At What Age Does The Witching Hour Start? | Evening Crying Timeline

Most babies start evening “witching hour” fussiness around 2–3 weeks old, it often peaks near 6 weeks, and it tends to ease by 3–4 months.

The first weeks with a newborn can feel like a sweet blur until late afternoon hits. Your baby fed, napped, and still ends up wailing at the same time on many nights. If you’ve been wondering when this phase begins, you’re not alone. The pattern has a name—“witching hour”—and it lines up with a normal early-infant crying curve.

You’ll get the age range up front, then a practical plan for those rough evenings: what to try first, what to try next, and what clues suggest you should call your child’s clinician.

At What Age Does The Witching Hour Start? Week-By-Week Clues

Most parents spot the evening stretch in the second or third week. “Start” rarely means a clean on/off switch. It’s more like three nights in a row where your baby is harder to settle, wants to feed in short bursts, and cries longer than usual.

What “Start” Often Means In Real Life

The fuss window often shows up after 4 p.m. Your baby might seem fine during the day, then act like bedtime is a personal insult. You bounce, you sway, you feed again, and the crying still rolls on.

If your baby is gaining weight, has normal wet diapers, and has calm stretches between spells, that points to normal developmental fussiness. It can still feel brutal.

Typical Timing And The Peak

Many pediatric references describe a rise in crying around two weeks, with a peak around six weeks, then a gradual fade. Colic is a label used when crying is intense, hard to soothe, and repeats in a pattern.

Why Evenings Can Get So Rough

Witching hour isn’t one single cause. It’s a pile-up. By evening, your baby has had hours of light, noise, movement, diaper changes, and feeds. Their sleep is still messy, so tiredness can stack up. Feeding can get choppy too: some babies “snack feed” in the evening, taking small frequent feeds that still leave them cranky.

Body stuff can add fuel: gas, stubborn burps, a sore diaper area, or a scratchy seam.

Normal Crying Curve Versus Colic

Colic is often described as long bouts of crying in an otherwise healthy baby, with spells that can feel worse in the late afternoon or early evening. HealthyChildren.org’s colic overview notes that colic often begins between the second and fourth weeks and can feel worse in the early evening.

Clinicians also describe a common arc: colic can start in the first weeks, peaks around 4–6 weeks, and often ends around 3–4 months. Cleveland Clinic’s colic page summarizes that timing.

The word “witching hour” is usually used for the evening window. Colic is used for bigger, longer spells. The two overlap a lot. Either way, your night needs a plan you can repeat when your brain is fried.

What You Can Try During The Crying Stretch

A single magic trick is rare. A short menu of moves works better. Meet basic needs first, then cut stimulation, then give your baby a steady calming cue.

Step 1: Reset The Basics

• Offer a feed, even if the last feed wasn’t long ago.
• Burp slowly, with pauses, even if your baby fights it.
• Check for a wet or dirty diaper and for hair wrapped around fingers or toes.
• Run a fingertip along clothing seams and tags that may be rubbing.

Step 2: Pick One Calming Cue And Stick With It

Babies settle faster when the input is steady instead of changing fast. Try one cue for 10–15 minutes before switching.

• Motion: slow walking, gentle bouncing, or a stroller loop in a dim hallway.
• Sound: white noise, a fan, or a quiet “shhh” close to the ear.
• Pressure: a snug hold against your chest; swaddling when it’s safe and your baby tolerates it.
• Sucking: a clean finger or pacifier after a feed.

Step 3: Change The Scene

If your baby is stuck in a crying loop, a small scene change can help. Step outside for a minute of cool air, or move to a darker room. Keep your own body calm and slow. Babies pick up tension fast.

Age-Based Timeline For The Witching Hour Phase

The table below maps typical evenings to baby age. It won’t predict your exact nights, yet it gives a range that matches what pediatric sources describe.

