Witching Hour

End Baby’s Witching Hours — In 4 Simple Steps

The witching hours are so difficult! Here’s why it happens and how to get past it without losing your marbles.

I remember when my second child was just a few weeks old.

Things had been going well… it wasn’t my first rodeo… I thought I was completely prepared.

Then the witching hours started…

It actually took me a few weeks of off and on craziness before I even realized what they were. I was trying this and that and freaking out and imagining he’d cry for hours until he was 3 and let’s just say…

I was wiped out and desperate.

Then one evening I Googled exactly what was happening and – lo and behold – this evening fussiness had a name.

It’s name was The Witching Hour. Or… if it persisted for quite a while… The Witching Hours.

Read: 8 Reasons You’ve Got A Whiny Baby (And How To Fix It!)

The Witching Hour Baby — How To Deal

So let’s dive right in since you are tired and likely holding a baby during the witching hours right now. Am I right?

This is a great time to break out your daily baby log and start getting a handle on what’s happening.

Oh but first… here are some signs your baby is having witching hours:

A normally content baby seems to cry and cry for no discernible reason, usually in the early evening to late evening.

A few nights a week, baby will find it hard to settle to bed and will cry for a few hours, usually in the 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. time window.

Nothing that will normally settle baby (feeding, rocking, in a swing, etc.) seems to have any affect.

Baby will cluster feed but still not really settle down.

Is that your witching hour baby?

Read on…

Step 1 – Evaluate Your Routine (it does affect witching hours)

One of the biggest potential reasons your baby has witching hours is over stimulation and over tiredness.

This means by the early evening to nighttime period baby is worn out and hyped up.

Has your baby had sufficient naps throughout the day? Here are some sample baby schedules that work and help reduce fussiness.

Make sure baby is not overtired because overtired babies have a very difficult time settling down.

If they don’t nap well throughout the day then, by early evening, they are well and truly worn out.

Read: How to Stop Contact Naps (Peacefully)- and What to Do Instead

Family Practices & Contribution

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Sleep Little Lamb (Ages 0-5)

Moms will walk away with a step-by-step sleep plan tailored to their child’s age and needs, designed to improve sleep within 3 days to 2 weeks.

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This means the standard methods to settle just don’t seem to work.

Morning naps are the most important of the day, get that one right.

Figure out your baby’s awake window, meaning the time they are able to stay awake after they begin feeding until they become overtired (they start crying, whining or fussing). Then, always put then down to nap throughout the day within this window.

Don’t keep them up just to make them sleep better at night. That is a LIE and does not work with basically all babies. Babies who are over tired do not go to sleep or stay asleep well. They just don’t. And if they do conk out quickly, they usually wake up inconsolable soon after.

Read: The Baby Sleeping Myth That Backfires Every Time

Step 2 – Cluster Feed During The Witching Hours

Babies also get into witching hours because your milk supply is low. The wear and tear of the day and stress of having a newborn can catch up with a mama’s milk by late afternoon early evening.

This can mean baby is feeding for the same amount of time, but not actually getting the calorie rich hind milk.

So the answer?

Clusterfeed.

Instead of feeling like you’re breaking your newborn routine, add some cluster feeds into the routine.

Here’s what a cluster feed looks like with a little one.

Read: 7 Simple Reasons Why Your Baby Won’t Nap & What To Do

3:30 pm – Feed baby

4:30 pm – Nap

5:30 pm – Feed baby

7:30 pm – Feed baby and put to bed

9:30 pm – Feed baby while still sleeping

11:30 pm – Feed baby (called a dream feed) then put back to bed

Of course, this is just an example.

But if the reason for the witching hours is low milk supply, doing this type of routine for a few days will increase your supply and help baby to settle.

Within a few days you’ll know if hunger was the culprit.

