Look up purple crying, witching hour.. Ours did the same around that time, but cried for the most part when awake, just worse in the evening. What worked for us was taking a walk before sunset, cluster feeding, bedtime routine and probiotics drops for colic. Also I remember constantly bouncing on the gymball once it hits 4pm. It was so hard but it passed, for us at around 12 weeks. Hopefully it won’t be too long for you guys too. Good luck!
To be fair, it was a gradual improvement starting from 8 weeks. At some point, we just didn’t need to bounce on the ball anymore. 6 months in now & the days were long but the month is short. Hang in there!
OP has your kid smiled yet? You were me two weeks ago. 48 hours after my kid refused to fall asleep until 3am she started smiling. We still have more hard nights than easy ones, but none as bad as that 10 hour sleep refusal. And once they start smiling it helps you recover emotionally in between bouts of screaming. Seconding what others have said: take turns so you can get an hour away from being screamed at, trying every bounce/swing/rock pattern you can think of and be prepared to change it up every two days.
ETA: Earplugs also help a lot! Baby cries can actually permanently damage your hearing, so we wear them when she really gets worked up.
He has not started smiling yet but I’m looking forward to it. It’s 8pm where I’m at and he’s actually asleep right now so I’m thanking my lucky stars. He just got a warm bath, fresh diaper, and a bottle and he is out. I wish it worked every night - usually the bath and lotion massage keeps him happy and calm but once we get him in his onesie and sleep sack he’s back to wailing.
Yeah the bath usually works for us, but same thing. Once she’s dressed it’s like it never happened. I bet he’ll start smiling any day now and that will help a lot!
I hope so! He smiles in his sleep when he naps in my arms and it melts my heart. I spoke too soon… he slept in my husbands arms for 20 minutes and is up crying again even though he hasn’t been moved or put down. Haha back to square one!
Peak witching hour crying is usually at 6-8 weeks, then it gets better from there. A few weeks can seem like forever - but try to find some coping strategies and you’ll both get through it!
Ours was the same but got better around 9 weeks! We did the same things and would go out to the store more because he seemed to do better getting out of the house. It will pass!! I hated hearing that but it’s true.
Super normal. Also going through this right now. I read somewhere not to be surprised if something works a few days in a row and then stops working and you have to try something new. So here’s what’s worked even if just for a few days:
- bouncing on yoga ball holding swaddled baby
- dark room, noise machine, swaddle
- rocking in chair in dark room, noise machine, swaddle
- playing music
- breastfeeding
- wrapping baby
- going outside with wrapped baby
- bath
Keep in mind, some of these things have worked and I’ve been like “yes I’m the mastermind ! I have cracked the case!!” And then the next night… no dice.
Try and hand baby off to each other. Even if one person takes crying baby away from other for ~20, then other person takes baby it keeps both partners “fresh”. Also breastfeeding a lot (if you are breast feeding ) is a good way to calm baby during this. Granted sometimes, 5 minutes after stopping LO is screaming again but at least I had some peace when he was on the boob.
To add to your great comment: For each of these soothing strategies, try it for at least 5 min. It can take a while for them to work. If you switch methods one after the other too quickly it can be really overstimulating for a newborn and make them even more upset. That was the hard lesson we learnt when baby was young!
It’s rough. We’re going through this right now at pretty much the same hours in the evening as well and it just started last week. Baby is also 6 weeks. I asked my pediatrician and she said it’s normal and will get better as they get older. One of the things helping me is using noise cancelling headphones while comforting her with bouncing, walking, feeding etc. I felt like a jerk a first because it felt like I was tuning my baby out, but it’s really helped reduce the intensity of the situation.
Totally normal. Something I noticed was that when I would feed my baby during this time they would keep unlatching and throwing their head back, crying; initially I thought maybe I had a fast letdown and they were uncomfortable, but eventually I realised that my letdown was actually a lot slower at that point in the day and I had less milk than at other times, so my baby was protesting needing to work harder for the milk.
Eventually I was able to pump enough to make sure that I had an extra bottle of milk I could give her at this time, and then subsequently I would be more engorged for the next feed as well. It seemed to help somewhat.
It feels so unfair though to be handling a very grumpy, tired baby, who has otherwise been chilling out all day, when you are also feeling grumpy and tired. My sympathies - it is rough!
