Wake windows by age
A wake window is how long a baby can comfortably stay awake between two sleeps without getting overtired. It grows with age: under an hour for a newborn, more than three hours by the first birthday.
When to put your baby down next
Wake window — usually —
Next nap around — usually —
Calculated right in your browser. Nothing is sent or saved.
Wake windows chart
The middle value is a starting point; the range is the usual spread between babies of the same age. A baby who steadily stays near the edge of the range isn’t doing anything wrong: the edge is normal too.
| Age | Wake window | Usual range |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 month | 50 min | 35 min – 1 hr 5 min |
| 1–2 months | 1 hr 5 min | 45 min – 1 hr 25 min |
| 2–3 months | 1 hr 20 min | 1 hr – 1 hr 40 min |
| 3–4 months | 1 hr 35 min | 1 hr 10 min – 2 hr |
| 4–6 months | 2 hr 5 min | 1 hr 35 min – 2 hr 35 min |
| 6–9 months | 2 hr 45 min | 2 hr 10 min – 3 hr 20 min |
| 9–12 months | 3 hr 30 min | 2 hr 45 min – 4 hr 15 min |
| Over 12 months | 4 hr 30 min | 3 hr 30 min – 5 hr 30 min |
Usual bedtime
| Age | Starting point | Usual range |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 months | 9:00 PM | 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM |
| 2–4 months | 8:30 PM | 7:35 PM – 9:25 PM |
| Over 4 months | 8:00 PM | 7:10 PM – 8:50 PM |
Time between feeds
| Age | Starting point | Usual range |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 month | 2 hr 30 min | 1 hr 45 min – 3 hr 15 min |
| 1–2 months | 2 hr 45 min | 1 hr 55 min – 3 hr 35 min |
| 2–4 months | 3 hr | 2 hr 5 min – 3 hr 55 min |
| 4–6 months | 3 hr 30 min | 2 hr 30 min – 4 hr 30 min |
| 6–9 months | 4 hr | 2 hr 50 min – 5 hr 10 min |
| 9–12 months | 4 hr 30 min | 3 hr 10 min – 5 hr 50 min |
| Over 12 months | 5 hr | 3 hr 30 min – 6 hr 30 min |
Where these numbers come from
These are the age-based starting points Rytmi uses until your baby has a history of their own. Once there are enough entries, the app stops relying on them and works from your baby instead: their own wake windows, their own bedtime, their own time between feeds.
- They are not medical norms and not a diagnosis
- The middle of the range is a guide, not a target
- Your baby’s own rhythm beats any chart
- The same numbers as in the app, not a separate method
How to use the chart
The chart answers “roughly when”, not “exactly what time”. Watch your baby too: playing more slowly than usual, rubbing their eyes, turning away, fussing for no clear reason — the window is closing, even if the chart says there are twenty minutes left. It works the other way as well: an alert, busy baby doesn’t have to fall asleep on schedule.
A missed window usually shows up later: settling gets harder and the nap turns out shorter. That is why a few days of logging help more than checking a chart. After a week of entries you can see your baby’s own rhythm, and the averages stop mattering.
Rytmi does the math for you
Log a few naps and feeds, and the app starts showing your baby’s own wake windows instead of averages.
Rytmi is on iPhone for now. The Android app isn’t on Google Play yet.
For iPhone · free · no ads
The ranges on this page are for planning the day and are not medical advice. For questions about your child’s health, sleep and development, talk to your pediatrician.