Short Wake Windows

[lemon789]

I'm not sure if I'm correctly handling my 15 week old daughter's wake windows! We used to have a big problem with her being overtired and colicky so I began to work on getting her down (in my arms😕) for naps pretty soon after I spot her tired cues. They're very difficult to spot with her but I can tell she's usually ready for a nap after 50-70 minutes..! All these websites and sources say that at 3 and a half months they should be awake for 1.5-2 hours but she seems to be tired way before then.
Sometimes I try to take my time reading a story before a nap to lengthen the awake time but she gets grizzly and I slam the book shut straight away and get her down because I'm almost traumatised from how she would be when she got overtired!
My mother in law judges me for getting her to sleep so soon after waking up and makes me feel like I'm not doing this right at all:/ But then she babysat recently and apparently after an hour and 45 minutes she started screaming and didn't stop for an hour!
I guess I'm hoping there'll be some other parents out there who can reassure me that this is normal and she'll soon last longer before getting fussy - or that maybe I can get some advice on how to lengthen her wake windows??
Since she usually naps on me (I'm working on it), it would be nice to have her awake longer so I can put her down and get things done!

I'm no expert (first time Mum) but it sounds completely normal to me and like you're handling things just fine. You're responding to your baby's needs. All babies are different. Some can last hours awake, some can't. Eventually she will naturally lengthen her awake time. It does happen I promise. You won't feel like you spend the whole day trying to get her to sleep. I'd ditch the websites, various sources and stop thinking what your baby "should" be doing. You'll be a lot happier and more relaxed - trust me I've been there lol. Just go with what your baby needs. If that's a nap after 70 minutes then so be it. Enjoy those quiet sleepy cuddles whilst you can. If you really do want her to nap elsewhere, have you tried a bouncer? Easy to bounce to sleep, easy to resettle to lengthen the nap and your hands are free. Also, don't listen to your mother in law or anyone else for that matter. I had that exact problem and judgement when my baby was around that age. I'd get the whole "you're trying to get her her to sleep AGAIN?! She's not tired" etc. You know your baby. Nobody else.

p.s to make you feel better, my 8 month old lasted a whole 35 minutes the other day between naps! To be fair we had a busy morning but it just goes to show if they need sleep then they need sleep, no matter how old they are.

I think you’re doing absolutely the right thing by recognising her sleepy cues and being responsive to her needs. Hopefully after the screaming your MIL now sees that it’s better to just let her sleep when she’s tired.
I don’t think you should do anything to try to lengthen her wake windows, it’ll happen naturally over time. All babies are different, you have to respond to their individual needs. Sounds like you’re doing that brilliantly already.

Wake windows are largely made up, you're doing the right thing by responding to your baby.

Ahh thank you guys, I think I really needed that reassurance! I guess I'll carry on spending 70% of my time putting her to sleep for now😂 I think I'm going to feel more confident in holding my ground when it comes to christmas at the mother in law's!
@ChrissyxJingle I've thought about a bouncer,just not sure on spending the money for her to end up playing instead of sleeping! Do you have one that you recommend?

@lemon789
I would recommend one that you can bounce with your foot like a Baby Bjorn or a Fisher Price one. I wouldn't spend a lot - maybe have a look on eBay or Facebook Marketplace in your local area for a good condition second hand one. That's what we did. To be honest I don't use it much other than for naps but the activity arm or whatever you call it is detachable so you can take that off and the Baby Bjorn folds completely flat, so is easy to store. Hope that helps!