The Witching Hour: How to Handle it with Your Newborn

Are you struggling with a crying, fussy newborn every evening, often until close to midnight? Spending hours bouncing, cuddling, swaddling, feeding, or walking your baby around just to ease the tears?

If this sounds familiar, you’re likely experiencing what’s known as “the witching hour.”

In this blog, we’ll share strategies to help you avoid the witching hour and bring more peace to your evenings with your newborn. The best part? You can start implementing these tips right away!

What is a Witching Hour?

The witching hour is a period when your baby becomes especially fussy, typically lasting from around 5:00 PM to nearly midnight. Despite its name, it often stretches well beyond an hour! This time of day can feel particularly challenging, especially after a full day of juggling naps and feeds. Trying to soothe your baby’s fussiness and crying during these hours can be exhausting.

But here’s what you need to know: the witching hour is completely normal.

Your baby is not broken.
You are not broken.
You are not a bad parent.

The witching hour is a very common experience for parents of newborns. While there are strategies to help ease the fussiness, it’s important to remember you can’t always make it go away completely. Your newborn is going through significant developmental changes, and their little body is working hard to adjust to the world. Let’s give them (and yourself) some grace during this time.

Step 1: Avoid Overtiredness

The first step to managing the witching hour is to prevent over-tiredness.

Newborns don’t always look tired, but they have a very short awake window before they need to rest. For young newborns, especially those between 0 to 5 weeks old, this awake time can be as short as 30 minutes and up to 45 minutes at most.

If your baby is in this age range, aim to offer a nap every 45 minutes throughout the day. Keep in mind, this 45-minute window includes feeding time! Throughout the day, you’ll cycle between 45 to 60 minutes of awake time (max), followed by a nap. Repeat this rhythm until bedtime to help your baby avoid becoming overtired.

By consistently offering naps throughout the day and respecting your baby’s awake windows, you’ll set the stage for a much smoother and more peaceful evening! 

Step 2: Avoid Overstimulation

The second step to managing the witching hour is to focus on limiting stimulation for your baby.

For nine months, your little one was nestled in a quiet, serene environment. After birth, their world is suddenly bright, colorful, and full of noise—making it easy for them to feel overwhelmed.

As evening approaches, try to reduce loud sounds and visual distractions to help soothe your baby. However, if you have older siblings, don’t feel pressured to keep the entire house calm and quiet all evening—this could end up causing you more frustration!

Instead, consider practical solutions like babywearing or taking your baby for a stroller walk to create a more peaceful environment and minimize the chaos.

Step 3: Start a Bedtime Routine

The third step to conquering the witching hour is to establish a bedtime routine for your newborn!

Everyone, including your little one, thrives on knowing what to expect. A bedtime routine serves as a gentle cue for your newborn, signaling that it’s time to transition from the busy activities of the day to the calm and restfulness of night.

A simple and effective bedtime routine for a newborn might look like this:

• A warm bath or wash cloth to relax your baby. (5-7 minutes)
• Soft white noise or a lullaby from their Rest device to create a calming atmosphere when you enter the nursery.
• A diaper change and cozy pajamas to keep them comfortable.
• A soothing feed to help them feel full and content. (10-15 minutes)
• Gentle rocking or cuddling to wind down further. (can add in their Rest sounds and lights)
• A quick book (1-3 minutes) to add a final calming touch.
• Place your baby in their crib, relaxed and ready for sleep.

From the start of their life, a bedtime routine for your newborn is incredibly powerful because it teaches them this predictable series of steps equal bedtime. Give this routine a try, and you might find that after just a few nights, your baby starts to calm as soon as they hit the bath. 

They’ll begin to recognize the steps and understand that sleep is on its way!

Step 4: Ask for Help

When you hold your baby in your arms, it’s natural to want to be everything for them. But remember, it’s okay to ask for help.

You need and deserve a break.

If you have a partner, friend, or neighbor who can lend a hand, don’t hesitate to reach out. If you know that the witching hour is coming, and it’s been a day where things haven’t gone as planned…reach out! 

Ask someone to come over and hold the baby.

Go for a walk. Take a nap.

Do something that recharges you.

It’s important to remember that you’re still an amazing parent, even if your baby struggles with the witching hour. These steps are meant to create a calmer evening for everyone, but sometimes, the best thing you can do is to give yourself a mental break.

You are the right parent for your little one. Asking for help doesn’t change that—it just shows your strength. We all need a little support sometimes.