Witching hour help!!
Hi All,
I just needed some advise or some tips that you can share about the witching hour.
My lo will turn 3 months next week.She has been ok in terms of her sleep i.e. I do get good night sleep of 5-6 hrs. But getting her to sleep in evening/night is a big challenge!
I read that babies at this age need 16-17 hrs of sleep.My little girl doesn't want to sleep during day even if she is sleepy.Even if she sleeps,its always 25 minutes on dot..very rarely 45 min or 1 hr.
Her usual wake up time is around 9ish and I bf her and then a bit of play and make try to put her to nap.But lately she has started to fight for sleep i.e.cries if she is sleepy. By the time she falls asleep,it's almost time for her next feed.She feeds every 2 hrs or so.
So her morning naps are quite difficult as she hardly gets 2 naps and 3(of 25 min) if I am successful!
I try to not play too much with her as well as I feel she becomes tired or over stimulated soon.Read online that no play after 4.30 since babies become tired by that time.
Now the main dilemna starts in evening when witching hour strikes...
I usually start her bedtime routine around 6.30 or 7 thinking that she would go to sleep early.But she has a catnap like around 8(after struggling to rock her to sleep) of about 25 minutes. And the time goes on and on and she would only fall asleep later around 9.30/ 10 or some days at 12. She lately has been sleeping for long hours at night i.e. 5/6 hrs and wakes up for feed say 3.30/4.30 and then again at 7.
We swaddle her as that's the only way she sleeps since she has strong reflexes which wake her up.
Has anyone faced something similar and if they managed someway to make this time better or managed to crack this!
I know people advise to put them to bed sleepy but awake, but that has not worked for us right from start. Morning nap times, I try to do that and it works sometimes not always.
Thanks in advance ladies!
Replies
I lived through the witching hour and survived! Here's what we did...
my daughter would literally wail from 4pm onwards. I drove her in the car, walked her in a buggy, bought swing chairs, played white noise, rocked her; you name it, i tried it. She was breakign me and my husband!
Swaddling was key - make sure you're doing this at day time naps. Also, dark bedroom!
Your little girl is still quite young, and you're lacking a routine yet (no blame at all! I just found that really helped us) but I would suggest pulling bedtime forward quite a bit.
Ok, so as i said, your baby is still quite young, and no doubt you are still feeding on demand, but i would try and structure the day more so if you can...but before doing that, i'd start bedtime routine at 5pm - it might just be that she is overtired, which happened to us ALOT!
So, bath about 5pm, give her a lotion massage, dim lights, BF, read her a story or show her a book, and try and push this, if you can until 6pm. Then swaddle and put in her cot. Tell her sleepy time, or night night and lights out. Leave the room. If she cries (of course she will!) go back after 2mins, gentle stroke on tummy, say night night again, and leave. Then go back after 4mins, same routine - no picking up, gentle stroke on tummy, say night night, then go back after 8mins, and repeat.
You can slowly drag bedtime later by 15mins per night, so start routine at 5pm, then 2 days later, 5.15pm, then 2 days later 5.30pm - when you feel ready.
We cracked it after 3 days. my lg fell into a routine of wake a 6.30/7am, nap at 9ish, another nap at 12ish, and then 2ish, then bed by 6pm.
Also have a look at a Ewan the Dream Sheep - that's meant to be good to pop in the cot too.
Let me know what you think ior if you have any questions - good luck x
Hi Mrsg14,
Thanks for sharing your detailed experience!
I have been trying to incorporate routine something like this
9.30 waky waky..feed her charge her.Take her around house and open up all the curtains so she knows it's daytime.Then some play time till she is comfortable
11 ish : Give a bath and then put her to bed. Rocking swaddling and she usually goes for nap around 11.25 for around half hour that's when I have my lunch.
The same routine continues to 4.30 after which I don't involve her in any play and just walk around or talk to her
Sometimes she has a catnap at 5 of 25 minutes..
Her bedtime routine is usually by walking around and closing the curtains everywhere so she knows it's sleep time. I had to skip giving a bath in evening as I found she was unsettled everytime I did it in evening.Put on some lullabies and take her to room.If she is ok for massage, I give her else skip it.
Sometimes she doses off and wakes at 7 and from there onward it's continuous denial ofogoing to sleep even though she is sleepy.She sleeps in our arms and the moment we put her on her cot, she cries.So there are at least 6-7 attempts of it and then she will sleep and wake up again for feed or nappy change.All throughout this,she does cluster feeding.
Yesterday i started putting her early to bed i.e fed from 5, bedtime story and then put her to bed.. But still she woke up at 7ish and went on to sleep for the night only at 10.30.
Does this routine seem fine?
The technique you suggested is something i haven't given a go yet.Is it to early for a 2 month old? When did you try to incorporate this for your little one?
Your advice is really helpful and I really appreciate in putting it here!
Hi Ark,
Nice to hear from you.
Honestly, I would change your current routine (but remember, what works for one might not work for others!)
I think 9.30 wake up is too late as it will have a knock on effect for the rest of your day - i'd aim to be awake by 8am, and this might happen once your little girl starts going to bed earlier.
You really should try and move the bath to evening, as eventually it will signal 'this is bath time, which means its bedtime'.
And that catnap at 5 could well be what's stopping her going to sleep at bedtime, which really should be no later than 7pm.
I'm so sorry, i feel like i'm poo pooing your whole routine and i so don't want to!
We did our sleep training when my daughter was 5months.
If i remember rightly, we ended up something like this:
7am wake/feed
9.30am nap of hour
Feed about 11am
Long nap about 1/2 for at least an hour-2hours
Then at 5.30 start bath routine, aim for bed by 6.30pm
10/11pm baby wake for feed, then back to sleep.
I would suggest trying to stop the rocking to sleep, but i know how tough it is - so much easier for me to say at the end of a phone!
Hope i've not dampened your spirit too much and remember as your daughter grows, so much will change a long the way x
Hi Mrsg14,
Thanks for all the information, I should have replied earlier but it's been busy past few weeks.
I totally agree with the routine that you mentioned and have tried to move her wake up time early, I definitely have a routine going now and I think my gal knows it as well
Although everyday is a different story for me, so just working towards seeing what actually clicks!
Now she wakes around 7.30 or 7 for feed and she is up by 8 or if she didn't sleep well at night ,I aim to wake her up at max by 8 30.
Then I clean her up and she plays for a while and then goes for nap around 10, she now sleeps for about 40 minutes (touch wood,I don't want to jinx it).. Same routine continues and she has afternoon nap as well. But she is again sleepy around 4.I have found that if I let her sleep, the evening are worse.. But then she is so sleepy that you can't keep her awake for long. Also, I have heard at this age they should have 3/4 naps.
Sometimes even if I start bedtime routine from 5, she will be cranky and be feeding and cranky until 9ish.I feel routine has helped a lot, I just now have to find the right balance of making her sleep for the night early.
Thanks for your advise, it definitely helped me!
I am so glad to hear things have got better and you're well underway with what sounds like a really good routine.
also, be aware the 4month old sleep regression which can happen - but lets hope that stays away. For sure sounds like things are going in the right direction, and try to not let her sleep late afternoon 😊 x