The 6-8 Week Crying Peak (Unsettled Baby)
Why babies cry more between 2 and 3 months, the soothing strategies that help, and when crying suggests something else.
- Last reviewed
- Sources cited
- 4 sources
- Author
- Dr Jubal John, FRACP
- Category
- medical guides
This page is being reviewed
We’re double-checking this content before publishing it — it’ll be available here shortly.
In the meantime, browse the published guides or contact the rooms.
Take-home
Almost all babies cry more between 2 and 3 months, peaking around 6-8 weeks, often worst late afternoon and evening. Up to 2-3 hours per day is within normal range. It eases markedly from 3-4 months. This pattern is seen across every culture and feeding method, it isn’t caused by anything you’re doing.
The crying curve
Average hours of crying per day across the first months. Your baby may sit anywhere on this band — what matters is the shape: rise, peak, then fall.
Researchers call this pattern “the period of PURPLE crying”: a description, not a diagnosis. It does not mean something is wrong with your baby.
P-U-R-P-L-E, what the letters stand for
- Peak pattern at 6-8 weeks
- Unexpected, comes and goes for no clear reason
- Resists soothing
- Pain-like face (even when nothing hurts)
- Long lasting (bouts of 30-40 minutes or more)
- Evening cluster, often worst late afternoon
What it looks like at home
A baby who was easy to settle at 2 weeks now seems impossible. The “witching hour” stretches from late afternoon into the evening. Crying starts with no trigger and your usual tricks stop working. Short happy stretches alternate with intense unhappy ones.
The most likely reasons are big developmental leaps (brain wiring, new awareness, a maturing gut) and your baby running out of bandwidth at the end of a busy sensory day. It is not caused by wind, by milk supply, or by anything you’ve done wrong. Most babies who are feeding beautifully and gaining weight perfectly still cry through this peak.
Soothing strategies
Try several in combination. What works one day may not work the next, keep swapping.
The 5 S’s
A simple framework from US paediatrician Dr Harvey Karp:
- Swaddle: light, firm wrap with arms tucked (stop once your baby is starting to roll)
- Side or stomach hold in your arms (never for sleep, back is safest for sleep)
- Shush: white noise, a vacuum, or your own “shhhh” at about the volume of the crying
- Swing: gentle rhythmic motion; a pram walk or rocking often works
- Suck: breast, dummy, or clean finger
Other things that often help
Skin-to-skin on your chest. A carrier or sling, so baby stays close while you move around. A warm bath, if water is a winner for your baby. A drive or a pram walk pairs motion with white noise, which is why it so often works. Dim the lights and drop your voice. And when one of you is at the end of your rope, hand over to the other, that counts as a strategy too.
Safe sleep, always
If you put your baby down in their cot to sleep, it is always on the back, in their own sleep space, with no pillows, soft toys, or loose bedding. See Red Nose Australia’s Six Safe Sleep Recommendations.
Looking after the adults
This peak is exhausting. Take shifts with a partner, family member, or trusted friend. Eat and hydrate (low blood sugar makes everything harder). Nap when you can, even 30 minutes helps. Earplugs that still let you hear the baby take the edge off. Accept any help you’re offered, meals, cleaning, someone holding baby while you shower.
You don’t have to fix it. Holding your baby, talking softly, putting them down safely when you need a moment, all of that is enough.
If you reach breaking point
Put baby down and walk away
It is always safe to put a crying baby down in an empty cot, on their back, and step out of the room for a few minutes. Shaking a baby, even briefly, can cause severe brain injury or death. If you feel the urge, leave the room and call MCH 13 22 29, a partner, or 000.
Support is available: any time
For reassurance and advice
- Maternal & Child Health Line: 13 22 29 (24 hours, every day in Victoria)
- Your GP, MCH nurse, or paediatrician
- Us at NeoPaeds Melbourne for follow-up concerns in our existing patients
- PANDA National Helpline: 1300 726 306 (perinatal anxiety & depression)
For your own mental health
- Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24/7)
- PANDA: 1300 726 306 (9am-7pm weekdays AEST)
- Gidget Foundation, Beyond Blue, PANDA, perinatal counselling services
- Your GP can refer you for psychological support under a Mental Health Care Plan
Emergency
Call 000 if you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, or if your baby has been shaken.
These calls don’t get you in trouble, they get you help.
When crying might mean something else
Most crying at 6-8 weeks is normal, but ring for review if any of these apply:
Watch closely — MCH Line 13 22 29 for advice
Within a day or two: ring GP, MCH nurse, or us if:
- A new very high-pitched, painful-sounding scream
- Baby not feeding, not wetting nappies, or not gaining weight
- Baby seems unwell, pale, floppy, hot, or lethargic
- Frequent vomiting (not just small spills) or blood in poo
- Crying started suddenly after 3 months
Call 000 or go to emergency now if:
- Fever 38°C or above in a baby under 3 months
- Difficulty breathing, grunting, or blue around the mouth
- Floppy, unresponsive, or very hard to wake
- A seizure or jerky movements
- A non-blanching rash (does not disappear when pressed)
- Any suspected head injury
After the peak
By 3 to 4 months, crying drops to shorter, reason-based bursts; smiles, coos and awake-alert play take over; a sleep pattern starts to emerge; and cues become easier to read.
Summary
- The crying peak between 2 and 3 months is a normal developmental stage
- Try several soothing strategies, what works can change day to day
- A crying baby in a safe cot is fine while you take a break
- Ring 13 22 29, PANDA, or Lifeline if you’re struggling
- Call 000 if you fear for your baby’s safety