My 18-month-old son sleeps 14 hours a night AND naps for two hours… wake windows are the absolute key | The Sun
A FIRST TIME mum has revealed how she gets her 18-month-old to sleep up to 14 hours a night AND take long naps during the day.
Danielle claims taking note of wake windows and your child’s ‘sleepy cues’ are key – and suggests these will help you avoid tired meltdowns too.
The US-based mum-of-one, known online as @living.transparently, regularly shares parenting tips with her 44,000 followers.
In a new TikTok reel, she said: “My son sleeps 12 to 14 hours every single night and also takes two to three-hour naps during the day, so let’s talk about how I got him to be such an incredible sleeper.
“For context, I have an 18-month-old, my background is in biomedical sciences, and I’m currently a clinical researcher, so I’ve really done my homework on this.
“Tip number one, it is just a fact that sleep begets sleep.
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“A baby that is well rested and takes good naps during the day will just sleep better at night.
“So how do you prioritise naps during the day so that you can have good sleep at night? Glad you asked.
“Wake windows need to be your best friend.
“If you don’t know what wake windows are if you need a little bit of help figuring out what your wake windows should be based on the age of your baby or your toddler, go ahead and check out Taking Care of Babies.
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“She has some great resources that really helped me when I was a new mum.
“But to summarise, babies and toddlers should only be awake for certain periods of time based on their age.
“Babies that are four to 12 weeks should be awake for about 60 to 90 minutes.
“Babies that are three to four months should only be awake for about two hours in between naps.
“And then by the time your toddler is a year and a half to two years, they should be awake between four to six hours in between naps."
Danielle also revealed that it's important to look out for your child's sleepy cues – and try to get them to nap before they get overtired.
She continued: “It is a little bit more than that and this is key – there is a golden moment of opportunity to put your baby or toddler down for their next nap.
“You will discover what this moment is based on their sleepy cues, so you really have to know your child and know what tired looks like to them.
“Whether it’s rubbing their eyes, their eyes get red, they’re yawning, each child has cues that tell you that they’re tired before they go into full meltdown mode.
“If they go into full meltdown mode, you’ve missed the golden opportunity.
“It’s actually going to be a lot harder to get them to sleep and let me tell you why.
“Being tired actually stresses a child out.
“It makes their cortisol and adrenaline levels go up. This actually causes them to stay awake.
“When a child gets overtired and their cortisol and adrenaline levels go up, it is much more difficult to get them to sleep because those are the hormones that are literally made to keep you awake.
“So tip number one basically has two parts.
“You have to follow your child’s wake windows based on their age, and then within that wake window, you have to watch for your child’s sleepy cues so you don’t miss the golden opportunity to put them to sleep.”
Fans loved the savvy mum’s tip, with the video gaining more than 15,700 likes and 308,000 views.
In the comments, other parents shared their thoughts, with one writing: “Yes!!!! Love this. Have a 4 yr and a 7-month-old both sleep trained, great sleepers. Being educated is key and making it a priority for your child.”
Although not all agreed with Danielle, with some arguing it’s down to luck or the individual child.
Another added: “Come back after you have a couple more kids…. I thought I was an expert after my first ‘excellent sleeper’.
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Someone else put: “First-time mom energy.”
“Temperament plays the largest part in infant sleep,” another said.
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