Read: Cocooning a Newborn & 7 Reasons Why it Can Be Good For The Family

Read These While You’re At It

Cluster Feeding Newborns: Do’s & Dont’s (& How To Do It Right)

quick and easy sleep tips to help your newborn sleep well for the long run

How To Get Your Newborn To Sleep Well From Day One

clusterfeeding a newborn, clusterfeed newborn baby

The Dream Feed: The Why, The How, & When To Stop

Step 3 – Note Fussiness Patterns

Witching hours are mysterious.

Sometimes, the truth is, you try All The Things and nothing works.

These are true witching hours.

This means it’s something similar to colic (or baby reflux). It comes out of nowhere, makes you fear you’ll never survive the newborn period, then goes away just as quickly.

So observe baby and answer this…

Is baby mostly content all the time and well rested but then – in the evening hours – cries inconsolably?

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This 10-day reset will help you uncover what’s wearing you down (spoiler: it’s not just lack of sleep), set boundaries without guilt, and finally create space to breathe again. Because burnout isn’t your personality—it’s a signal things need to change.

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If your answer is yes then you’ve got a case of the Witching Hours on your hands.

Alternatively, if your baby is fussy a lot during the day and struggles sleeping at both naps, evening time, and throughout the night, then it’s probably not witching hours.

It’s probably something routine, sleep, or discomfort related.

Read: Baby Bedtime: 4 Essential Elements To Success

Step 4 – Comfort Baby Through The Tough Witching Hours

So let’s recap…

If baby is fussy all day and doesn’t sleep well… focus on baby’s routine.
Next, if baby is pretty calm all day and rests well, but gets irritable and fussy in the late afternoon, early evening… first try cluster feeding.
Or, if baby is pretty calm except during witching hours and cluster feeding doesn’t seem to help… you’ve got Witching Hours on your hands and you just gotta get through it.

You love baby. And, of course, it hurts to see baby upset.

It also hurts your nervous system to have an upset baby that won’t settle.

It feels lose lose.

But you can be there for baby, comfort baby, and practice honing in your parenting intuition skills as you progress through the witching hours.

Remember, they will NOT last forever and will probably be well and truly gone by the 3 month mark give or take.

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In this workshop, you’ll ditch the “I don’t have time” excuse and build a flexible, doable self-care plan that fits into your real life. Because taking care of yourself shouldn’t feel like another thing on your to-do list.

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Get a stuffed animal pacifier (shown below). If your baby will take it, that’ll help.

Carry, wear, or sit with baby if you can. If you have other little ones and aren’t able, let your spouse have a go. He’s not doing you a favor watching the kids, after all.

Use a swing. I do not recommend putting baby to sleep every nap with a swing as this is a big sleep prop, but during witching hours, anything that comforts baby goes.

If this is your only baby or you don’t have any in school, use this as time for an evening stroll. Baby may calm down to the rhythm of the stroller or carrier and fresh air often helped my kids when they were feeling fussy.

To Wrap It Up… How To Help Your Tired Baby

I want you to take this to heart: you comforting, trying to soothe, and being there for your baby is just the thing that good mothers do.

Right now and as they age, you won’t be able to always do the exact thing that makes them perfectly happy at all times.

Even if you always knew what that thing was – which you won’t – that isn’t an expectation you can set for yourself.

You do the things I’ve shared in this post and you’ll cut the number of witching hours down to a minimum.

Also, you’ll set yourself up to have a baby who sleeps well.

You cannot underestimate the positive effects of a baby who sleeps well in a home.

Read: The Nap Trap- How to Deal with It and Not Resist It

Basic baby sleep tips for sleep deprived mamas…

Follow the eat, play, sleep rhythm. This means you feed baby, let them stay awake a bit, then put them down. This helps them learn to sleep on their own which saves baby (and you) hours of tears and exhaustion.
Set this morning habit and do it daily. It’s the easiest way to get babies to sleep later.
Have a good baby bedtime routine.
Make the nap and bedtime routines full of positive sleep associations, not sleep props.
Don’t fall for the biggest baby sleep myth of all.

You can do this, mama!

Can newborns have witching hours?

