The newborn is naughty in the evenings. Evening whims

All parents are faced with the problem of crying children, which can turn into tantrums. You need to find out why the baby is capricious, eliminate the causes or, if possible, alleviate the baby's condition. It is better to find out the possible options before childbirth, so that later you can help the baby faster.

Types of crying

Over time, parents can determine the needs of the child depending on the nature of the whims. Common crying patterns and their causes:

  • Prolonged, accompanied by redness, stretching of the handles - often caused by hunger. Feeding helps to calm;
  • Constant whimpering, sometimes with hiccups, may alternately increase and decrease. You need to check the diapers, change if necessary. It is better to do this with a reusable diaper: if the crying does not stop, then the baby is wet, the skin is irritated with urine;
  • A weak whimpering turns into a strong cry, the baby actively moves his legs and arms - a possible requirement to eliminate the inconvenience. This is a tight swaddling, incorrectly fastened diaper, folds in clothes or diaper, which press on the skin. It can mean fatigue if the baby lies in the crib for a long time or takes an uncomfortable position;
  • He cries slightly, tries to get rid of the diapers - the baby is hot, he may blush, sweat. You need to change wet clothes and not wrap your baby too tightly;
  • A piercing cry with hiccups, trembling - the baby is cold, it is necessary to dress or cover him warmer.

A newborn baby can only report discomfort by crying, so this should be treated with understanding. With frequent prolonged crying, which cannot be soothed by the usual methods, you will need to consult a pediatrician to find out the reasons.

Crying while feeding

In addition, at 4 months, children begin to show more interest in the surrounding objects, colors, sounds. The muscular and skeletal system becomes stronger, more often there are attempts to roll over. The child begins to study the behavior of adults, toys, bright things. He shows emotions, enjoys the attention and is dissatisfied if communication stops, is capricious before going to bed because of the desire to do something new and interesting.

Crying in a 4-month-old baby becomes more frequent due to the need for conversations, familiarity with objects. In such cases, a whimpering child quickly calms down in his arms, becomes active.

You cannot leave it without attention - it is important for general development, but there is no way to keep it for days. It is necessary to act according to the situation: leave the child in the crib and do not take it immediately if he starts to be capricious. Often he quickly stops whimpering due to switching his attention to some object. In case of increased crying, it is imperative to reassure the child - any training should be gentle in order to avoid nervous breakdowns, muscle strain.

Change of weather

Many mothers note that the baby is capricious all day before changing weather conditions. In infancy, the protective functions are weakened, the systems of nerves, blood vessels of thermoregulation of the body are still just getting better. A sensitive reaction to the weather is manifested in all children up to 4-6 months, but to varying degrees.

Then a healthy child is able to adapt to changes in the environment: temperature regime, humidity level, wind speed. When the atmospheric pressure changes, signs may appear:

  • Change in mood due to deterioration in general well-being;
  • The child does not sleep well, which is caused by an increase, decrease in intracranial pressure, headaches;
  • Disturbances in the digestive system, colic appears more often due to the expansion of gases in the intestines. This is due to the difference in external pressure on the body with the intracavitary in the pelvic organs;
  • Lethargy, rapid fatigue.

According to statistics, sensitivity to weather conditions is more pronounced in twins, fair-haired babies and those born prematurely. It can manifest itself with weak immunity, stress, illness, after vaccination.

Often, manifestations of meteosensitivity are observed in the autumn-winter period with frequent jumps in temperature indicators: from minus to plus and vice versa. It is necessary to pay attention to whether the weather has changed after the inexplicable whims of the baby, and what signs were present. Inform your doctor about suspicions, who may prescribe drugs to reduce bloating, a course of massage, taking vitamin complexes or homeopathic remedies to strengthen the body. In rare cases, meteosensitivity is a symptom that will require additional examinations and treatment.

Babies who are dependent on atmospheric changes have a particularly acute need for attention. To prevent deterioration of health, you need to dress the child for the weather, use hardening procedures: walking, air baths, swimming, doing gymnastics.

Knowing the possible reasons for the baby's whims, you can calm him down by eliminating provoking factors. Stroking often helps, mother's warmth, her calm voice, melodious humming. If the usual methods do not help, the child's desperate cry may be a sign of painful sensations. It is necessary to examine the skin, folds on the child's body. Additionally, remember the conditions under which crying begins. Information will be needed when contacting a pediatrician to find out the reasons for crying.

