Tips for Managing Infant Witching Hour: Guide for Parents

Editor: Nidhi Sood on Nov 27,2024

The sound of the witching hour can send shivers down another parent's spine. For many parents, the most problematic part of the day is when their ordinarily quiet child is inconsolable. Understanding this phase is vital for new parents, providing peace of mind and effective ways to deal with it. Let's explore the mysteries of the baby witching hour, discover its causes, identify its symptoms, and explore soothing techniques to help you and your baby through this difficult time.

What is Infant Witching Hour?

The "witching hour" usually begins in the second or third week of life and occurs in the evening, usually from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., when the day is over and you think your child will be ready for rest and sleep. Instead, their full-throated cries will overwhelm you this time.

Crying is perfectly natural and the only communication mode available with babies. Yet many newborns notoriously begin their fussy streak in the late evening but peak from week 6 to week 8. The witching hour is sometimes associated with colicky behavior, in which a baby may cry for 2 to 3 hours uninterrupted. If the infant doesn't settle down after a more extended period, it is advisable to visit a pediatrician to rule out other possibilities.

Why the Infant Witching Hour Is Important

The infant witching hour is a significant source of stress for new parents, who usually feel so helpless and overwhelmed. However, one needs to know about this stage for the following reasons: First, they knew that this behavior typically boosts their confidence as parents and reassures them that their baby is healthy and nothing is wrong with them.

Understanding the causes allows parents to develop effective comforting methods, making the period more manageable. Successful hiding helps strengthen the parent's attachment to the child. Understanding and acknowledging the challenges of the witching hour helps parents face this transition with relative ease and confidence.

Suggested read: Understanding Infant Gas Symptoms, Causes, and Remedies

Causes of Infant Witching Hour

While the exact cause of the witching hour is uncertain, several theories suggest why the phenomenon occurs:

• Overstimulation: New sounds and experiences can cause babies to become overstimulated, which can cause them to be fussy in the evening; common signs include pulling their chest, an arched back, and a red face.
• Digestive problems: The pain of colic or gas during this time can be intense, which causes hysterical episodes of crying.
• Growth spurts: As babies achieve new milestones, they eat more often, hence cluster feeding and aggression.
• Immature nervous system: Newborns develop muscles that can be overwhelming; hence, soothing is quite challenging.

Signs of the Infant Witching Hour

Knowing the signs of the witching hour can help parents be prepared and responsive.

• Increased crying: The crying begins in the late afternoon or evening and continues for several hours
• Trouble soothing: Conventional relaxing methods, such as feeding or rocking the baby, may not be effective.
• Restlessness: Babies may appear restless, fussy, or with their backs arched
• Feeding changes: Some babies refuse to eat, while others want to eat more often
• General temper tantrums: Babies seem more irritable and uncomfortable than usual

How Long Does the Infant Witching Hour Last?

Witching hours usually begin when babies are about 2 to 3 weeks old and can last 3 to 4 months. They typically last during the day or evening, from about 5 to 11 p.m. They can vary in duration and severity from baby to baby, with some experiencing shorter, less intense fussiness and others experiencing more protracted periods of agitation.

Parents must find strength in knowing that this is just one of the phases every baby faces and will move out when they grow and develop. Calming techniques during the witching hour can make the hour more bearable for you and your baby.

How to Calm an Infant During the Witching Hour

Heightened vigilance is needed with the witching hour fraught with waiting and an array of comfort strategies. Here are some strategies that can help:

• Swaddling: Wrapping your baby snugly in a blanket can provide a sense of security and comfort, mimicking the womb's environment.
• White Noise: White noise machines or apps calm a fussy newborn by replicating the calming sounds they hear in the womb.
• Movement: Soft rocking, bouncing, or strolling with the baby in a stroller with or without the carrier may soothe them.
• Feeding: Offering a feeding, even if it's earlier than usual, can sometimes help calm a fussy baby.
• Pacifiers: Sucking on a pacifier is a comfort for many babies that is associated with relaxation.
• Bathing: A warm bath is calming and may also help distract a fussy baby.
• Using dim lights: Decreasing the lighting can calm a hyperactive baby and prepare it for sleep.
• Skin-to-Skin Contact: Close skin-to-skin contact with the baby soothes the baby and helps maintain body temperature and heart rate.
• Routine: Developing a regular evening routine helps your baby feel calm and secure.

Difference Between Purple Crying, Witching Hour, and a Colic

One can make distinctions between purple crying, witching hour, and colic. However, these three differ from one another in different aspects as much as they chase similar types of causes and symptoms. Purple crying is a word for the early period in the infant's life, covering about two weeks to 3 to 4 months after birth, characterized by prolonged, inconsolable, unanticipated crying at any time during the day. The main difference is that. The witching hour represents a particular time of day, typically evening or night.

Colic, on the other hand, is characterized by unexplained and excessive crying in an otherwise healthy infant for at least three hours a day, three days a week, for three weeks or longer. They all have escalated intertentacular cry, but colic is more acute and protracted. The purple crying is a more comprehensive developmental period, whereas the witching hour is observed daily during a particular time frame.

While all three include periods of heightened crying, colic is the most severe and persistent, purple crying is a more general phase of development, and the witching hour is an everyday occurrence over a certain period. Colic is said to be excessive, unexplained crying in a normal, healthy baby that lasts over three hours a day, three days a week, for three weeks or more.

When All Else Fails: Getting Help in the Baby Witching Hour

Do not feel shy about using your partner, family, or friends when struggling with that magical witching hour. It passes through one much quicker, better, and with much more confidence with someone by one's side. Consulting your pediatrician or a lactation consultant can yield valuable resources and recommendations to help calm your baby during that time of day.

It is, after all, okay to seek help and take breaks when necessary. Self-care is, after all, the most critical aspect of taking care of your baby during the witching hour. Help and support might be in the right place to ease Bou and the little one through this time.

Conclusion

This is indeed a testing time for babies and parents. However, proper understanding and strategies will help you manage it effectively. The witching hour is the average time most infants go through, and it will gradually pass with the growth of babies. So, stay patient, positive, and calm during this time. Seek support if you feel that you need it. Implementing these basic guidelines for parents will make the infant witching hour more manageable for you and your little one.

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