August 27, 2022

The Witching Hour

I don’t know why people call it the witching hour, it should be call the dreadful witching HOURS. Yes! HOURS! If you don’t know or haven’t heard of the so called witching hour, grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and keep reading to find out. Chances are you probably have experienced it with you baby but didn’t know you were going through it.

The witching “hour” typically starts towards the end of the day from 5-11pm. Your healthy baby is tired, overstimulated, and starts fussing, crying, and screaming even after trying to console them with everything you knew that worked in the past but they don’t budge and all they want to do is cry like there is no tomorrow. This can last up for hours! Yup! HOURS! And it’s incredibly exhausting not only for your baby but also for you.

It starts around week 2 or 3, it’s said to peak around 6 weeks, and it ends around 3 months! Universe have mercy!

I remember feeling like I had finally figured out how to troubleshoot Leo after those first 2 weeks. I was feeling like a pro and thought things were going to be easy sailing from there on but all of a sudden, BAM! Reality set back in and baby L was fussy, crying, and screaming inconsolably around 2.5 weeks. I felt like a failure the first day this happened after an hour went by and he continued to cry. I couldn’t understand how the whole morning went great and at the end of the day around 7:30 PM all hell broke loose! I fed him, changed his diaper, sang to him, and held him in so many positions it ended up being a workout for me, but I would only get him to calm down for a brief moment before he revved his lungs and the screaming and crying would resume. It was overwhelming! But I was determined to either figure out what was bugging him so much and fix it, or just ride the struggle bus until he felt it was enough fussing and crying.

Here are some tips that helped me. Keep in mind that every baby is different and they all like different things. What works for me might not work for you but it’s worth the try:

#1 Diaper Change

Sometimes is just as simple as they were just uncomfortable because they had their bum resting on a wet diaper.

#2 Feed your baby

Simple, right? Sometimes we forget that babies go through cluster feedings and those times might change, especially if you’re breastfeeding. You might think your baby is just comfort feeding but this could be where your baby is trying to up your milk supply for the following day. Babies need their nutrients when they’re going through a development leap.

#3 Have a look at your baby’s current naps.

Did they get a good sleep during the day which prevents them from being overtired at night? I use the Huckleberry app to track baby L’s sleep to make sure he’s getting enough sleep though out the day.

I haven’t tried any other baby apps but I didn’t need to after I tried the Huckleberry app. It not only allows you to track your baby’s sleep but it also allows you to keep track of what side you fed your baby last and how long. This app has many other helpful features that are incredibly helpful if you’re a first time parent and you’re just trying to keep track of everything your newborn does so you can learn how to troubleshoot them, it helped me immensely!

#4 Over-stimulation

Reduce external variables that might be over stimulating your baby. It could be bright lights, loud sounds, or even the temperature in the room.

Keep in mind that the younger they are, the easier it is to get overstimulated. I learned this lesson the hard way! I remember watching TV in the living room and out of nowhere baby L started crying after I fed him. He was about 2.5 weeks and I figured gas was the culprit. I tried burping him, changing holding positions, massage, you name it! Nothing work!

I was getting frustrated and decided that it was going to be best to leave baby L in the crib and take a little break to compose myself before trying again. The minute we left the living room, baby L’s cry started to slow down and by the time we got to the nursery, he completely got quiet and fell asleep right away! I spent over 30 minutes trying to figure out what he needed when all I needed to do was turn off the TV and keep a quiet environment for him to relax and fall asleep. It’s such a simple thing to do but as a new sleep deprived parent the noise coming from the TV was not even being registered by my brain at the time. Learn from my mistake!

#5 Follow the 5 S's

The magical 5 S’s techniques were and still are techniques I use to calm baby L. I suggest memorizing them as a new parent, they saved me from longer sleepless nights.

#6 Change the scenery

If you can and feel up to it, go outside and expose your baby to some fresh air and light. Take your baby on a walk or get him in that car seat and go for a ride. Sometimes the feeling of fresh air and the warmth of the sun on their skin is what your baby needs to relax.

Don’t worry about your neighbors hearing your baby scream if you go outside, you have a newborn and you got to do what you got to do soothe your baby and keep your sanity…sorry not sorry neighbors!

#7 Gas

Gas from early feedings build up creating that uncomfortable bloated feeling.

Newborns are new at everything and their tiny immature digestive system allow gas to stay trapped causing discomfort.

You will usually see your baby wiggling, squirming, and crying like crazy. I’ve noticed baby L does all the above plus a little bit of back arching. This picture from Healthline which has a great article on Baby Massage for Gas/Colic and explains how to perform a gentle massage on babies who are experiencing gas. Great read!

I came across this article when baby L was going through a major bloating phase and to this day I use these techniques with baby L when I think he’s getting a gas attack.

#8 The most important step: BE KIND TO YOURSELF!

Sometimes babies need to cry it out and you should not blame yourself. So please be kind to yourself, even though it might not feel like it, you’re doing a great job! You’re here! It’s probably the middle of the night, you’re feeding your little one and you’re reading this blog after reading multiple other blogs to figure out what happened earlier when your baby was inconsolable, or you’re holding your inconsolable baby right now trying to figure out how to comfort him/her. You’re a good parent! Be kind to yourself!

Remember that this is just a phase and it will pass as your baby develops or you just learn to get better at handling the situation, either way things will get easier.