There are situations when the parents did everything that seemed possible, but the child still cries. Fatigue turns into despair, and thoughts about the infinity of this phenomenon appear.

Why is the baby naughty?

The kid grows, and his needs grow with him. Even if he recently ate and drank, he can still be thirsty or hungry. Mom needs to attach the baby to the breast, if he greedily sucks, then hunger was the cause of the tears.

Why is the baby naughty? Colic can be the cause of whims. When a child presses his legs to his stomach, then sharply straightens them, tenses and squeezes his fists, while crying loudly - this is nothing more than colic. In order to help the baby, you need to massage his tummy. The massage is elementary: the palm is driven clockwise, and then they take the baby in their arms and press him with his tummy to their chest. The baby will calm down when the gases come out and the pain stops.

The child's nervous system is not fully formed, so it cannot cope with the large flow of information. The baby is naughty before going to bed due to the fact that he received too many impressions during the day. Perhaps there were guests in the house and the child was very overexcited. In order to relieve tension before going to bed, you need to bathe the child in a warm bath. Herbal tea helps, and the calm behavior of the mother, who should not be nervous and freaked out on the baby. Mom should sing a lullaby in a gentle voice.

The baby is naughty during feeding

Children, as well as adults, and perhaps to a greater extent, are very weather dependent. The baby is naughty during feeding due to the fact that he has a headache. If the child throws his head back strongly, it means that he is worried about intracranial pressure, which gives headaches. In order to help the baby, you need to visit a good pediatrician who will determine the cause of crying and, if necessary, prescribe the appropriate medications.

Crying and whims can appear due to illness. If the baby does not have a fever and other signs of a cold, this does not mean that he is not sick. Perhaps this is just the first stage, which will soon grow into something more.

Baby is naughty in the evenings

Children are the flowers of life, especially when they are in someone's hands. Every parent knows that a child is not a doll, but a small person who is one hundred percent dependent on adults. Having a baby is a huge responsibility. It is necessary to ensure that he does not get sick, does not starve, does not freeze, and he has enough of everything, including attention. When the first, second, third and subsequent children appear in the family, parents realize that they no longer belong to themselves. Because everything they do is done for the sake of the children.

Why is the baby naughty in the evenings? Since newborn babies cannot declare their needs in any way other than crying, this means that any tears and whims indicate the dissatisfaction of some of the baby's needs. Hunger, cold, heat, thirst, pain, lack and overexposure of attention can cause tantrums and crying.

The baby is constantly naughty

In fact, babies are not capricious, because a whim is an unmotivated desire and whim. Baby crying is a call that should show the adult that the baby is uncomfortable, that he needs help.

The baby is constantly naughty due to the lack of warmth, dryness and comfort. A mother needs to make sure that her baby has a dry diaper. If the baby has a wet diaper, it needs to be changed, especially if it emptied not only the bladder, but also the intestines.

The child cries so that the mother knows what he wants to eat. In the first month, the baby is constantly sleeping and wakes up only from what he wants to eat. In order to calm the baby down, you need to change his diaper and feed him.

The birth of the first child in a family is a great joy that brings new troubles. Sometimes the behavior of the baby causes bewilderment among the parents.

They cannot understand why a newborn baby cries during the day, does not sleep at night, and what to do in such cases. Several versions of the reason for the scream arise in my head. In fact, it is not difficult to find out what the baby is unhappy with.

Over time, you will learn to distinguish the characteristic signs by which you can determine what caused the child's dissatisfaction. But, the most interesting thing is that by the age of three months, many babies cry for no reason.

This phenomenon can be explained by the imperfection of the digestive and nervous systems at this age. By the age of three months, the problem of constant unmotivated screaming most often disappears. For some children, whims can last up to six months all day.

It's already 10 o'clock in the evening, and the baby cannot fall asleep. During the day he fell asleep calmly, and towards evening he became capricious. Crying cannot be caused by hunger because the baby has recently eaten. His tummy is soft, he does not push, therefore, an excess of gas in the abdomen and colic cannot cause a cry.

A newborn baby may show unmotivated anxiety when overexcited. Too much information constantly enters his mind during the day. Sometimes this behavior can be observed after a walk or visiting guests. The people say in such cases that because he was jinxed.

Infants under three months of age may experience fatigue with prolonged crying. Nothing wrong with that. He calms down so much. Having shouted, the newborn sleeps safely, and mom and dad go to drink valerian.

