u/Filthy_dog00

My baby is 18 weeks old, and for the last week his wake windows have been 3 hours. His first wake window is the shortest, usually just over two hours (around 2h15–2h20). After that, it stretches to three hours or even longer. In the evening it can be up to 3.5 hours, and each day it feels like he’s pushing them further.

He fights sleep intensely. Even though we go to the nursery and start the sleep routine “on time” (around the 2-hour mark) or when he shows sleep cues, it still takes a long time for him to fall asleep. By then, the wake window has stretched to 3 hours or more.

Sometimes he’ll just play (rolling onto his tummy, etc.), but other times he falls asleep crying and screaming for a long time, which is really heartbreaking. I often see him dozing off for 1–2 seconds, then startling himself awake and we start again. Sometimes he eventually falls asleep after several of these false starts, but other times it feels like he just can’t, even though he’s clearly exhausted. Then he becomes overtired and escalates into full crying that he can’t calm down.

I don’t know what to do. It feels really stressful for both of us, and I’m worried it isn’t healthy for him. It feels like he can’t transition into sleep, even when he wants to.

For context - we sleep in a dark, quiet room at a comfortable temperature, and we have a consistent bedtime routine (closing blinds, lullaby, feeding… and if he doesn’t fall asleep after it we do reading or rocking depending on what works that day).

He has always been on the longer side for wake windows, no matter what I try. I do my best to keep him engaged during wake time with outdoor time, tummy time, and play etc

We’re currently on 3 naps a day, but with his staying awake for so long the bedtime is getting pushed to later and later (like today he went down for his 3rd nap at 6:10pm after crying inconsolably for over half an hour). Most guidance I’ve seen suggests 2 naps at 6 months the earliest, but he’s not even 5 months yet.

I’m feeling worried and overwhelmed and would really appreciate hearing others’ experiences or suggestions on what might help.

My baby gets overstimulated very easily. Meeting new people, going places, or even having visitors over can make him tired and fussy really quickly. He’s 18 weeks now, but he’s been this way for a while.

When we visit friends, he often gets fussy and starts crying after a short time of interaction.

Whenever he’s learning a new skill, he becomes extremely frustrated. When he was learning to roll, he would practice in the middle of the night for 1-2 hours. Now that he’s starting to crawl, he tries to practice before naps and bedtime instead of settling to sleep. He gets so worked up, crying, breathing loudly, desperately trying to crawl but unable to do it. He seems exhausted but can’t switch off.

I know babies can get frustrated during developmental leaps, but mine feels more intense than others I’ve seen. Most babies Ive seen just stay calm or get curious during social interactions.

Has anyone experienced something similar with a very sensitive baby? Did they grow out of it?

I’m looking to buy a mattress for co-sleeping with my 4-month-old. Is there a specific firmness level I should be looking for? What about thickness?

Would a twin size be enough? Also, any good online retailers, preferably in Canada?

My baby is very squirmy at night and will start crawling soon, so I’m also considering bed borders or a Montessori-style floor bed (not sure what it’s called).

What’s your setup for this age? I’d really appreciate any advice on making it as safe as possible while still getting good sleep for everyone.

I’ve been trying to establish a bedtime routine with my 4-month-old pretty much since birth. We do have a routine - kinda: PJs, a very short massage, closing the blinds, feeding, then rocking. Every other day we add a bath at the beginning.

But it rarely goes smoothly… Sometimes he’s already too tired and gets really fussy, so it feels like he doesnt care about the massage since he’s already crying. Other times he’s not tired enough, n those days we add reading a book. Sometimes he won’t feed, so I rock first and then nurse him to sleep. There’s always something, and the order keeps changing.

I need to say - I do watch for sleep cues, but he barely shows any. I mostly rely on wake windows timing, but most of the times I’m 10-15 mins too early or too late and it makes a big difference at this age.

So I’m curious: what does (or did) your bedtime routine look like at 4-5 months? How long is it? Do you follow the same order strictly every night, or switch things up? And did it actually make a difference? If so, when did it start to help?