Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Witching Hour?!?
I have heard moms talking about a newborn syndrome called the "witching hour". This is when a newborn baby cries or is fussy at a certain time at night. It can start anywhere from 4:00 in the afternoon and last until 10:00 at night. The baby is almost inconsolable. (To find out more, google "baby witching hour"). I always wondered what caused it and how you "fix" it. I also wondered if all babies do this or if it was just a mild exaggeration from sleep deprived mommies. My sweet angels will be one month old this Friday. For the past two weeks my little Tripp starts getting really cranky around 7:00 pm and usually calms down around the 9:00 feeding. We discovered that he has some reflux problems and I thought initially that his fussiness was his reflux acting up. Our pediatrician prescribed medicine to help that and he is still super fussy. It dawned on me today that maybe what is going on with Tripp may be what some moms call the witching hour. Some nights are better than others. Sometimes he just whines and squirms and wants to be held. Other nights, he screams as if he is in pain and starving (even after he has just eaten). So now I am left wondering...is Tripp experiencing the newborn witching hour or could it be his reflux making him uncomfortable? It is weird to me that while he is pitching fits his sister, Ella Harper, is usually fast asleep nearby. If it is the witching hour fussiness, what can this mommy do to help? What has worked for you or do you even believe in the whole "witching hour" tale? Also, answer my new polls...inquiring minds want to know!
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Caleb went through the same sort of thing when he was first born- extra fussy and cranky from around 7 or 8 till 10 or so. We called him a baby crab apple! It might be colic. Have you ever heard of the 5 S techniques in a book called The Happiest Baby on the Block? 1) Swaddle 2) hold him where his stomach is against yours 3) Sway back and forth with a little bounce 4) Say shhh over and over as loud as his crying i (sounds of the womb) 5) give him something to suck on. If you do these 5 things in this order, it usually works... at least it did for us! Now, if Caleb gets fussy and all other options don't work- change, feed, play, etc. I can start this process and he is calm with just the first 3 steps! Good Luck!!
ReplyDelete- Melissa Whitfield
Ok...let me try this post again.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of the witching hour. I even had to google it. Very, very interesting...
Melissa gave some great suggestions. I can remember when HG first started having trouble sleeping. We bought this little teddy bear at Target. It attached to the side of the crib, but was also soft and cuddly for when she got older and could have it in bed with her. It had a little switch on the back, and when you turned it on it made the sound of a heartbeat. It was supposed to be a very calming, soothing sound for babies since they'd just spent the last nine months in mom's tummy listening to her heartbeat. It worked for a while. You might want to check it out.