The answer is yes. In fact, it’s usually in this newborn period up until about 3 months of age that babies have the witching hours. After that, it levels off.

When do witching hours end?

They usually end around the 3 month mark, but might end sooner. Babies will really have a lot of crying in the evenings if they are hungry or if you don’t quite have enough milk.

Can a low milk supply cause witching hours?

It can cause fussiness and irritability, yes. However, if baby is fine some evenings and appears full and content, then a few evenings a week seems to be going through fussiness, then it’s likely NOT hunger, but the vaguely mysterious witching hours.

How do I comfort a baby during the witching hours?

You bring comfort to baby any way you know how. Cuddling, carrying baby, putting baby in an infant seat, offering the pacifier and, basically, waiting baby out.

Why do babies have witching hours?

While there isn’t one specific answer to this question and it can vary from baby to baby, there are some developmental strides taking place that could lead to witching hours. Some possible causes include: overstimulation, fatigue, digestive immaturity leading to evening discomfort, circadian rhythm development as they develop their internal body clock among others.

How can parents cope with the stress of witching hours?

Know that this too shall pass. Take shifts with your spouse to care for the baby during witching hours, delegate tasks to family and friends to lessen your burden, create a soothing environment for you and baby, express your emotions, and practice self-care to help rejuvenate your spirit.

Sources:

Is Witching Hour The Same As Colic?

Is witching hour the same as colic or are they different? let’s figure out which one it is so you what to do.

Here comes the evening hours and you are gearing up for some tears. Baby is fussy, inconsolable, not wanting to sleep, and you’ll try ANYTHING to try and get baby some relief.

The question is… if you want to put a name on it.

Is it witching hours or colic?

Can you tell a difference?

The answer is: yes.

As a certified baby and toddler sleep consultant and mom of 5 I can tell you that there’s a difference. Having had 5 babies, none of which had colic, but all of which had witching hours from time to time, you can know.

baby crying during witching hour with colic

How to know if baby crying every night is colic or witching hours

Colic is diagnosed by doctors if baby cries for something like 3 hours at a time, at least 3 nights a week, for 3 weeks or more.

There is little to do to comfort a baby with colic except wait for time to pass. One day, around 3 to 4 months you’ll wake up one day and baby will simply not be fussy. Not be crying. They’ll go to bed, sleep, be comforted, and you’ll feel like it was all a bad dream.

Moms survive this period by having help, getting ear plugs if needed, switching out who tries to soothe baby while crying, and a lot of prayer.

How to know if it’s witching hours

Witching hours can last a couple of hours, but they are more random. It may be a night or two a week, but you can usually soothe baby and comfort her.

A good daily routine, an age appropriate bedtime, and wind down routines can go a long way to preventing witching hours. Settle baby in their own crib, give full feeds, and avoid over stimulation. These strategies help witching hours be less frequent and can even eliminate them.

If you move bedtime up, have a good wind down routine, create an optimal sleep environment, help baby settle to sleep and are sure baby is well rested, baby will typically be content.

If you do all these things and nothing works… it’s likely colic.

Sometimes overtiredness manifests as witching hours or even colic

A great starting point if you have a baby who is having witching hours (or you’re trying to rule out colic) in the evening time is to get on a good predictable daily routine. You don’t have to be a slave to the clock or anything, okay.

Don’t send me hate mail.

But, making sure baby’s needs are met in a predictable way means that your baby won’t really need to cry much throughout the day, nor at night. Babies who won’t nap and are super worn out often fuss in the evening hours.

Sleep begets sleep.

Focusing on good naps during the day, good full feeds, and avoiding over stimulation in the evening hours can often eliminate all evening crying.

You still may have some tears, but not nearly as many.

Read all about witching hours and how to eliminate them in 4 steps here

Read These While You’re At It

Do Toddlers Have A Witching Hour?

Why Does My Baby Cry At The Same Time Every Day?

Why Is My Baby Crying At Night All Of A Sudden?

