Dad Gets Real About the Chaos of Baby's Wake Windows

If you’ve ever frantically bounced between bouncers, swaddles, swings and snacks just to keep baby happy for one more hour before bedtime—you’re not alone. That final wake window can feel like the longest part of the day, when baby is tired but not tired enough, fussy but not ready to sleep and somehow bored of everything all at once.

In a now-viral video, new dad Christian Toth (@christian__toth) is showing the unfiltered side of parenting—and it’s deeply relatable. “Lately the last wake window of the night has been tough!! Stations aren’t hitting like they used to,” he captioned a post documenting his evening efforts. “Any suggestions to get through the Twilight Zone!?”

In the video, Toth kicks things off optimistically, asking his baby, “Okay, what activity do you want to do first?”—a hopeful start that quickly turns comedic as he cycles through a series of failed attempts to keep baby entertained. First up is a play gym, which ends in a spit-up within 30 seconds. Then comes the bouncer, where Toth reads from a children’s book—only to be met with tears three minutes in. Even the baby swing, paired with a high-contrast board book, earns just 60 seconds of quiet before the next meltdown.

With options dwindling, Toth turns to the classic fallback: pacing the hallway while bouncing baby in his arms. In a particularly relatable moment, he pauses to narrate his whiskey shelf, as if it might offer a new sensory experience. Eventually, the two settle on the couch together, baby finally calm in dad’s arms—if only for a moment.

In the comments, fellow parents praised Toth for sharing such a candid glimpse into life with a baby. “Thank you for a realistic look into wake windows!” one wrote. “I swear if I see one more super parent telling me how they taught their newborn string theory or Latin, I’m gonna lose my ever-loving mind.” Another added, “Finally a realistic baby video… although this is me and my baby all day, not just the last wake window.”

Other parents shared their hard-won tips for surviving the final stretch of the day:

• “Hold her and stand in front of a window, adult talk to her (detailed explanation of the day or what you’re making for dinner—the more complicated the better), sing songs with hand motions, kicking piano,” one parent suggested.
• “Baby carriers and/or being outside. Literally the only way,” another offered.
• “I pull the high chair up to the kitchen counter and let them watch me chop and cook. I hold the veggies up to their nose so they can smell everything. Happy baby,” added another.
• “Big fan of a family walk during the witching hour,” one parent shared.
• “We found a warm bath to be entertaining and helped her settle before bed,” another added.

Need more ideas to survive the evening fussy hour? The Bump has you covered with tried-and-true ways to soothe baby.