Week 1: Taylor arrives home, sleeps all the time. Life is good great! Big brother, Benjamin, is transitioning perfectly. Ah, what a fabulous family of four we have become.
Week 2: Life continues to be great. This two kid thing is WAY better than I had anticipated. Totally manageable.
Week 3: We started to experience crying at night. “Oh no!” we say. This is not so much fun. But babies cry and it will pass. We were such suckers!
Week 4: The crying starts to get rather intense at times. She just doesn’t seem to be consolable. It starts every night around 6, just in time for Daddy to get home. He begins to wonder why she hates him. Dinner time is no longer enjoyable. People whisper about this colic thing, but we aren’t believers.
Week 5: We now add a noontime crying session to the evening scream fest. Taylor is adorned with the nickname, “Little screamy.” People on Facebook joke about this nickname…we aren’t laughing. Where, oh where, is that sweet baby girl we brought home from the hospital? Oh, and the projectile vomiting begins…note to future guests. Sit on the futon with care!
Week 6: Let’s see what can sum this up? Hell on Earth, perhaps? During this week…
- What used to be two separate fits of screaming gelled into one extended, miserable existence for our entire family. Pretty much from noon until 10 pm, if she was awake, she was screaming!
- I cried every day - at least 3 times, for at least 3 min, for at least 3 days of the week - does that qualify me for some type of Rule of three for Colicky Parents???
- Watched my toddler put his head in his hands and shake his head when she started screaming again.
- Called my husband at worked and told him I no longer wanted to be a mom of two anymore. AND I was serious! (ahhh, the guilt of saying that one out loud!)
- I drank a lot of wine and breastfed anyway (Ok, more guilt made me stop at two small glasses each night, but I never would have done that with my first child!)
- I was on my way to having thighs of steel from all the bouncing that I did – on the exercise ball, with her in the carrier, while walking outside, in the steam filled bathroom. You name it, I have bounced on/with/in it!
Week 7: Here we are now. Took her to the Dr. yesterday and she said there is nothing medically wrong. How bad is it that I was disappointed? I was hoping for a little reflux or something so that we could give her some drugs and be on our way! Pathetic I know. Desperate times, people! The one good tip she game me was try something for 20-30 min, if it doesn’t work stop, put her down, walk away and let her cry on her own for 20-30 min. Keep working in 20-30 min chunks until the day is over. Let’s see, screaming starts at noon, goes to bed at 10, that makes for 20-30 chunks of time and I only have to suffer through half of them. It somehow makes it more manageable. Until I stop to think of my little nugget suffering through all 20-30 of them…
So to sum it all up, Colic. SUCKS!
Oh my dear friend, I am feeling for you. Hoping things get better. Praying that my little fetus doesn't give me this kind of run for my money because I don't have what it takes - I am admitting that up-front!