If, after feeding in the evening or during the day, the baby begins to yell, he does not push, he has a soft stomach, normal appetite and a completely healthy appearance, fatigue may well be the cause of the cry.

Conversations, persuasions, games, as a rule, only exacerbate the situation. How can you help your child in this case? Some children, after screaming for 10-20 minutes, fall asleep on their own if left alone. Some people are helped to fall asleep by rhythmic motion sickness in the arms or in a wheelchair.

If hunger has caused whims


Some parents worry that the child began to cry from hunger. In the first two weeks after the hospital, the newborn sleeps more. Mom feeds him every day on a schedule or on demand.

The kid gets used to a certain rhythm. Mom, too, begins to understand when the baby's appetite is increased, and when he can sleep calmly, eating only half of his allotted portion.

  1. Physical ailment;
  2. External stimuli;
  3. Features of the psyche.

Even inexperienced parents eventually begin to understand the prerequisites for the infant's dissatisfaction before the upcoming bedtime. The ordeal of long sleepless nights does not go in vain, and soon dad and mom can distinguish a simple whim from a child's painful condition.

What prevents babies from sleeping?

The main reasons that a child wakes up, cries and is capricious are quite natural phenomena:

  • Sometimes the pain in the tummy prevents him from falling asleep - intestinal colic occurs in children from 2 to 6 months. This may be due to the baby's imperfect digestive system, which is actively developing. In addition, air trapped during breastfeeding causes indigestion, which is why it is necessary for the baby to vomit after eating. To do this, you need to hold it upright for some time (
  • Teething is another prerequisite for restless sleep and tears - it can start at 4 months. If, in the case of colic, the child can be given the means intended for this, for example, Espumisan, then it will not be learned to eliminate the pain when teeth are teething. The only thing that can be done is to lubricate the baby's gums with a special cooling cream, and while he is awake, he should be given rubber teethers. The painful condition can be accompanied by an increased temperature. Doctors advise using children's Nurofen and similar drugs in order not only to reduce fever, but also to produce pain relief.
  • Also, the child may not sleep due to elementary hunger. A growing body requires essential nutrients every 3-4 hours. Do not wait for him to wake up on his own and start to get nervous - when he receives a breast, the baby immediately calms down, without reaching crying, and he can eat even in a sleepy state.
  • Natural emptying in a dream gives the baby discomfort and it is quite natural that he wakes up. This is the most harmless and simple reason that can be easily corrected by changing the baby's diaper or diaper. To avoid unnecessary neurosis, baby accessories should be replaced with clean ones before going to bed. It will not hurt and it is convenient to change the children's bedding.
  • Unfavorable conditions in the house and extraneous noise are unacceptable if parents want a restful sleep for their child. A TV, even if it is turned on in another room, can disturb the peace of the child. The apartment should have a calm atmosphere, as for the children's room, silence is preferable there.
  • You should also pay attention to the climatic indicators of the room where the baby sleeps. The optimum temperature is 21-24 degrees, the room must be ventilated. With average humidity and no drafts, the child's sleep is normalized.
  • Another factor that can affect the night's rest of an infant is games before bedtime, especially active ones lead to overexcitation of the child's psyche, which negatively affects further rest. For a couple of hours, or even earlier, the child should be reassured - you can bathe him in warm water, let him listen to pleasant, quiet music or tell him a fairy tale.

Parents should know that hysterics and tears harm the child, shaking the still fragile nervous system, so in no case should they be left unattended.

If there are no symptoms such as fever, the diapers are dry and all irritants have been removed, but nothing helps and he still continues to cry, it is necessary to consult a doctor - perhaps there is a serious illness that needs to be recognized and cured in a timely manner.

How to put a child to sleep without crying

Childcare professionals and experienced mothers can provide advice to help young parents cope with the situation.