Age Range	What Evenings Often Look Like	What Usually Helps Most
0–1 week	Short crying bursts tied to hunger, temperature, diaper	Feed, burp, skin-to-skin, low light
2–3 weeks	First repeat fussy window shows up near late afternoon	Cluster feeds, swaddle, steady motion
4–5 weeks	Longer spells; baby may fight sleep and cry harder	Earlier wind-down, white noise, paced burping
6 weeks	Peak intensity for many babies; crying may last hours	Rotate cues, carrier walk, dim rooms
7–8 weeks	Still rough; small wins show up on some nights	Consistent routine, contact nap late day
9–12 weeks	Spells often shorten; settling after a feed gets easier	Earlier naps, calmer evenings, predictable wind-down
3–4 months	Phase often fades; fussiness shifts to tired cues	Regular sleep windows, daytime feeding rhythm
4–5 months	Witching-hour spells are less common; sleep changes may appear	Simple bedtime routine, steady wake windows

Feeding Patterns That Can Make Evenings Harder

Evening fussiness and feeding are tangled together. Some babies want to feed each hour from late afternoon until bedtime. That can be normal. It can also be your baby trying to “tank up” before a longer sleep stretch.

Cluster Feeding And The Snack Loop

If your baby latches, drinks for a few minutes, then cries again, they may be too upset to take a full feed. A reset can help: hold upright, burp, dim the room, then offer the feed again.

Flow Rate And Swallowed Air

Fast flow can lead to gulping and extra air. Slow flow can lead to frustration mid-feed. A short burp pause and a calmer position can help.

Sleep And Stimulation: Two Hidden Drivers

Newborn sleep is messy. Short naps can leave a baby overtired, and an overtired baby can cry harder. An earlier bedtime can help.

Try A Nap Buffer Before The Usual Meltdown

If your baby melts down at 6 p.m. most nights, try a contact nap that ends around 5 p.m. Keep it boring. Low light. Quiet. No bright screens.

Then do a tiny wind-down routine: diaper, feed, sleep sack, white noise, lights down. Five minutes is fine.

When The Crying Signals Illness Or Pain

Most witching hour crying is time-based. Pain-based crying tends to look different: it can happen across the day, it can spike right after feeds, and it may come with poor weight gain or blood in stool.

Call For Medical Advice If You Notice Any Of These

• Fever in a baby under 3 months
• Vomiting that is forceful or green
• Blood in stool, or stools that turn black and tarry
• Refusing feeds across multiple attempts
• Fewer wet diapers than usual
• Hard breathing, bluish lips, or a floppy body
• A swollen belly that looks tight and painful

The NHS lists colic as a common cause of prolonged crying, while noting that you should get medical help when you’re worried your baby may be unwell. NHS guidance on colic runs through symptoms and when to seek care.

A Simple Tracking Sheet For Three Nights

Three nights of notes can show a pattern you can act on and can help a clinician triage faster if you call.

What To Note	How To Write It	What It Can Tell You
Start and end time	“5:40–7:10 p.m.”	Is it a repeat evening window?
Last nap	“Ended 4:55 p.m., 35 min”	Overtiredness can stack up
Feeds	“2 oz at 5:15, 2 oz at 6:00”	Cluster feeding or short feeds
Burps and spit-up	“Big burp after 2 min upright”	Air may be part of the loop
Stool and wet diapers	“2 wets, 1 stool”	Hydration and feeding adequacy
What soothed	“Carrier walk, white noise”	Build your fastest routine

Getting Through The Stretch As A Parent

When a baby cries for a long time, your nervous system gets loud too. Set yourself up with small guardrails before the hard window begins.

Build A Two-Adult Handoff Plan

If you have another adult at home, trade off in short shifts. Even 15 minutes off can reset your brain. If you’re solo, line up a friend or relative who can come by during the hard window once or twice a week. If no one is available, plan mini breaks: put your baby in a safe sleep space, step into another room, and take five slow breaths.

Keep Yourself Steady

Earplugs can soften the sound while you keep caring for your baby. If you feel like you might lose control, put your baby down in a safe place and step away for a minute. Never shake a baby.

What Changes As Your Baby Gets Older

Many families notice small shifts before the phase ends. The crying may still happen, yet your baby might settle faster with one or two cues.

By 3–4 months, many babies show a clearer day-night rhythm, and long evening meltdowns tend to fade. If you still have hours of inconsolable crying beyond that window, it’s worth a clinician visit to rule out feeding issues, reflux, or other causes.

Recap Of The Timing You’re Likely To See

So, when does the witching hour start? For many babies, it shows up around 2–3 weeks, hits its toughest point near 6 weeks, then eases by 3–4 months. That timeline matches what pediatric sources report for common crying patterns and colic.

The part you can control is your evening routine: start the wind-down earlier, keep the room dim, feed and burp with patience, and stick with one calming cue long enough to give it a real chance. Some nights will still be messy. You’re not doing it wrong. You’re getting through a tough developmental stretch.