Peak crying, first check-ups
Week six is a big one: the crying curve typically peaks around now, another growth spurt often lands, and in the UK it's time to book your own postnatal check if it hasn't happened yet.
The summit of the crying curve
Across studies and countries, babies' daily crying peaks around six weeks — averaging roughly two to three hours a day, with healthy babies both well above and below that. From here it declines steadily, usually noticeably by 10–12 weeks.
Some hospitals teach this as the Period of PURPLE Crying: Peak pattern, Unexpected, Resists soothing, Pain-like face, Long-lasting, Evening. The point of the acronym is reassurance — this profile is normal infant behaviour, not illness or bad parenting.
The safety message bears repeating at peak week: crying doesn't hurt babies, but shaking does, catastrophically. Safe cot, closed door, five minutes of breathing is always an acceptable move.
Growth spurt, round two
The six-week growth spurt often overlaps with peak crying — a hungry, fussy, unsettled few days. Feed responsively and know it passes.
In better news, smiles and coos are arriving or consolidating for many babies this week, which takes some of the sting out of the 5pm–9pm shift.
Head control is coming along: many babies now lift head and briefly chest in tummy time.
Your 6-week check (UK) — and theirs coming up
In the UK, GP surgeries should offer mothers a postnatal check at 6–8 weeks covering four things: your mental health, your physical recovery, pelvic health, and contraception. It's about you, not the baby — if it feels rushed or skipped, you're entitled to ask for proper time.
Worth knowing: you can become pregnant again before your first period returns, so the contraception chat is more practical than it might feel at 6 weeks.
Your baby's own 6–8 week examination (heart, hips, eyes, testes, weight, development) is usually booked together with yours, and the first vaccinations come at 8 weeks — get both in the diary now. In the US, this all rolls into the 2-month well-child visit.
And you
Be honest at the postnatal check. The questions about mood aren't a test to pass — under-reporting is the main reason parents don't get help that exists.
Physically, six weeks is when many people are told they 'should' feel recovered. Bodies don't read the memo; ongoing pain, incontinence or heaviness aren't things to put up with — the check is exactly the place to raise them.
Partners don't get an NHS check of their own, so borrow the format: how is your mood, your sleep, your body, your relationship? Two-minute audit, potentially important answers.
Feeding at this stage
Pick how you're feeding — we'll remember for next time. Every one of these is a good way to feed a baby.
Breastfeeding
- Growth spurt plus peak crying can mean feeding feels constant this week — supply worries spike at six weeks, but nappies and weight gain almost always tell a calmer story.
- Feeding through the evening fussies at the breast is a legitimate soothing strategy, not spoiling.
- If feeding hurts, or you're dreading feeds, a lactation consultant or breastfeeding counsellor this week is a better plan than gritting your teeth to eight weeks.
Breast + expressed
- Mirror the spurt if you're exclusively expressing: an extra session for two or three days nudges supply up to the new demand.
- Power-pumping (pumping in bursts over an hour, mimicking cluster feeds) is a tool some find helpful for spurt weeks — evidence is mostly practical rather than trial-based, so treat it as worth a try, not gospel.
- Check pump parts this week — worn valves and poorly fitting flanges quietly steal output.
Breast + formula
- Spurt weeks can unbalance a combination routine — it's fine to add an extra breastfeed, an extra top-up, or both, and rebalance next week.
- If your baby is taking more formula and your breasts feel fuller at skipped feeds, expressing just to comfort avoids both blocked ducts and unintended supply increase.
- There is no ranking hidden in your ratio — a baby getting some breastmilk and some formula is simply a fed baby with a flexible family.
Formula
- Appetite often steps up around six weeks — offering a little more per feed, guided by your baby, is the responsive move.
- Peak-crying evenings tempt everyone to over-feed as a soother; if the bottle isn't the answer, swap to motion, sucking or a bath rather than another ounce.
- Reflux-ish behaviour (spitting up, fussing after feeds) peaks around now in many babies — smaller, more frequent, well-winded feeds help more often than formula switches; your health visitor or pediatrician can advise.
Totally normal (even when it doesn't feel it)
- Two to three hours of crying a day around now — that is literally the average at the peak of the normal crying curve.
- Crying that intensifies in the evening and resists every trick — 'resists soothing' is part of the normal pattern, not proof of pain.
- Another ravenous, unsettled patch — the 6-week growth spurt is as classic as the 3-week one.
- A baby who still wakes every 2–3 hours at night — completely standard at six weeks.
- Spitting up small amounts after many feeds — if your baby is gaining weight and mostly content, this is laundry, not illness.
- Still no smile in some babies — the 8-week review is the natural checkpoint, and late smilers usually turn out fine.
- Feeling no magic at the postnatal check question 'and how are you?' — six weeks is many people's hardest point; say so.
Worth checking
You know your baby best — if any of these ring true, or something just feels off, it's always OK to ask.
- Fever of 38°C (100.4°F) or above — same-day medical advice without exception at this age: call your GP or NHS 111 (UK); in the US, your pediatrician.
- Crying with fever, vomiting, a bulging fontanelle, or a baby who becomes unusually quiet and floppy after crying — call 999 (UK) or 911 (US).
- A baby who never has calm alert periods, barely responds to you, or feels stiff or floppy when handled — raise with your GP or health visitor this week; in the US, your pediatrician.
- Crying that changed suddenly in character today (high-pitched, moaning) rather than the usual evening build — call your GP or 111 today; in the US, your pediatrician.
- Feeding refusal beyond a couple of feeds, or wet nappies tailing off — call your health visitor or GP; in the US, your pediatrician.
- Leaking urine or faeces, or pain that stops you functioning at six weeks postpartum — not an emergency, but book the GP: effective treatment exists and 'it's just having a baby' is not the standard you should accept.
- Scoring high on the mood questions, or knowing you fudged the answers — go back, or ring your health visitor and say so; in the US, tell your OB or pediatrician (they screen parents for exactly this).