To do this, you must adhere to simple recommendations:

  • It is important that the child is fully fed before bedtime, it is better to carry out the last feeding as late as possible.
  • It is necessary that before bedtime, the baby has not slept for at least 4-5 hours. Perhaps he gets enough sleep during the day, so it is better to reduce the daytime sleep a little. Children who like to sleep during the day should, of course, be woken up carefully and affectionately. The transition to a normal night's sleep must be gradual.
  • Preparing for sleep should be akin to a ritual so that the baby associates it with relaxation. It can be bathing, reading a book. Compliance with a certain algorithm will help teach children to calmly go to bed.
  • In the evening, you need to give up exercise, active physical exercise, and noisy games. The hyperactivity of the child will not allow him to calm down quickly, and disrupt normal sleep at night. It is advisable to postpone all the fun until the morning.
  • You should not wrap up the baby too much at night or, conversely, leave it in a half-naked form - if it is hot or cold, this will affect the quality of rest.
  • When a child cannot sleep for a long time, you can help him with this by making a body massage using baby cream or oil.
  • It has been noticed that children who spend a lot of time with their mother in the fresh air fall asleep much better. Therefore, do not underestimate the importance of walking. The children's room should also be thoroughly ventilated to help the child fall asleep quickly and soundly.

A simple observation of the individual life biorhythms of the crumbs helped many mothers to competently organize the sequence of feeding and sleeping their baby. As soon as the child shows signs of lethargy, yawns and is capricious, he must be put to bed. Over time, parents begin to understand when he needs rest, and when - fun. If there is some temporary discrepancy, a gradual adjustment will allow everyone to get enough sleep - both the baby and his parents.

In addition to these time-tested tips, there are special ways to put your child to sleep without tears and tantrums.

Several techniques for laying down and sleeping

When mom and dad don't get enough sleep, all known ways to calm the baby are used. Despite modern techniques, well-known old ones, such as motion sickness and singing lullabies, still help parents to cope with a difficult situation.

  1. 1.Motion sickness accompanied by a soft song or soft music is very effective. At the same time, you can hold the child in your arms - pressing against the warm mother's breast, he feels protected and quickly calms down, and monotonous singing contributes to this. True, after this, the sleeping baby will have to be very carefully put to bed. You can rock the child in the crib, but for this, be sure to gently stroke and embrace with your hand. Some mothers put his favorite stuffed toy, a soft rolled-up towel or their still warm underwear. So the child will feel the warmth and smell of the mother.
  2. If mom doesn’t work out with the vocals, then it’s possible for the night read fairy tales to a child or tell a story about something new and interesting that happened during the day. This should be done quietly, periodically repeating that the parents are nearby and the baby will soon fall asleep. This is a kind of suggestion, which, however, has a calming effect on the child's psyche, relaxes the baby and prepares him for sleep.
  3. Sleep rituals, although at first incomprehensible to children, they have an amazing positive effect. And over time, they begin to understand the obvious meaning of what is happening and quickly fall asleep.

If every day, half an hour before bedtime, the child sees and feels the same actions, he will soon get used to it - pleasant words, sounds, stroking will be associated with the moment of falling asleep.

How to make your child fall asleep on their own

If a small child up to about a year old maintains a close connection between feeding and sleep, and simple ritual actions are suitable for him to fall asleep, then in the future he must learn to fall asleep himself. Just as parents teach their children how to dress themselves, wash their faces and hold a spoon, they must teach their child to fall asleep. To do this, you need to change the strong association that sleep is associated with food. You can use special methods already from nine months.

Soft method

The gentle method is based on gentle teaching for one and a half to two months. Immediately before the planned bedtime, the mother refuses the child to breastfeed, trying to captivate him with an interesting conversation, looking at bright pictures, and reading. You can use everything that interests the baby and gives him pleasure.

In the future, children should be weaned from night feedings - you can sit with the baby, stroking him on the back, say familiar phrases that dad and mom are nearby, give him a drink. Parents who act in this way notice that the baby wakes up less and less at night and no longer requires a mother's breast.

Hard method

The most harsh method is that after putting the child to bed, the mother leaves the room for a few minutes. At first, a child who does not understand what is happening should be reassured with gentle words and touches, and then go out again. Such actions are repeated until the baby falls asleep. Despite a certain cruelty, the method is very effective - after two weeks, the baby begins to fall asleep on its own.

To wean children under 2 years of age, there is a method of explanation. It can also be used in case of transition to artificial feeding. The child is explained that for some reason there will be no more milk at night. This sad story needs to be told several times a day, and reminded of it in the evening, before bed. So the baby gradually weaned from the evening feeding.

In special literature and on the Internet, you can find other ways to put your child to bed. But the main emphasis must be placed on the individuality of the baby. What is suitable for some children should not be offered to others. Therefore, first of all, you need to understand the natural characteristics of a daughter or son, so as not to harm their health and psyche.


