Most nights, sometime between around 7:30 or so and about 11:00, Simon flips out. His face turns bright red or purple, a vein on his skull sticks out, he balls up his fists, and he screams bloody murder. We call this “fighting mad”, and the hour (or two or three) during which it occurs is fondly called “the witchng hour.”
When Simon has a good day, he still usually has a witching hour. We just figure that that time doesn’t count. It’s a scratch, you could say. It’s not real time or the real Simon. It’s just the witching hour, a phenomenon that has nothing to do with his true self.
In recent weeks, as Simon has been doing better all round, his witching hour has also lessened. When it comes, he’s less hysterical and the whole thing is over faster.
Then there is last night. Last night Simon skipped the witching hour altogether. We fed him around 6 or so, and he stayed up until we fed him again at around 8:30. During that time we sang to him, read to him, and put him in his bumbo seat. He was happy throughout. Then, after the 8:30 feeding, we played with him some more and gave him his bath. Still happy.
Finally, at 11:00 we gave him supper and put him down for the night. He fell asleep quickly and stayed asleep until 7:00 this morning. Happy Baby! Good Baby!
Check out happy Simon pics here and in the album.