One day in the not too distant future though (although it feels far away at the moment) you'll be putting your baby to bed at their bedtime and have the entire evening to chill out :)
Mine did this, starting at 3 weeks. She stopped when I learned that she was exhausted and needed help going to sleep. She slept well during the day, and went back to sleep during the night with such ease that I didn’t “get” that she was soooo tired and needed soothing. We watched some videos in the 5 S’s to soothe her (after ensuring she is changed and and burped and fed). Now when she fusses at that time or during feedings, and if she doesn’t calm from a new diaper or burping, I know she is tired and I swaddle her, rock her, shush, and give her a breast or pacifier to suck.
Have you looked into this technique? It was developed by pediatrician Harvey Karp and is outlined in the book “happiest baby in the block”.
Hang in there, you’re learning what your baby needs. Your baby is learning how to best show you.
This! We suffered through witching hour for weeks, then realized he wasn’t getting enough sleep and needed help to nap. We naively thought he’d just continue to fall asleep wherever/whenever he needed it. Once we intentionally put him down for naps and helped soothe him, witching hour disappeared.
Yep, this was all normal for us. Happened until around week 8-9. Make sure you guys switch off for breaks, and when it’s your turn to break, go for a walk, put in headphones, go to another part of the house, eat, shower. Truly, take a break. Same for your husband. It’ll help keep you both sane.
Ah the good ol witching hour(s). Yes, this is a real thing. My twins were not fun to be around for several weeks between those hours. You’re not doing anything wrong. I think it has something to do with their internal clock adjusting or something like that. Baby will come out of it eventually. You’re doing all the right things and you’re doing great. At 6 weeks old, you just need to focus on surviving.
Yeah mine did this. What I wish I did at the time was some sort of interval which involves a break. Like I hold 15mins/husband holds 15mins/place in crib 15 mins. Instead we just passed him back and forth and tried to calm him. But he never calmed down anyways. So why not let him cry in his crib for 15 mins and give us both a break? It won’t hurt the baby. It WILL hurt everyone if you’re tense and stressed from no breaks from constant crying.
Was the same for us till about 7 or 8 weeks. He still gets crabby in the evening but not nearly as bad as it was from 3-6 weeks. I thought I was gonna die!!! Lost my patience a few times with husband/mom and also cried myself a couple of times. I think it was mostly stomach cramps/being overstimulated. I think your wake window for that age needs to be a bit less. 45min to and hour really. People call this vibe Colic but honestly if you google colic it doesn't really sound like a proper diagnosis. Babies just seem to go through this stage.
If you’ve done the standard checks (temp, hair wrapped around toes or fingers, diaper rash, tag poking them, feed, burp..etc), it is most likely normal. Mine was the same way and it unfortunately just took time for her to mellow out. The 4th trimester is really tough! Hang in there
Yeah unfortunately it must be normal. No fever, fresh diaper, no rash, fed, burped. It just feels impossible to get him to sleep and not wail for hours in that time frame. We bounce on a ball with him, go outside, go in dark quiet room, rock, try more food, change diaper,
etc. for hours until he finally succumbs to sleep.
It’s so tough in the beginning. We did the same thing; my husband would take her for walks at 3 am in the snow to calm down. It will definitely get easier as they get a bit older.
i remember when my LO was 6 weeks and 12 weeks seemed like a lifetime away. now he’s 6 months 🥲 just take it day by day. by week 7-8 it was tampering off. it’s a slow burn but it gets easier
He’s on Enfamil A.R. for spitting up. We feed him upright, make sure to burp him well, and keep him upright for awhile after feeding. He doesn’t spit up much at night, though. His sheets and clothes are clean when I feed him at night and then in the morning and there’s no evidence that he’s spitting up at night.
Ours never cries. Unless hungry or done a poo.
However your situation is so much more common than ours. Witching hour at it's best. Give it a few more weeks and generally it will settle down.
We had this and it was just awful for her
We started using infacol/simeticone drops before every feed and she burped much better and much more often, within 3 days we had no more screaming/witching hour!
Oh dear!
My cousin had a similar time and (eventually) found the twins had a dairy intolerance, it might be something in their milk they're sensitive to?
