Babys First Year Blog
Wolf Has A Wee Witching Hour
It's hard to imagine this sweet face ever gets sad.
We’ve gotten pretty lucky {knock on wood} and Wolf is a pretty easy baby. Sure, he does his fair share of complaining when his needs aren’t being met, but for the most part we get by without too many teary days. Lately I’ve been noticing that Wolf is really fussy late in the evening, right before he goes down to sleep for the night. He gets bored quicker than the usual, he wants to be held and played with and he fusses and whines. Some evenings are better than others but sometimes he can be a big grump. I’m beginning to think Wolf has a wee witching hour.
Seems like a lot of moms that I talk to refer to the so-called witching hour with their fussy babies. The witching hour is your baby’s way of releasing a day’s worth of pent up energy before he or she gets ready for a longer stretch of sleep. Wolf definitely has a wee witching hour and it’s a little hard on me. By the time I get home from work, we play for a bit then he’s ready for a nap, then when he wakes up again, he’s grumpy. I’m convinced that developing a routine will help with his fussy evenings. I already dim the lights and read him a story, but I’m thinking of incorporating a little baby massage too. Plus, we’ll get more time together -– hopefully happy time!
What do you think about the witching hour? What do you do to calm your normally happy baby before bedtime?
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6 Comments
michella commented on Sep 16 11 at 5:44 pmmy little one is only 5 weeks so not much routine yet but he loves baths. so a bath, some baby massage, singing then nursing really seem to set the tone for sleepy time. most nights anyways.
bayley commented on Sep 16 11 at 6:15 pmTry the massage; my baby (now 5.5 months old) has been getting one every night since he was a week old (we joke that he has had more massages than a Chinese businessman), and it’s a really sweet and relaxing time. He never fusses or wiggles excessively during the massage, and he’s always ready for bedtime afterwards. I recommend Weleda or some other baby massage oil–makes the whole process more slippery, aromatic and fun.
Alyssa commented on Sep 16 11 at 6:39 pmOnce we stopped the late afternoon (post 4:00) nap and starting putting our son to bed earlier (6:30 or 7) the “witching hour” disappeared. It was like magic. I highly recommend “Healthy Sleep, Happy Child”. It change my life and helped us develop a routine that helps avoid crankiness!
Lauren commented on Sep 16 11 at 7:21 pmHave you tried taking him outside? Maybe an evening walk or just sitting out on the patio with him….it seemed if all else failed c would always calm down if I walked him outside.
Rosstwinmom commented on Sep 17 11 at 5:23 pmOne night with my twins was so awful at the witching hour that my husband came home to them each crying in their swing and me on the floor between them crying too. He sent me out for a walk.
Fenke commented on Oct 15 11 at 3:30 amour son had a witching hour – but is wasn’t wee at all. he sometimed cried straight four 45 minutes or longer – and you can imagine that this would feel like HOURS. nothing has really helped, but we just accepted it, carried him around and waited until it was over. actually us trying to find something that would fix the situation made everything even more fuzzy. after some weeks noa was over the whole thing and everything was back to normal. “everything is just a phase” that really is true. before you can actually think of a “solution” the “problem” is already over. (i try not to think of every bump in the road as a problem that has to be solved, it really helps to stay relaxed.)
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