For the uninitiated, witching hour can be loosely defined as a period of time - sadly, not limited to an hour - during which your precious bundle is, well, less than precious and more of a challenge (or witch?!). It was one of the first 'baby' phenomenon that Cam and I were introduced to shortly after arriving home with our shiny new bub. On day 2, Ethan didn’t take kindly to us trying to put him down for the evening and screamed for three hours straight. A tired Cam mentioned this to a mate the following day. “Ah”, said the wise father of four. “Sounds like the witching hour”.
Interestingly, it seems recognized in professional circles too (phew! Not another one of those parenting urban legends). I spent a week at Karitane for their residential stay program when Ethan was a mere bub of 6 weeks. They assisted me in settling Ethan into a routine and as part of this, conceded that between 4-6.30pm each day, even though due for a well-needed nap, Ethan would not likely go down in his cot (they were right!).
Four months later and our witching hour time period remains roughly the same, stretching from whenever Ethan wakes from his afternoon nap, until he goes down for bedtime (according to all the baby books, this should be 7pm on the nose). FYI – Ethan’s witching hour on Tuesday began at 12.15 pm… :-I
In my professional ‘mum’ opinion, I surmise witching hour is due to end of day fatigue; Ethan is all tuckered out from his bouncer, bumbo, mirror time and sleep itself and the result is cranky. UNLESS I can stay one step ahead of him and keep him entertained. Review blog on ‘Ideas for Amusing an Indoors Baby’ and adjust accordingly for the toughest two – three hours of the day. Challenge accepted!
We begin with some 'cot-play' time...big smiles
One of the ‘tricks of the trade’ so to speak is to take the grouchy bub out for a long pram walk, in the hopes of a late nap or just some time to 'reflect’. With the end of daylights savings and recent cold snap in Sydney, this is no longer a realistic option. Mind you, I have spotted many a fellow Eastern Suburbs parent out pushing a bub, clad head to toe in winter woolies, late in the afternoon. Where was I when spotting them, you ask? Well, uh... (insert diversion tactic here). Back to the blog!
Let's swap a pram walk for some quality play-pen fun!
Ethan’s bedtime routine commences at 6 pm sharp and involves a bath, feed, some Macca Pacca and Upsy daisy and then, all tracking well, bed at 7 pm. It is just after 5 at the moment, so only an hour to go! Ethan is presently enjoying ‘Grandpa in my pocket’ which follows playschool on ABC4kids. And what’s that I hear? ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ has just started? Good-o!
Usually by the time these programs have finished, Cam has returned home from work and can step in with fresh inspiration for amusement. One such gem was the invention of a game called cars. The ingenuity lies in the simplicity of the game: to play cars, take Ethan to the balcony window, look through the window out onto street and state the colours of all the cars driving past. In Cam’s absence however, I shan’t attempt this one as I do see it as special father-son time.
"Mummy, cars would have been much more fun than this..."
Instead, this is a perfect opportunity to check and see who might be on skype. Nana Burgess is quite a reliable contact and and Ethan is happy to bounce in front of the iMac screen for 15 mins, talking to her.
As bath time draws closer, I may also attempt the baby massage that I learnt several weeks ago. For the most part, Ethan giggles his way through my relaxing massage which I take as a sign of enjoyment - not bemusement - of my technique.
I tend to follow massages with pants off time (NB: for Ethan only). For some reason, being pants free seems to give Ethan a second wind (pardon the pun) and he is happy to roll around for another 15 mins, so long as I am happy to take the risk.
Hopefully these activities see us through to 6pm but if not, I apply some of the ideas from the previously mentioned blog. Of course, it is important to note that by this time, Ethan is extremely fatigued, cranky and possibly bored with mummy’s attempts to intrigue, so I find that the time honoured tradition of walking the apartment works a treat, as do some well chosen nursery rhymes.
Not.. happy.. Jan...
And the conclusion of this entry brings me to 5.30 pm. With half an hour til the bedtime routine commences, I’d like to take this opportunity to toast those parents that face witching hour solo on a regular basis and express my gratitude for Cam's timely arrival home each evening.
And then I shall see who is on skype.
Ready for bed - made it!!
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