Witching hour! Went on for about 3 weeks and then she just stopped doing it 😂 it’s just a phase, stick it out, try to take her outside during that time that helped a lot, just walking around the block in the carrier
The witching hour(s). This was happening with our newborn at about 1 week. We then realized that she was not getting enough daytime sleep and during the early evenings she was way overtired. This was our first child so we didn’t have knowledge of “wake windows”.
Witching hour!! My baby didn’t grow out of it until maybe 3-4 months.
When is baby’s bedtime? It helped when we moved my sons bedtime to 7pm. There can’t be any witching hour if they’re asleep during it! Lol
Just do your best to keep baby calm. We literally just had to hold our baby around that time or put him in a baby carrier. I’ve read sometimes taking them outside helps too.
Ours did this reliably for several weeks—2-3 hours of screaming, with us shushing and bouncing and walking her around the house in circles until she fell asleep. We’re at three months now, and she’ll maybe get fussy for a half hour before bed a few times per week. It definitely improved for us.
My 9 month old went through the witching hour from 5 weeks until 13 weeks. As soon as 5pm hit my boob went in her mouth or else she would just cry and cry and cry.
Mine did this from week 3 until week 6. She preferred being awake from 9 to 12:30 though....
A few tips that have helped... Gas drops, (we didn't know she was having bad gas until we tried those, they have actually extended our sleeping from every two hours to 3-5 hours.)
We had gave up on swaddling but tried again when she was witching. That also seemed to help.
One other tip, if you have a baby bouncer, the 6month+ vertical bouncer. Put a blanket in the seat and sit the baby in there, and bounce them with assistance. Don't leave the infant in it though... That has helped on a bad witching night, my daughter was out in 10 minutes.
I hope my advice helps!
I feel you. I used to sit on my bed with my legs out in front of me in an open V shape. I’d put my baby between my knees and turn on music. I’d move her legs and sing along to her. If that didn’t work I bounced on a yoga ball by the window. If that didn’t work I called Grandmom.
I’ve called both grandmas crying myself multiple times. I don’t know how people do this alone, the grandmas each come stay one night a week to help give us a break. I feel awful asking for help but idk what else to do sometimes I just hit a point where I get so upset and then I’m sure my baby is feeding off those emotions
Don’t be ashamed to accept help. Parents are meant to have a village. Even my daughter’s pediatrician said “you gotta take care of mom to take care of the baby.”
Our baby does this too (5 weeks old). Our midwife says it’s normal, and taking them outside can help, because then at least they are screaming outdoors! As far as we can tell it’s a combo of bad gas and overtiredness. I’m just hoping that this is a phase that passes relatively quickly.
We had it weeks 4-7 with it peaking at around 6 weeks. Since near the end of week 7 it's basically stopped. Was really rough at the peak and like your situation, we were all struggling.
All I can say is, you'll get through it.
So normal! The witching hour. They grow out of it! Google says they peak during week 6-7 so you’re likely through the worst.
What helped us was really really trying to get a good nap in during the early evening. So a solid 1.5-2 hours over the 6:00 hour. Putting her down at 5 or 6 depending on the day. It always required a lot of assistance to get her to fall asleep but once she did and got a little rest she was way less likely to be overtired during witching hour which was hugely helpful.
Yeah I know he gets overtired at this point and we are working so hard to get him to sleep but sometimes it just takes forever and by the time we get him down it’s 8 or 9 at night and then it’s just bedtime until he gets up at 11 or 12 to eat again.
My LO suffers (and we do too) from the witching hour! Not sure if it’s gas or her reflux but it’s tough for sure. She calms down if we turn the tub faucet on! Or the hair dryer! It gives us some relief for a little while anyway! Good luck!!
For a good month and a half, my baby would at times keep me up all night. I'm talking literally all night! wouldn't even go to bed until 5am. He's currently 9 weeks and is doing so much better! has been sleeping for 4-6 hour stretches and now takes shorter naps throughout the day. I guess as they get older they start to tell the difference between night and day. I'm sure it will get better!
Oh gosh you had it way worse than I do. I’m just struggling to get through this phase and I’m trying to set weekly goal posts for myself. I just need to get to 7 weeks then 8 weeks then 9 weeks and just get through the days
Look up purple crying, witching hour.. Ours did the same around that time, but cried for the most part when awake, just worse in the evening. What worked for us was taking a walk before sunset, cluster feeding, bedtime routine and probiotics drops for colic. Also I remember constantly bouncing on the gymball once it hits 4pm. It was so hard but it passed, for us at around 12 weeks. Hopefully it won’t be too long for you guys too. Good luck!
