Chorevia

Day 32 of 60 · Week 5

The witching hour

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 17 sources · Plain-text version

Evening crying is at its heaviest this month. What colic actually means, how common it is, and a carrier walk for the hour when nothing else works.

A Black father walks a city sidewalk at dusk with his five-week-old in a front carrier, the baby's face visible above the fabric and chin clear, streetlights just coming on.

Some evening this week the crying will start around dinner and keep going. This note is for that hour: what it is, and one more thing to try.

Heart

PURPLE crying materials describe the most crying in month 2, often in the evening (Seattle Children's). It's a stage, not a verdict on you or your baby. Some crying resists soothing no matter what you try (Seattle Children's). Answering it is still right: babies whose cries are answered cry less overall (AAP).

Head

Numbers help. Fussing and crying averaged about 2 hours a day for the first 6 weeks across 28 diary studies, then fell to about 1 hour a day by 10 to 12 weeks (Wolke et al., 2017). Colic is usually defined as crying 3 or more hours a day, at least 3 days a week, for at least 3 weeks (Gordon et al., 2018), and affected 17% to 25% of babies in the first 6 weeks (Wolke et al., 2017). The AAP says colic usually stops by 3 to 4 months (AAP). Named or not, the arc is the same: up for now, then down.

Body

Once your pediatrician has checked your baby, the AAP's colic tips are: walk with your baby in a carrier, rock, add steady sound like a fan, offer a pacifier, or lay your baby tummy-down across your knees and rub their back (AAP). Walking may add something: in a small lab study of 12 babies 1 to 6 months old, babies cried less and their heart rates slowed when their mother walked while carrying them, compared with sitting (Esposito et al., 2013).

Try today

  1. Close on the father tightening the carrier straps in a hallway, the baby's cheek against his chest and face turned out, keys in his other hand.

    Babywearing walk at the witching hour

    Time: 15 to 30 minutes, up to about an hour at a stretch · Babywearing walk in the guide

    1. Put the carrier on and follow T.I.C.K.S.: Tight, In view at all times, Close enough to kiss, Keep chin off chest, Supported back (Mankato Clinic).

    2. Check that you can see your baby's face and nothing blocks their nose and mouth (CPSC), then walk: the block, the kitchen, the hall.

    3. Keep your voice low and your steps steady.

    4. If your baby falls asleep, move them to their back on a firm, flat surface when you can (AAP).

    Make it work:

    CPSC urges extra care with slings for babies under 4 months, preemies, low-birthweight babies, and babies with colds (CPSC). WHO advises not keeping babies strapped in a carrier or stroller more than 1 hour at a time (WHO). The evidence that extra carrying cuts crying is mixed: one 1986 trial found less crying (Hunziker & Barr, 1986); later trials didn't repeat it (St James-Roberts et al., 1995; Barr et al., 1991).

Watch for

  • Normal

    an hour or two of evening crying that resists everything.

    Call your pediatrician right away

    if your baby has a fever, vomits, or cries when touched or moved, or if you're afraid someone might shake your baby (AAP).

  • Normal

    a baby who is alert and watchful between spells.

    Go to the ER now

    if your baby isn't alert when awake, or seems "out of it" (AAP).

  • Normal

    a red, furious face mid-cry.

    Call 911

    if your baby has bluish lips or face (AAP).

For you

The baby's mother lies on the sofa in the quiet apartment with her eyes closed and one arm over her face, the empty carrier hung on the door.

The walk-away plan, again, because month 2 is when it's needed. Shaking often happens in response to crying (Barr et al., 2009), and it is never safe to shake, throw, hit, slam, or jerk a baby. If you feel yourself losing control, put your baby on their back in the crib, leave the room for 10 to 15 minutes, and call someone (AAP).

"Worn out from the crying" is a reason to call, on its own: the AAP says to call your pediatrician within a day if you're worn out from the crying (AAP). That isn't weakness. It's the system working.

If you're the partner: the evening is yours. Take the carrier at the first wail, every night this week.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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