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Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Witching "Hour"

The witching "hour" is a real thing, you know.  I googled it.  I think my exact google was "at what age does the witching hour end" and I was praying that the answer would be 7 weeks.  Most websites say that the witching "hour" occurs sometime between 4-10pm, and according to this website (which I actually found to be very helpful and reassuring), it peaks around 6 weeks old (happy 6 weeks today, Craft!) and ends some time between 3-4 months old (noooooooooooooo).  I love the quote from Betsy Shaw that says adults have a witching hour too, which is why God invented the cocktail hour.  Ha!

Some nights, there is no witching "hour" for Craft.  I would say that this has been the case for most of his life so far until recently.  Other nights, it only lasts 30 minutes or an hour.  And then there are nights like tonight (and seemingly every night this week) when it lasts for 3 hours (and it never fails that it always starts just before dinner and continues through the time when Lilly's bedtime routine occurs) and I want to die, which is why I keep putting "hour" in quotations because seriously it can last way more than one hour and I want to die.  It's not only frustrating but absolutely exhausting.  C is truly lucky that he's cute.




For the past two nights, Dan and I have tag-teamed it to battle this phenomenon.  Nothing works, but we still try.  On Tuesday, I thought C was just over-tired and over-stimulated, because on previous nights he had been awake (but not overly fussy) from 6pm-ish to 9pm-ish before going to sleep, but he'd slept a lot during that time period on Tuesday because we went to visit my grandparents.  On Wednesday, I learned that was not, in fact, the case because it happened again.  And then again tonight as well, and luckily for me I was by myself.  NOT.  I had to sit C in his room and let him cry for a few minutes while I put Lilly to bed.  Mother of the year, I know.  I remember this happening with Lilly, but I don't remember it being to this extent (but then again I feel like I blocked out her whole infancy and forgot everything ha!).

There are mixed theories on the cause of the witching hour.  I am convinced that for Craft, the cause is exhaustion.  He yawns the whole time but it's like he's fighting sleep.  So frustrating, because he's literally inconsolable.  It makes me want to drink heavily.

Has anyone else experienced this?  Any tips to get us through?  

Sarah

7 comments:

  1. Sending good vibes your way! Hang in there, these phases go so quick but when you're in the middle of it, it seems like forever. Sofia's "witching hour" was the ENTIRE day. Oh my goodness, that was a trying time. Colic is no joke. You're lucky Craft has only a few hours max of "witching!" ;)

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    1. I am realizing how spoiled we were with Lilly! It could certainly be worse, and Craft is typically a very happy baby but I have come to dread the evenings. I like the days when he surprises me and is happy, ha. I keep hearing that around 3 months things will start to work themselves out, fingers crossed!

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  2. Hang in there! I hardly remember this phase now, but what worked for my son was talking around with him outside and also nursing him. Good luck and hope you find something that works!

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  3. *walking around outside (talking wasn't much help)

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    1. Craft LOVES to be outside, the weather here has just been cold and rainy and crappy! I'm looking forward to it warming up because I think that will help. I also tried nursing but I have found that he will overeat and then be either super gassy or really barfy (and real fussy as a result of either). I know it could be a lot worse but I am thankful for the non-witching-hour nights, however few and far between they are!

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  4. Aiden had a horrible "witching hour" too. I used to run the vacuum cleaner and the exhaust fan on the stove and those seemed to calm him for some strange reason (I think I read that on a website or something). Of course, running the vacuum cleaner constantly might kill it, so I read somewhere to record it and then play the recording. I hope it ends soon! And what a cutie pie he is!!!

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    Replies
    1. I had never thought of that, I play white noise for him a lot and have an app on my phone - he seems to like the hair dryer setting, ha! I will have to remember that for next time. For the past several nights, bouncing furiously on Lilly's trampoline while "shhhing" various Christmas carols has worked. Hilarious, right? The things we do!

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