The Witching Hour or Hours!!

He looks so charming, cute and handsome. And he is! That is till 6pm each night. Now don't get me wrong. I love this little man. But I must tell all my mommy friends how disappointed I am in each of you for not warning me of the "witching hour."

From about 6-9 each night, our little Clayton has decided that nothing is going to really make him happy. And believe me we have tried all the suggestions. We start with the obvious - clean and dry diaper and making sure he is not hungry. He will smile and then bust out into a piercing cry! You would think I was pinching him. Jake says he goes from zero to pissy in seconds and he gets this from me. That is questionable. I would have to say we are probably both responsible for this character trait but I digress.

So now we are screaming. What next? I immediately go to the "shhhhhhh" sound and the walk and sway. This helps but not for long. Of course there is also swaddling him. Again works for a minute but Clayton is really not a fan of the swaddle but with his long arms and tendency to wake himself up with those arms, swaddling at night is an absolute necessity! However not a technique that is helpful early in the witching hour. Let us not forget the swing. This is a great tool but not the answer during this time of evening. It will work for 1-2 minutes or maybe 5-10 but not much more than that. I also have the Moby Wrap and we have not really figured out the trick to getting this wrapped tightly and comfortably but we will keep working on it.

We have learned that Clayton is soothed by sound. God Bless the Sleep Sheep! Just wish this thing played all night - 45 minutes is not long enough. However the humidifier does work all night and he likes this. But again, not the key to the witching hour. Jake turns to the bathroom for baby soothing during the dreaded evening. The shower running and the bathroom fan help. Again soothing but not achieving what we ultimately want from Clayton - SLEEP!

I will also add thank goodness this Jake is home during this time because we can deal with this together. What is a bummer is when Jake does come home in the evening he has to deal with his baby boy who is cranky rather than happy and playful. This really sucks but I remind him it will not last forever.

But how long will it last? I don't think anyone knows but let me tell you - it can't come soon enough!

p.s. - if you got anymore suggestions, please feel free to email. We will try almost anything.

Thanks for reading!~mrs. c