Witching hour (or hours)??

MrsT0514 · February 2013

So I wanted to post this last night, but was a little too "tied up" at the time with my little guy being a fussbucket and a half..all while trying to get dinner cooked.

Does anyone else's LO seems to have a witching hour (or in my case, hours)? Although my son has his good days and bad days as far as fussiness goes, it seems like every evening from about 5 or 6pm until about 9pm he's a major fusspot and doesn't want to be anywhere but in my arms (which does not mesh too well with cooking dinner!). He will scream and cry if I put him in his swing, bouncer, or pretty much anywhere but on me. This will happen even after I've already fed, changed, and snuggled him. If it so happens that I can snuggle him to sleep during these hours, as soon as I put him down he'll wake up and cry. Obviously I'm not going to just let him sit there and cry, so it's been pretty hectic trying to pick him up and soothe him in between having to set him down for a minute here and there to tend to dinner cooking on the stove (and while I'm cooking, babywearing is obviously not an option). My husband is on 2nd shift right now, so I unfortunately don't have him home to help during this time. All of our family is out of state, making help around here somewhat scarce.

Anyone else's LO do this? Any advice/suggestions/personal experiences to possibly make evenings go a little smoother? I know most of this is just something we'll have to work thru and he'll hopefully grow of this phase soon, but I'll take whatever advice you guys have at this point!

erkie · February 2013

Do you have a baby carrier? When LO gets like that, I will pop her in the moby or the ergo. She gets what she needs (contact with mom) and I get my hands free. Usually she'll fall asleep and get a good nap while she's in there.

SnowOwl7 · February 2013

I went through, this it is a stage, it'll get better soon. My DH works 2nd shift too so it got to be stressful. I have a stroller that has a bassinet option and would swaddle her and put her in there and move the stroller back and forth in the kitchen. (obviously not around the stove) the rocking motion helped sooth her and she was fascinated with looking at the ceiling lights. If I wasn't making dinner, I would maneuver the stroller in circles around the main floor of my house or a larger room. (you can get some workout points

) Sometimes just putting her into her car seat and rocking it for a bit got her to fall asleep and I could make dinner or do a load or 2 of laundry. Swaddling and her paci was a big thing for me. If anything try to get stuff done before witching hour and then when it comes to 6pm you can hang out with him. If I didn't have anything to do, I would go into my bed put on the TV and let her rest on my chest for tummy time. She just wanted to be close. No it won't spoil the baby. Good luck!

momofmanyinthemitten · February 2013

DS keeps the same hours as yours. Because DD was an all day crier until 5-ish months, with this pregnancy, I filled my 26 cu ft freezer with freezer meals that I just had to reheat or put in the crock pot. Side dishes are prepped whenever DS is sleeping and DD is independently occupied. So, I guess my advice is to cook/prep as much as you can during the day so your dinner hour duties are less. Also, I've heard that babies that have a witching hour tend to sleep better at night, as they wear themselves (and us!) out quite a bit.

MrsT0514 · February 2013

erkie:

Do you have a baby carrier? When LO gets like that, I will pop her in the moby or the ergo. She gets what she needs (contact with mom) and I get my hands free. Usually she'll fall asleep and get a good nap while she's in there.

We do have a baby K'tan (which I love), but this unfortunately won't help when I'm trying to get dinner cooked!

How do you like the Ergo? I hear good things about it. I'm thinking of getting one. How long do they need the newborn insert for?

IncogNeato · February 2013

My older daughter was like this for at least the first 6 months. I took time on the weekends to make freezer meals that I could just shove in the oven, and made lots of frozen bag meals (from the freezer section.) When you're in that phase, it's all about survival.

MrsT0514 · February 2013

kielpinskim:
DS keeps the same hours as yours. Because DD was an all day crier until 5-ish months, with this pregnancy, I filled my 26 cu ft freezer with freezer meals that I just had to reheat or put in the crock pot. Side dishes are prepped whenever DS is sleeping and DD is independently occupied. So, I guess my advice is to cook/prep as much as you can during the day so your dinner hour duties are less. Also, I've heard that babies that have a witching hour tend to sleep better at night, as they wear themselves (and us!) out quite a bit.

I really need to get my sh*t together and start meal planning or something! You're right, you'd think I'd become more organized and start doing more freezer/crock pot meals...but honestly, dinner doesn't even cross my mind until it's too late sometimes!

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