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Many parents are faced with such a problem as restless sleep in a baby. Most often, this phenomenon is temporary and passes quickly if the cause that prevents the child from sleeping all night is eliminated.

Age features

Most babies in the first year of life often wake up at night for two reasons. This may be due to the nature of children's sleep, when the fast phase is longer than the slow wave sleep phase. Babies often wake up during REM sleep, and not every baby is able to fall asleep on its own. Many babies wake up at night to feed.

Children from one to three years old may sleep poorly due to emerging fears at their age. There is a fear of darkness, loneliness, any characters, which complicates the process of falling asleep and provokes nightmares.

The easiest way to establish a baby's sleep before the age of three is to put to bed with you. In this case, it is easier to feed the baby at night, as well as help him fall asleep. If it is not possible to put to sleep in the parent's bed for a long time, you need to be patient and help your baby cope with fears. You can't leave a crying baby alone in his crib. For older kids, you can create your own evening rituals to help overcome their fears. It is also important to pay attention to the child during the day.

Wrong way of life

Asking why the child does not sleep well at night and is capricious, it is necessary to understand the reasons. If the baby falls asleep badly and for a long time, often wakes up at night, then perhaps he does not have time to get very tired during the day. To get exhausted, a small child needs a lot of active games and walks in the fresh air, because babies have a truly huge charge of energy.

For good sleep, parents need to increase the time they walk in the fresh air, perhaps enroll the baby in a sports section or dance, and allow them to spend less time in front of the TV or computer.

Uncomfortable environment

A child may wake up often if he is uncomfortable and uncomfortable. Possibly uncomfortable pajamas that impede movement and prevent your baby from getting comfortable. Or maybe he is too hot under a warm blanket, or the room is stuffy. It is worth analyzing the stop in the child's bedroom, perhaps what prevents him from sleeping is very easy to change.

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All people with children know that babies often cry and are capricious, especially at night during the first three months after birth. The fact is that for a newborn at this time, crying and screaming are the only ways to communicate that he has needs, pain or discomfort, to draw attention to himself.

Many people think that one should not run to the child every time he screams, so as not to spoil him. But this is wrong, since you can miss a serious problem or bring the child to a nervous breakdown. And therefore, when a baby cries, this call should be responded to. Let's take a closer look at why a newborn is crying and how to help him.

The main reasons for crying

In order to provide assistance, you must first understand the reason for this phenomenon, most often the baby can get upset in the following cases:

  1. He's hungry. In this case, he will wake up at night, spin in the crib and groan. The baby will calm down only after it is fed with breast milk or formula. Normally, a child can demand food up to 4 times at night. If this happens more often, it is recommended that you go to your doctor and review your diet. Perhaps he does not have enough milk and should be introduced to complementary foods.
  1. Discomfort from a full diaper. The work of the intestines in the baby is peculiar, and he needs to empty it often. And this is also one of the reasons why babies cry. Unpleasant sensations make you wake up and signal them. If the reason lies in this, then after eliminating it, the baby falls asleep soundly.
  1. The tummy hurts. Almost all young children experience colic in the first months after birth. This phenomenon happens due to the fact that the intestines are gradually rearranging its function. But intense cramping pains prevent the baby from falling asleep and the newborn cries after feeding and at night. At first, he falls asleep perfectly, but then begins to twist his legs and cry. Colic usually stops after three months of age. When he is tormented by colic and gas, the newborn pushes and cries, and after the gas has passed or the bowel has been emptied, he again falls asleep calmly.
  1. Wrong swaddling. The resulting wrinkles in the diaper or a tightly fastened diaper can be the reason why a baby cries at night. This leads to the great inconvenience of the appearance of areas of friction on the delicate skin.
  1. A situation may arise when the baby cries in a dream without waking up, this phenomenon happens if the dream came after severe overwork. Another reason why babies cry in their sleep is dreams. From a very early age, a person has the ability to dream, and they can sometimes be negatively colored, causing the infant to cry.
  1. Uncomfortable air temperature. The imperfect thermoregulation system of newborns requires maintaining the temperature in the room within 22-24 degrees. If for some reason it becomes hot or cold, then this is also a fairly common reason why babies cry in their sleep for up to a year.
  1. The state of anxiety in the baby. After birth, the baby is still connected with his mother for a long time, and if quarrels regularly occur in the family, then the child is constantly crying and capricious. This is not always directly related to a specific reason, and parents may wonder why the baby starts crying.
  1. The child needs confirmation of maternal love. It is very important for him to feel protected and loved, therefore, when a baby wakes up crying, it is possible that he just needs his mother to take him in her arms.