End Baby’s Witching Hours — In 4 Simple Steps

Read: The Top 10 Indicators It’s Time to Sleep Train

Do Toddlers Have A Witching Hour?

If your toddler is acting like they’re having a witching hour, it’s time to rework their daily schedule for more peace.

Maybe you’ve got a toddler who seems to be melting down, throwing fits, avoiding bedtimes, getting second winds, and being unreasonable. In the sense they aren’t making sense.

You know what I mean.

Perhaps they’re just having a large time of melodrama at a particular interval. You probably wonder if your toddler is having witching hours.

toddler lying on floor having a witching hour

So is my toddler having witching hours or is it just a meltdown?

This is the right question. As a certified baby and toddler sleep consultant I can tell you something. Witching hours are real but they’re usually something little babies have.

Now, toddlers can have their own form of this but it’s usually as a result of overtiredness. Or staying up too late past bedtime. And getting a second wind which makes them appear hyper and not tired at all.

Which is just not true. They just need to be put to bed before they hit that high.

Do witching hours (or regular meltdowns) go away on their own?

Most babies will grow out of witching hours when they are established in good daily naps, good bedtime routines, and are not overtired at bedtimes. Most babies past 4 months old don’t have witching hours unless they have unpredictable days and are overtired.

Toddlers, on the other hand, can meltdown for a variety of reasons. And if they’re having regular meltdowns at the same time every day, THAT’S GOOD NEWS. It means the issue will be easy to isolate.

Read: Is Sleep Training a Baby Bad or Dangerous? Let’s Talk Facts!

Is toddler melting down around bedtime?

If your toddler is regularly melting down at bedtime, I’d move bedtime up 30 minutes. Start the bedtime routine earlier, is possible, and then have your little one into the bed 30 minutes before they previously were. This will help beat them to the overtiredness.

This will also prevent them from getting a second wind which causes a whole host of other issues. And causes them to be much more resistant to go to bed, you get into power struggles, and bedtime becomes a battle instead of a lovely peaceful thing.

Read: Quiet time (Rest time) for Toddlers: All You Need to Know

Is your toddler waking up and having “witching hours” in the night?

As said before, witching hours don’t really happen to toddlers and certainly not in the middle of the night. However, if your toddler IS waking in the middle of the night, or after a few hours of sleep and wanting to come out of their beds, etc. then it’s time to do some sleep intervention.

By sleep intervention I mean a formal type of sleep training that helps teach them to stay in their beds. When done correctly they feel safe, happy, and don’t wake up and call for you. They simply sleep through.

Read: 7 Simple Reasons Why Your Baby Won’t Nap & What To Do

Sometimes around this age toddlers will get some separation anxiety, but the solution isn’t to intervene heavily at night. It’s too create security and safety during the day, and keep boundaries for the night.

Click here to learn more

Read These While You’re At It

End Baby’s Witching Hours — In 4 Simple Steps

Is Witching Hour The Same As Colic?

Why Does My Baby Cry At The Same Time Every Day?

Why Is My Baby Crying At Night All Of A Sudden?

If your baby has started crying at night all of a sudden, there could be a few reasons, let’s figure them out one by one.

If your baby has started crying at night all of a sudden, there could be a few things happening. The things like sickness, ear ache, teething, etc. need to be ruled out because those are typically one off things that can be resolved within a day or two.

But if you’ve got a precious baby crying at night all of a sudden and it’s not that, well, we need to dig a little deeper.

Is baby crying at night all of a sudden during the witching hours?

If your baby is a few weeks old and suddenly starts crying in those later afternoon and early evening hours (or sometimes the 7pm to 9pm hours) then it could likely be witching hours.

Here is how to get through the witching hours – if you determine that’s the issue – but sometimes it’s not that. Sometimes baby is a bit older, has been going through everything fine, and then ALL OF A SUDDEN the sleep ain’t happening.

Read: The Top 10 Indicators It’s Time to Sleep Train

Is baby crying all of a sudden out of hunger?

