‘Help a Mama Out’ Topic of the Week: What are Your Best Tips for Surviving Your Baby’s Witching Hours?
Ashley: Wearing the baby during the evening hours. Prepping dinner earlier in the day so that I didn’t have to do it during my baby’s fussy time. Setting aside special activities for my then 3-year old that she could do on her own or with little help from me, just in case I needed to be sitting on the couch, constantly nursing the baby. Reminding myself that this was temporary and would pass!
Karen: Feeding a little at a time, more frequently. I read when #4 had HORRIBLE colic that there are some cultures where babies never experience colic. In all of these communities, babies are worn and are on and off the boob all day, so they eat small meals very frequently.
Kat: Support from my husband was really crucial during this time. I would nurse my son and concentrate on him while my husband got dinner ready. Holding and wearing baby helped the most. Also, fresh air worked wonders!
Lori: Babywearing…. I would also batch cook on the weekend when Daddy was home so that come dinner time, all I had to do was heat it up.
Catie: Remain calm…. Baby seemed to sense the angst and it only made things worse. Often baby and I both needed a breather. My husband was deployed when my son went through the worst of it so handing him off wasn’t an option. I would set him down in a swing or bouncy chair with a toy, walk to another room and take 30 seconds minimum to breathe, drink some water, etc. If baby was happy, I took a break away from him since we were obviously over-stimulating each other. Then, back to nursing, rocking, wearing, walking, etc…. until we could both get a good nap!
Janina: Babywearing, smaller feedings, burp a lot, white noise, gripe water at the first sign of crying, rocking, and time.
Christina: Wearing and then walking – close to mom, plus amazing fresh air and rhythmic movements. Sometimes getting into a warm bath with my daughter helped, too.
Shelly: Lowering my expectations. Fussy babies meant nothing was getting done except baby care. Going for a walk helped clear my head and the change of scenery almost always calmed them down.
Kathryn: Bouncing on the exercise ball and the vacuum was a lifesaver.
Grace: Adjusting my diet (cutting out gluten and dairy because those were his colic culprits). Make the day less chaotic by staying home or no visitors, low lights, soothing music. Skin to skin. Take a warm bath with baby on my chest. Baby massage with some coconut oil and lavender oil. Colic Calm if it lasts more than an hour.
Turath: Our baby’s witching hour turned out to be a dairy sensitivity, so after I cut out dairy we haven’t had any problems. Definitely babywearing! This article has lots of great tips…. It’s sleep related, but I think many of the tips will work for calming a fussy baby. http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/parenting/fussy-baby/31-ways-get-your-baby-sleep-and-stay-asleep
Rhianna: Try putting them to bed earlier. Once we instituted a 6pm bedtime, it was MUCH easier!
Kenyatta: Wear them! Familiarity (routine, music, lighting, smells) and calm.
Here are a few of my favorite articles:
A Checklist of 36 Time-Tested Baby Calmers
The Phenomenon of Late Afternoon/Early Evening Infant Crying: Part 1
The Phenomenon of Late Afternoon/Early Evening Infant Crying: Part 2