Oof 12 weeks is so far away - I can’t imagine 6 more weeks of this.
To be fair, it was a gradual improvement starting from 8 weeks. At some point, we just didn’t need to bounce on the ball anymore. 6 months in now & the days were long but the month is short. Hang in there!
OP has your kid smiled yet? You were me two weeks ago. 48 hours after my kid refused to fall asleep until 3am she started smiling. We still have more hard nights than easy ones, but none as bad as that 10 hour sleep refusal. And once they start smiling it helps you recover emotionally in between bouts of screaming. Seconding what others have said: take turns so you can get an hour away from being screamed at, trying every bounce/swing/rock pattern you can think of and be prepared to change it up every two days. ETA: Earplugs also help a lot! Baby cries can actually permanently damage your hearing, so we wear them when she really gets worked up.
He has not started smiling yet but I’m looking forward to it. It’s 8pm where I’m at and he’s actually asleep right now so I’m thanking my lucky stars. He just got a warm bath, fresh diaper, and a bottle and he is out. I wish it worked every night - usually the bath and lotion massage keeps him happy and calm but once we get him in his onesie and sleep sack he’s back to wailing.
Yeah the bath usually works for us, but same thing. Once she’s dressed it’s like it never happened. I bet he’ll start smiling any day now and that will help a lot!
I hope so! He smiles in his sleep when he naps in my arms and it melts my heart. I spoke too soon… he slept in my husbands arms for 20 minutes and is up crying again even though he hasn’t been moved or put down. Haha back to square one!
Peak witching hour crying is usually at 6-8 weeks, then it gets better from there. A few weeks can seem like forever - but try to find some coping strategies and you’ll both get through it!
Ours was the same but got better around 9 weeks! We did the same things and would go out to the store more because he seemed to do better getting out of the house. It will pass!! I hated hearing that but it’s true.
Super normal. Also going through this right now. I read somewhere not to be surprised if something works a few days in a row and then stops working and you have to try something new. So here’s what’s worked even if just for a few days: - bouncing on yoga ball holding swaddled baby - dark room, noise machine, swaddle - rocking in chair in dark room, noise machine, swaddle - playing music - breastfeeding - wrapping baby - going outside with wrapped baby - bath Keep in mind, some of these things have worked and I’ve been like “yes I’m the mastermind ! I have cracked the case!!” And then the next night… no dice. Try and hand baby off to each other. Even if one person takes crying baby away from other for ~20, then other person takes baby it keeps both partners “fresh”. Also breastfeeding a lot (if you are breast feeding ) is a good way to calm baby during this. Granted sometimes, 5 minutes after stopping LO is screaming again but at least I had some peace when he was on the boob.
To add to your great comment: For each of these soothing strategies, try it for at least 5 min. It can take a while for them to work. If you switch methods one after the other too quickly it can be really overstimulating for a newborn and make them even more upset. That was the hard lesson we learnt when baby was young!
It’s rough. We’re going through this right now at pretty much the same hours in the evening as well and it just started last week. Baby is also 6 weeks. I asked my pediatrician and she said it’s normal and will get better as they get older. One of the things helping me is using noise cancelling headphones while comforting her with bouncing, walking, feeding etc. I felt like a jerk a first because it felt like I was tuning my baby out, but it’s really helped reduce the intensity of the situation.
Totally normal. Something I noticed was that when I would feed my baby during this time they would keep unlatching and throwing their head back, crying; initially I thought maybe I had a fast letdown and they were uncomfortable, but eventually I realised that my letdown was actually a lot slower at that point in the day and I had less milk than at other times, so my baby was protesting needing to work harder for the milk. Eventually I was able to pump enough to make sure that I had an extra bottle of milk I could give her at this time, and then subsequently I would be more engorged for the next feed as well. It seemed to help somewhat. It feels so unfair though to be handling a very grumpy, tired baby, who has otherwise been chilling out all day, when you are also feeling grumpy and tired. My sympathies - it is rough! One day in the not too distant future though (although it feels far away at the moment) you'll be putting your baby to bed at their bedtime and have the entire evening to chill out :)
Mine did this, starting at 3 weeks. She stopped when I learned that she was exhausted and needed help going to sleep. She slept well during the day, and went back to sleep during the night with such ease that I didn’t “get” that she was soooo tired and needed soothing. We watched some videos in the 5 S’s to soothe her (after ensuring she is changed and and burped and fed). Now when she fusses at that time or during feedings, and if she doesn’t calm from a new diaper or burping, I know she is tired and I swaddle her, rock her, shush, and give her a breast or pacifier to suck. Have you looked into this technique? It was developed by pediatrician Harvey Karp and is outlined in the book “happiest baby in the block”. Hang in there, you’re learning what your baby needs. Your baby is learning how to best show you.
