The Witching Hour
Are you familiar with the witching hour? I’m sure you’ve experienced it with your baby/ies at one point or another, and I can tell you that I have definitely had some bad bouts of the witching hour in my own home.
What is the witching hour?
The witching hour is a period of time in the early evening when your usually content and happy baby, suddenly becomes extremely fussy, inconsolable and hard to soothe.
This is such a stressful and frustrating time of day for parents as they try to figure out how to help and calm their very fussy or crying baby and It can be especially stressful if there are other children in the house who also need you. The witching hour definitely has a mind of its own as it comes and goes as it pleases and usually at the most inconvenient time of day. It’s early evening, the house is bustling, you’re either attempting to do bath or dinner time for your infant and perhaps older children to take care of as well. The scenario becomes quite impossible as you try to navigate a crying baby and everything else you have to do in the house all at once.
But I am here to relieve a little bit of stress for you and tell you that there are things you can absolutely do to reduce the witching hour period altogether.
When do babies start having the witching hour period?
The witching hour can start as early as 2-3 weeks old but usually peaks around 6-8 weeks old, right when that newborn sleepiness starts to wear off. By 3 months of age, you should find that the fussiness of the witching hour starts to subside and your evenings become easier to manage.
What to expect during the witching hour
Increased fussiness & or crying
Not easily soothed
Difficulty settling to sleep
Short catnaps in the evening
Wanting to be held
Difficulty feeding
Cluster feeding
How long does the witching hour last?
It usually starts anywhere from 5 pm and can last until as late as 11 or midnight (sometimes it starts earlier, and sometimes it can end later). I’ve experienced the witching hour as early as 4 pm in my house sometimes.
What causes the witching hour?
Here are the main reasons:
OVER TIREDNESS
Over-tiredness is probably the most common cause of the witching hour. Infants and newborns have a very low threshold of being awake the longest stretch of awake time is usually after the last nap until bedtime where they are most susceptible to becoming overtired and overstimulated. If your baby is not having good quality naps during the day, or is having too much awake time between naps and bedtime, then they are likely getting overtired by early evening, which is causing their witching hour.
Babies who are overtired usually seem unrested, restless and even wired thanks to the hormone cortisol that builds up and gives your baby a nice adrenaline boost or a second wind. Awake windows that are too long for his/her age and more than what they can handle.
Causes for over tiredness:
Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep for naps
Insufficient daytime sleep
Short naps/catnaps of 30-45 minutes.
Disrupted sleep and uneasily settled or soothed after waking shortly into a nap.
UNDERTIREDNESS
who are under tired may also be fussy and hard to settle jus like overtired babies. Evening is coming so your little one is done for the day, likely overstimulated, restless with pent up energy but not tired enough to settle to sleep.
Causes for under tiredness:
Too much daytime sleep
Too many long naps Too many short cat naps
Not enough awake time between naps Not enough activity/sunshine
Low sleep pressure
You want to be mindful of your baby’s sleep during the day, making sure they are not oversleeping. Make sure your baby is getting enough daytime activity, whether that’s in the form of tummy time, gentle baby exercise, getting outside for fresh air. You want to help build much needed sleep pressure in order for them to sleep well.
OVERSTIMULATION
Young infants and newborns are susceptible to becoming very overstimulated by noises, lights and people, especially as the days wears on and especially if your baby is overtired and did not sleep well.
You want to make sure you are decreasing as much stimulation as possible by lowering the noise level, dimming the lights, etc…bring your baby into a dark room, swaddle or use motion to help them calm if they seem especially overstimulated and fussy.
HUNGER
Babies can have a growing appetite come late afternoon/early evening, especially if they are nursing every 2-3 hours throughout the day. This can be do to growth spurt and because your baby exerted a lot of energy during the day, or maybe mom’s milk supply takes a dip at this time of day (this is normal by the way) which can make your baby increasingly fussy.
If you need to, top your baby off with a pre-bedtime feeding to help alleviate some of that hunger. You may also choose to cluster feed if you need to to help your baby get over that hump of being hungry in those early evening hours.
GAS
Infants and newborns often take in air when they eat and this can cause some discomfort, indigestion and trapped gas. It build up throughout the day and come evening time, your infant may be exceptionally fussy and uncomfortable because of it.
If you do have a baby with a sensitive tummy who is prone to gas and fussiness, I recommend taking extra measures throughout the day to burp halfway through the feeding, do a few extra bicycle kicks and exercises to help relieve that gas. Tummy time is a great way to naturally relieve your little one of gas and built up air bubbles that may be trapped.
REFLUX
Reflux can be a huge contributing factor to the witching hour. Reflux is when stomach acid and milk come back up the oesophagus, the acid causes pain as it burns the oesophagus and throat, not nice for your little one. It can cause your baby to have inadequate and insufficient feedings resulting in cluster feeding or snack-feeding throughout the day and toward the early evening hours. This feeding pattern leaves babies feeling very frustrated and fussy, as they aren’t taking in full feedings and constantly wanting to snack.
Firstly, try and get the reflux under control by speaking to your pediatrician. Secondly, do your best to follow an ‘eat, play, sleep’ routine, as this can really help babies with reflux by eliminating constant snack-feeding, allowing for more time in between feedings so baby can digest the food properly and build up an appetite for a proper full feeding.
How to help my baby during this time?
As mentioned above, there are ways to significantly reduce the crying during the witching hour period and even prevent it altogether. Here are 10 things that will help your baby have an easier time during this period.
Reduce stimulation
Go outside for fresh air
Prevent over-tiredness and under tiredness by following an age-appropriate schedule
Offer a pre bed time feeding or cluster feed to prevent hunger if necessary.
Offer a warm bath
Distractions like a pacifier, a change of scenery, soft music, put them in a bouncy seat, change your baby’s position, etc…
Swaddle in a dark room for newborns
Skin to skin
Use motion
Ask for help.
