Whether your baby is 6 weeks old and suddenly won't sleep, or 1 year old and still not sleeping through the night: it's almost always one of these. Run down the list once, and you'll usually recognize your pattern right away.
And one principle that takes a lot of pressure off: baby sleep is not about sleeping through. Babies wake at night because their sleep cycles are short and they need closeness and food. Night waking is biologically normal, through the first year and often beyond. Your baby is not broken, and you have not done anything wrong.
Between 5 and 10 pm your baby cries inconsolably, wants to feed and then doesn't, falls asleep and startles awake again? Parents call this the witching hour, and it is extremely common, especially in the first three months. At the end of the day your baby is offloading everything the day poured in, and for very small people that happens through crying. It is not a sign that something is missing or that you overlooked anything.
Two things help you get through it: First, it passes, usually on its own after a few weeks. Second, it often arrives surprisingly on schedule, at the same time each evening. And what comes at the same time is predictable: you can take turns, eat beforehand, have the carrier ready. That doesn't make the witching hour lovely, but it loses its power once it stops taking you by surprise.
A baby that wakes at night and wants to be held is a normal baby. Not a project to optimize.
Many babies spend their first weeks and months sleeping almost exclusively on mom or dad, in the carrier or on a chest. That is not a bad sign and not a habit you accidentally trained. Closeness is a need for your baby, like hunger, not spoiling. One mother put it this way: “My baby slept ON me for the first weeks. You always find a way.”
Whether and when you change anything is your decision, not a book's and not a method's. Most babies learn to be put down on their own, at their own pace. Until then, contact napping, done safely, is a completely legitimate way through this season.
When your baby won't sleep, the most maddening question is: do I try now or in an hour? Darli learns your baby's rhythm and shows you when they will realistically get tired today. No more guessing, just a gentle nudge at the right moment.
You'll see the witching hour coming too. Because it usually starts around the same time, it shows up in your timeline, and you can plan your evening around it instead of being flattened by it.
Sleep, feeds, diapers: one tap is enough. Darli sorts the rest.
Around week six, many babies hit a peak of fussiness: more crying, more cluster feeding, shorter stretches of sleep. The first big developmental leap lands around then too. It's a well-known phase, not a step backwards. Watch for short wake windows during this time, often only about an hour at 6 weeks.
Yes. A large share of one year olds still wake at least once a night, as parent surveys show again and again. Sleeping through is a developmental step that arrives at a different time for every child. If your child is happy and energetic during the day, night waking at 1 year is no cause for concern.
The witching hour is the stretch in the early evening, usually between 5 and 10 pm, when babies cry inconsolably and are hard to soothe. It's very common in the first weeks of life and helps babies offload the stimulation of a full day. For most babies it eases noticeably around the third month.
No. Closeness is a basic need for your baby, not a luxury to be trained away. Contact napping is very common in the first months and predicts nothing bad about your child's sleep. The vast majority of children learn to sleep independently later, at their own pace.
No, please don't. Another chore is the last thing exhausted parents need. With Darli, one tap at sleep and one at wake-up is enough, and the app sorts the rest. And if you skip a few days, that's completely fine. Darli is there to lighten the load, not to grade you.
This guide is not a substitute for medical advice. If you are worried about your child, talk to your pediatrician or midwife.