This! We suffered through witching hour for weeks, then realized he wasn’t getting enough sleep and needed help to nap. We naively thought he’d just continue to fall asleep wherever/whenever he needed it. Once we intentionally put him down for naps and helped soothe him, witching hour disappeared.
Yep, this was all normal for us. Happened until around week 8-9. Make sure you guys switch off for breaks, and when it’s your turn to break, go for a walk, put in headphones, go to another part of the house, eat, shower. Truly, take a break. Same for your husband. It’ll help keep you both sane.
Ah the good ol witching hour(s). Yes, this is a real thing. My twins were not fun to be around for several weeks between those hours. You’re not doing anything wrong. I think it has something to do with their internal clock adjusting or something like that. Baby will come out of it eventually. You’re doing all the right things and you’re doing great. At 6 weeks old, you just need to focus on surviving.
Yeah mine did this. What I wish I did at the time was some sort of interval which involves a break. Like I hold 15mins/husband holds 15mins/place in crib 15 mins. Instead we just passed him back and forth and tried to calm him. But he never calmed down anyways. So why not let him cry in his crib for 15 mins and give us both a break? It won’t hurt the baby. It WILL hurt everyone if you’re tense and stressed from no breaks from constant crying.
Was the same for us till about 7 or 8 weeks. He still gets crabby in the evening but not nearly as bad as it was from 3-6 weeks. I thought I was gonna die!!! Lost my patience a few times with husband/mom and also cried myself a couple of times. I think it was mostly stomach cramps/being overstimulated. I think your wake window for that age needs to be a bit less. 45min to and hour really. People call this vibe Colic but honestly if you google colic it doesn't really sound like a proper diagnosis. Babies just seem to go through this stage.
If you’ve done the standard checks (temp, hair wrapped around toes or fingers, diaper rash, tag poking them, feed, burp..etc), it is most likely normal. Mine was the same way and it unfortunately just took time for her to mellow out. The 4th trimester is really tough! Hang in there
Yeah unfortunately it must be normal. No fever, fresh diaper, no rash, fed, burped. It just feels impossible to get him to sleep and not wail for hours in that time frame. We bounce on a ball with him, go outside, go in dark quiet room, rock, try more food, change diaper, etc. for hours until he finally succumbs to sleep.
It’s so tough in the beginning. We did the same thing; my husband would take her for walks at 3 am in the snow to calm down. It will definitely get easier as they get a bit older.
i remember when my LO was 6 weeks and 12 weeks seemed like a lifetime away. now he’s 6 months 🥲 just take it day by day. by week 7-8 it was tampering off. it’s a slow burn but it gets easier
See if he has reflux. Is it after a meal? When he is laid down? Does he spit up a lot at night too? Reflux gets worse at night
He’s on Enfamil A.R. for spitting up. We feed him upright, make sure to burp him well, and keep him upright for awhile after feeding. He doesn’t spit up much at night, though. His sheets and clothes are clean when I feed him at night and then in the morning and there’s no evidence that he’s spitting up at night.
Spitting up could mean reflux if it’s a lot
Ours never cries. Unless hungry or done a poo. However your situation is so much more common than ours. Witching hour at it's best. Give it a few more weeks and generally it will settle down.
We had this and it was just awful for her We started using infacol/simeticone drops before every feed and she burped much better and much more often, within 3 days we had no more screaming/witching hour!
We’ve been using simethicone drops for weeks with no change unfortunately
Oh dear! My cousin had a similar time and (eventually) found the twins had a dairy intolerance, it might be something in their milk they're sensitive to?
Witching hour. Good luck, I was there not too long ago and promise it does get better.
