Hellobee Boards

I'm not voting because it hasn't totally ended yet but she isn't quite 8 weeks. I refuse to say it didn't go away!

But yeah, like @Pepper: the only thing that helps is cluster feeding. Once I accepted that I just need to feed her every hour before bedtime it got easier. And yes it's crazy how the switch just suddenly flips. It's like I can feel the fight just go right out of her and she is out like a light.

Bouncing her while sitting on an exercise ball helps a lot. I usually give her to Dh to bounce for 20 minutes or so in between feeding her. It is getting better lately but we aren't out of it.

It hasn't gone away, but it has gotten better. We started giving her a bath every night as a result (we only use soap every other night) because the warm water really helps calm her down. That and cluster feeding are the only things that have worked for us.

I'm still in it. Ugh!

@lawbee11: I'm in Australia so it might be a bit different here, but I just got them at the pharmacy. Most of our pharmacies have midwife calling hours (certain hours during the week when a midwife is available to answer walk in questions) so I went in with the intent of asking about gas drops. The MW told me I could ever treat the symptoms (gas drops) or treat the cause (probiotics). She led me to the probiotics, which were kept in the refrigerated section of the pharmacy, and off we went. I'm sure you could go in to a Walgreens or CVS and ask a pharmacist about them...at least I hope so!

I'm sorry my answer is probably not the most helpful. I know there are bees based in the US who have used them so hopefully one of them can provide a more helpful response, specific to the US!

@lawbee11: I need to start nightly baths. I swear they help us too I just can't get my act together enough for every night!

@lawbee11: our LO loves her baths too. She'd stay in there all night if we let her! Apparently it relaxes yours quite a bit lol!

We got rid of our witching hour by starting a routine and cluster feeding. Also, 5 weeks was when LO went through a heck of a growth spurt and wanted to eat all. the. time. Hang in there!!

Witching "hour" over here lasted from 6-10pm like clockwork for about 12 weeks, then it went away. LO had colic and some digestive issues, and in the end, I think that it just took time and digestive maturation to get over the witching hour.

Probiotics did help us as well. Colic water, gas drops, bicycling, hot baths all helped some, too but everyone was hit or miss.

Good luck, it does generally pass! LO was *not* *not* *not* an easy baby, but she is a super, duper easy toddler.

My daughter's witching hour started between 7-8 and ended between 9-10...every night like clockwork. She'd cry and cry and then magically fall asleep like she hadn't been trying to kill us for an hour+. I think it started around 6 weeks and ended around 11/12 weeks.

I want to say our "witching hours" lasted about 2 months (though, it would come and go and not always be so intense.) I would take lots of walks outside with her in the baby carrier. And as pp said, cluster-feed. Hang in there!

Ended around 9-10 weeks for us.

Ended around 10 weeks for us!

I agree with @rahlyrah--starting a a routine did wonders for her nighttime fussiness. Now she's typically only fussy for half an hour whereas it used to be up to two hours.

@Foodnerd81: We start our routine at 8:00. We do bath at 8 (I use soap every other night; on nights we don't do soap I add Aveeno calming bath to the water). I wash her hair every night because she has so much hair and it gets oily quickly. If your LO doesn't have much hair I think you could definitely skip the head washing. After bath I dry her off then take her into our room (she sleeps in a PNP in our room). I turn off all lights but one dim lamp. I turn on the white noise machine then give her a lotion massage (she is usually fussy by this point, but as soon as I turn on the dohm she calms down...it's like she knows lotion and nursing is coming!). After that I put on her pjs, swaddle, then nurse. She falls asleep nursing then I burp her. She is usually asleep and in PNP by 8:30-8:45.

DH is home most nights, but I pretty much do it alone even when he's home. I find the less interaction/stimulation the better.

Our LO did this too! If I remember right, it went away by 2 1/2 months.

@redsmarties: Ugh my LO went through a fussing at the breast stage. Actually what calmed him down enough to latch on was attempting to feed him while walking around. The movement would calm him down enough that he'd latch. Once he latched, I could sit down.

As for the routine, some nights it works for us, some nights (like last night) it doesn't. He's not hysterical like he used to be, but it doesn't always help with sleeping well.

Does anyone know the reasoning behind the "witching hour?". LO's is from roughly 8,9 or 10pm to 1am (exactly) every night. She rarely settles and if she does it's only for half an hour and she's screaming again. She is pretty much perfect the rest of the night and day, so I struggle to understand why this happens like clockwork!