to expect month by month, from sitting up to the pincer grasp.About Dalo SleepHow the app builds a nap plan around your baby's real wake times.

Related reading

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Wake windows vs scheduled naps: which suits your baby

Two ways to plan the same day, neither of which any health authority publishes and neither of which has been tested against the other. How to choose on fit, when age decides it for you, and how to switch without losing a week.

Sleep

Baby sleep schedules and wake windows: 0–24 months

What a day looks like at every age from birth to two, which numbers come from a health authority and which are conventions somebody invented, and where to go next depending on what is actually going wrong.

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The 2-to-1 nap transition: age, signs and a schedule that works

Usually between 13 and 18 months, and often started too early. How to tell it from the twelve-month false alarm, how to move the nap towards midday, and how long the mess lasts.

All sleep guides

This calculator gives general guidance based on published sleep ranges for healthy, full-term babies. It is not medical advice and cannot account for your baby's individual needs. Talk to your paediatrician or health visitor about any sleep concerns, and always follow safe sleep guidance. If your baby was born prematurely or has a medical condition, your provider's advice takes precedence over anything here.

Last updated: August 2026