What needs to be done

In the absence of serious disabilities and illnesses, the basic needs of a young child are food, cleanliness and a sense of maternal care. Therefore, when a newborn is constantly crying and naughty, you should consult a doctor, and in the absence of deviations, adhere to the following rules:

  1. Stop all active games 1.5-2 hours before bedtime. Overexcitement and extreme fatigue will only worsen falling asleep and reduce the quality of your night's rest.
  1. Before going to bed, ventilate the room, and if possible, set a certain temperature and humidity with the help of devices.
  1. Mom needs to reconsider her diet while breastfeeding. If she restricts herself in food wanting to lose weight after childbirth, then this leads to the fact that milk contains few calories and the baby does not gorge itself.
  1. In case of pain in the tummy, the baby should be given special products or dill water to remove gases.
  1. Before going to bed, it is useful to do the same actions, raising them to the rank of rituals. It can be bathing-dressing-feeding-song (or reading poetry, fairy tales) -sleep.
  1. Be sure to wear clean and fresh underwear made from natural fabrics for the child. And the same quality should be a sheet, a blanket and a pillowcase on the pillow.
  1. The family should be calm. Any stress will negatively affect the baby's nervous system. If it is necessary to resolve any issues that require a "heat of passion", then it is best to do it in such a way as not to involve the baby's mother in the process.
  1. Feeding before bed should be sufficient, but not excessive. Overfeeding can also lead to poor sleep.
  1. In some cases, the mother should put the baby next to her, in this case he feels completely safe and sleeps well. If the child spends the night in his crib, then a night light should be purchased, which should be left on next to him.

The question of how to calm a baby when he cries remains quite relevant. And at first, a young mother may be confused, not understanding what her child needs. But very little time passes and a certain connection is established between her and the baby, and even without words it becomes clear what the baby really needs and what worries him at the moment.

Most parents go through this "terrible" time - when the previously calm baby suddenly starts crying night after night for no apparent reason. "Witch's hour", "poisonous hour" or, more correctly, "evening anxiety" usually overtake children at the age of 6-8 weeks and are often attributed to colic. Is it so?

It would be nice, of course, only an hour. The most common time interval for an evening roar is from 6 pm to 10 pm. The day is coming to an end, all family members are gathered, it seems, you can already have dinner, chat and relax in peace. And here suddenly a child's crying is heard.

Often there is no particular reason for crying. By one and a half months, parents already more or less distinguish when their baby cries from hunger, when he wants to sleep or something hurts. But "the witch's hour" is called so precisely because, it seems, apart from the evil spell, there is no longer any reason to cry.

Sometimes babies cry without calming down, sometimes they calm down if you babysit with them, but you just have to move away ... Some are silent only on their mother's chest, on their father's arms or in a warm bath.

At the same time, for all the symptoms and manifestations, the child does not hurt anything, he is full, the diaper is clean, diaper rash and other sores have nothing to do with it, but everything goes wrong, the baby does not like much. What is this?

Cause of concern number one: normal mental development of children

It is at the age of onset of "evening anxiety" that children experience their first leap in emotional development. Has the kid already started following the toys and smiling back? You can expect a "payback" for new skills.

Filling their day with many experiences, children quickly become overexcited. Despite the daytime dreams, the crumbs need more rest and peace in the late afternoon. Someone saw a cow on a mobile for the first time, someone touched the rattle with their hands (and it rang!), Someone's leg came into view for the first time. And all this can happen in one day, which also includes flowers on the wallpaper, a bird on a walk and oneself in the mirror.

Such an abundance of impressions and emotions is difficult to survive without a pause. It is often tantamount to a super-hard workday for an adult, when in the evening you already want to relax and turn down the heat. And then dad comes home from work, grandmother comes to visit, neighbors watch TV. An older brother, a dog, light bulbs on the ceiling - all this adds work to a tired brain.

What can support tired parents is the idea that this is the normal development of children: what new skills does the baby develop every day that gets tired and cries so bitterly.


If the evening hours are accompanied by constant "hanging on the chest", most likely, the child is eating up in reserve before the next growth spurt. Soon he will surprise his parents with a new increase, expressed in kilograms and centimeters.