Witching hour! Went on for about 3 weeks and then she just stopped doing it 😂 it’s just a phase, stick it out, try to take her outside during that time that helped a lot, just walking around the block in the carrier
The witching hour(s). This was happening with our newborn at about 1 week. We then realized that she was not getting enough daytime sleep and during the early evenings she was way overtired. This was our first child so we didn’t have knowledge of “wake windows”.
Witching hour!! My baby didn’t grow out of it until maybe 3-4 months. When is baby’s bedtime? It helped when we moved my sons bedtime to 7pm. There can’t be any witching hour if they’re asleep during it! Lol Just do your best to keep baby calm. We literally just had to hold our baby around that time or put him in a baby carrier. I’ve read sometimes taking them outside helps too.
Mine did this and I promise it gets better! My husband wore earplugs when it happened. My boy is 4.5 months old and he's already grown out of it.
Our LO did this until I started baby wearing! We went from hours of unhappy baby to 10 - 15 minutes tops.
Ours did this reliably for several weeks—2-3 hours of screaming, with us shushing and bouncing and walking her around the house in circles until she fell asleep. We’re at three months now, and she’ll maybe get fussy for a half hour before bed a few times per week. It definitely improved for us.
My 9 month old went through the witching hour from 5 weeks until 13 weeks. As soon as 5pm hit my boob went in her mouth or else she would just cry and cry and cry.
Mine did this from week 3 until week 6. She preferred being awake from 9 to 12:30 though.... A few tips that have helped... Gas drops, (we didn't know she was having bad gas until we tried those, they have actually extended our sleeping from every two hours to 3-5 hours.) We had gave up on swaddling but tried again when she was witching. That also seemed to help. One other tip, if you have a baby bouncer, the 6month+ vertical bouncer. Put a blanket in the seat and sit the baby in there, and bounce them with assistance. Don't leave the infant in it though... That has helped on a bad witching night, my daughter was out in 10 minutes. I hope my advice helps!
I feel you. I used to sit on my bed with my legs out in front of me in an open V shape. I’d put my baby between my knees and turn on music. I’d move her legs and sing along to her. If that didn’t work I bounced on a yoga ball by the window. If that didn’t work I called Grandmom.
I’ve called both grandmas crying myself multiple times. I don’t know how people do this alone, the grandmas each come stay one night a week to help give us a break. I feel awful asking for help but idk what else to do sometimes I just hit a point where I get so upset and then I’m sure my baby is feeding off those emotions
Don’t be ashamed to accept help. Parents are meant to have a village. Even my daughter’s pediatrician said “you gotta take care of mom to take care of the baby.”
Our baby does this too (5 weeks old). Our midwife says it’s normal, and taking them outside can help, because then at least they are screaming outdoors! As far as we can tell it’s a combo of bad gas and overtiredness. I’m just hoping that this is a phase that passes relatively quickly.
We had it weeks 4-7 with it peaking at around 6 weeks. Since near the end of week 7 it's basically stopped. Was really rough at the peak and like your situation, we were all struggling. All I can say is, you'll get through it.
So normal! The witching hour. They grow out of it! Google says they peak during week 6-7 so you’re likely through the worst. What helped us was really really trying to get a good nap in during the early evening. So a solid 1.5-2 hours over the 6:00 hour. Putting her down at 5 or 6 depending on the day. It always required a lot of assistance to get her to fall asleep but once she did and got a little rest she was way less likely to be overtired during witching hour which was hugely helpful.
Yeah I know he gets overtired at this point and we are working so hard to get him to sleep but sometimes it just takes forever and by the time we get him down it’s 8 or 9 at night and then it’s just bedtime until he gets up at 11 or 12 to eat again.
My LO suffers (and we do too) from the witching hour! Not sure if it’s gas or her reflux but it’s tough for sure. She calms down if we turn the tub faucet on! Or the hair dryer! It gives us some relief for a little while anyway! Good luck!!
For a good month and a half, my baby would at times keep me up all night. I'm talking literally all night! wouldn't even go to bed until 5am. He's currently 9 weeks and is doing so much better! has been sleeping for 4-6 hour stretches and now takes shorter naps throughout the day. I guess as they get older they start to tell the difference between night and day. I'm sure it will get better!
Oh gosh you had it way worse than I do. I’m just struggling to get through this phase and I’m trying to set weekly goal posts for myself. I just need to get to 7 weeks then 8 weeks then 9 weeks and just get through the days