There comes a time – typically around 5 to 7 months of age – when baby is simply more hungry. Infant nutrition needs morph as they grow and by 6 months most babies are absolutely ready to be eating solids. Not 1 or 2 tablespoons a day, but at 3 meals a day.

Including protein, which incidentally, helps baby sleep.

So if baby is crying all of a sudden at night or throughout the night, having night wakings when they haven’t in a long time, I’d rule out hunger. Offer more feeds during the day and add in solids and work to help baby eat a good amount.

If you’re still feeding at night, give baby full feeds. Don’t let babe snack for 5 minutes then back to sleep because you’ll do that on and off all night if what they really need is a good amount of milk.

Read These While You’re At It

Do Toddlers Have A Witching Hour?

End Baby’s Witching Hours — In 4 Simple Steps

Is Witching Hour The Same As Colic?

Why Does My Baby Cry At The Same Time Every Day?

Is baby crying at night all of a sudden due to a change in routine or circumstances?

Often babies will become overstimulated and need an earlier bedtime. If baby has dropped a nap and then is crying at normal bedtime, may be time to move that bedtime up a bit.

Has someone started caring for baby other than you? Maybe they do things differently during the day and baby is more worn out.

Perhaps baby needs more exercise. Sometimes we think babies don’t need to move and play, but they do! Tummy time, back time on a blanket, or play gyms. Or even just cuddling and playing with other siblings will help baby use up some of their energy.

Read These While You’re At It

12 Medical Reasons Your Baby’s Not Sleeping (With Symptoms Of Each)

7 Reasons Your Baby Still Wakes Up At Night – And What To Do

Separation Anxiety At Bedtime – Calm Solutions For Peaceful Sleep

Read: Is Sleep Training a Baby Bad or Dangerous? Let’s Talk Facts!

As always, get to the root of the issue and you’ll find the solution.

Why Does My Baby Cry At The Same Time Every Day?

Babies often cry at the same time every day because they’re tired, they’re hungry, or they’re having witching hours. Read on to see more.

If your baby is crying at the same time every day, this is a much easier problem to have than a baby who is fussy all day every day.

As a mom of 5 and certified baby and toddler sleep consultant, trust me.

Depending on the time, there are a few likely reasons why your baby cries at the same time every day.

If your baby cries at the same time every day in the late afternoon / evening period then…

When 5 or 6 pm comes around (sometimes 7 or 8pm depending on the baby) and your baby starts crying, you can typically think it’s a few main things.

First, it could be their witching hours. Witching hours are a super fussy time in that evening hour. They’re typically hard to console but can be minimized and prevented with a good routine, avoiding overtiredness, and getting baby to bed at a good hour.

Read here on how to end baby’s witching hour in 4 steps.

If your baby cries at the same time every morning or during the day then…

If you have a routine down pat for your baby then it’s easy to decipher what cries mean. If baby cries at a certain time, is fed, then perks up, you know it’s hunger. They’re crying as a signal they want to eat.

On the other hand, some babies will cry when they’re tired and then crying at a certain time means they need a nap.

So a good consistent daily routine that helps all of their needs be met in a timely manner will always help you decipher why baby is crying. Crying at very random times unexpectedly clues you in something else is happening as well.

Read: Is Sleep Training a Baby Bad or Dangerous? Let’s Talk Facts!

If baby cries at the same time every night then…

Often babies who aren’t able to transition through sleep cycles on their own have to cry to get mom to come to their aid. They want mom to do whatever it is mom did to GET them to sleep so they can go BACK to sleep.

For some babies, there’s a feed to sleep association. Meaning mom has to feed baby to get them to calm down and get to sleep. If that’s the case, they may wake up at the same time every night as a habit, to feed, to then calm down and go back to sleep.

Read on witching hours and how to cope here

Read These While You’re At It

Do Toddlers Have A Witching Hour?

End Baby’s Witching Hours — In 4 Simple Steps

Is Witching Hour The Same As Colic?

Why Is My Baby Crying At Night All Of A Sudden?