Sometimes the excessive desire to teach the baby to sleep at night without interruptions reduces the mother's lactation. In this case, the children at the end of the day try to “eat enough for the night” or feel hunger at the end of the day's feedings.

It is worth remembering that the peak in prolactin production with established lactation occurs at 4-6 o'clock in the morning, so breastfeeding in the early morning should be kept as long as possible. This will allow the baby to be purely breastfed for a longer period.

Also, the constant demand for the breast during the evening anxiety can be associated with the child's habit to calm down "on the breast". A strong sucking reflex or a mother’s attitude to breastfeed with any cry can lead to just such consequences. What to do? Switch the baby to other types of sedation and possibly offer a pacifier.

Reason number three: sensitive babies

Sometimes babies are born who overreact to light, sound, sensations. An increased emotional response to minor noise may be related to nervous system excitability. Although after a fairly calm life in the tummy, most children at first can react strongly to something that is not an irritant for us at all.

Toddlers need time to adapt to their new abilities: to see, hear, touch a brave new world. And this time of adaptation is often accompanied by manifestations of evening restlessness.

The period of adaptation to new conditions of existence causes in the child a desire to be protected, to come closer to the usual sensations of being in a mother. In such cases, warmth, swaddling, wearing on your hands or in a sling, as well as a warm bath in not very bright light, help perfectly.


There are some simple tips to help parents physically and mentally get through these few weeks of crying in the evenings.

  • First advice.

You need to be ready for the "witch hour". It is hoped that this period will pass by the side, will not be as pronounced as that of friends or a neighbor's child, but one must be ready for its onset and have a developed "survival tactics".

  • Second advice.

Accept and learn that evening crying is not the fault of the parents. Thousands of other mums and dads are experiencing exactly the same thing right now. This is just a period of growing up, not a misbehavior of a parent or a mistake raising a crumbs.

  • Third advice.

Calm yourself down. A dim light, a turned off TV, a cozy armchair will help a mother find peace in her soul, and the child, feeling this, will adjust to her mother's mood (or not, then, at least, mother will rest).

  • Fourth advice.

Carry the baby in your arms. Numerous studies prove that it is impossible to spoil oneself to “get used to the hands” at this age. But to contribute to neurotization, leaving the crumbs to "shout" is easy. Therefore, pens are often the optimal solution to the problems of the "witch hour". Warmth, physical contact, the smell of skin and the sound of your heartbeat will help your baby feel safe. Do not underestimate the benefits of baby slings and backpacks, as if they were made for the difficult hours of the evening.

  • Fifth advice.

Have a “spare mom”. Someone who can take on the pacification of the baby for at least half an hour and give the mother an opportunity to “recharge the batteries” is especially valuable during this difficult period. Dad, grandmother, a neighbor, friends, an evening nanny for two hours, anyone can be on the “spare moms' bench”. Sometimes even five minutes in the arms of another person, not exhausted by night feedings, day care and evening crying, soothes a baby better than a two-hour run of a mother with a stroller in the park.

  • Sixth tip.

By the way about the park. Walking in the evening can also be a good soothing experience for your child. Some parents even plan daily half-hour car rides where the hum and the measured swaying will calm the kids down more quickly. In any case, a walk before bedtime can be great for both the baby and the parents. In addition, on the street, the scream does not seem as loud as in the four walls of the house.

  • Seventh advice.

Bathe your baby in a warm bath. It's great if dad is in the bath with the baby: Dad's strong hugs will help the child feel safer. For mother's safety, this is also important: if a mother is with the baby, he may begin to demand breast, and feeding in warm water is fraught with an unplanned result of intestinal contractions.

  • Eighth advice.

Use white noise. Children often calm down when they hear a vacuum cleaner, a blender, a fan, or an old radio with noise on it. This is about the same noise that they used to hear in the background during mom's pregnancy. And it is not surprising that the included vacuum cleaner and other noisy devices really help kids to calm down.

  • Ninth advice.

If all else fails, you should see a doctor. Perhaps it is age-related colic, problems with spitting up, a reaction to the weather or the characteristics of the child's body.

  • Tenth advice.

Everything will pass, this will also pass. As a rule, the restless evening hours end by the age of three months. He becomes an active, sociable baby, giving his parents anxiety for completely different reasons.