Colic

Hey everyone! I am still adjusting to motherhood and loving every second of it! I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog that will include the birth story and obviously a blog name-change since Kynlee is here now! I can't promise it will be done soon, but it will be done. :)

Special thanks to Lauren from Adventures in the Land of Little Choo Choos for being my guest blogger today! Her post below is about colic. Enjoy! 

When a new mom is pregnant with her first child, she often only envisions the joy that a baby will bring to her life.   She daydreams about sweet, innocent, snuggly babies.   I know that was how I was when I was pregnant with my daughter, Piper.  Unfortunately, life with my  Piper did not start out so sweet.

Hello, my name is Lauren.  And I survived colic.

My first warning should have been at the hospital.  The nurses would say things like "You have yourself a wild one!"  or "Wow, she really can scream, can she?"  Because I was breastfeeding, I was very adamant that Piper not receive a pacifier.  That changed before we left the hospital.  One of the nurses told me that the pacifier would not hurt her.  I could hear the pleading in her voice.  

Piper cried all the time.  It didn't help the situation that she had the loudest cry known to man.  Once, while shopping, Piper started screaming while in her stroller.  A woman actually ran out of the dressing room to see what had happened to the baby she was hearing.  She thought that someone had dropped their child.  Piper was fine, of course.  That was simply  /how she always sounded when she cried.

Having a baby that screamed all the time really added stress to not only my life, but my husband's life as well.  We would get snappy with each other and blame each other for her cries.  There were even a couple of times that I would cry with Piper because it seemed like I could do nothing to satisfy her.

Life went on like this for 3 months.  Finally, on July 4, 2008, she stopped screaming.  I remember it so clearly because we were going to a barbecue at a friend's house.  We knew that we would have to leave early, but we wanted to attempt to celebrate the Fourth.  We were surprised when Piper did not cry the entire day, except for when it was time to eat.  After that day, she only cried when any baby would.

I learned a few things from Piper about dealing with colic during that dark time.  These may not work on all babies, but they worked for us.

• It isn't your fault that your baby is crying.  Sometimes, telling myself that I was not the reason she was crying was all I had to keep me from completely losing it.
• It is okay to walk away from your baby if you have had too much.  There were times that I had to put Piper in her crib and leave the room so I could just breath.
• A baby sling or wrap is often times the only way to keep a colicky baby happy.  You'll just have to trust me on this one.
• Learn the airplane hold.  This position puts your arms under baby's tummy.  The pressure seemed to give Piper relief from whatever it was that was bothering her
• No matter what anyone tells you, you cannot spoil a newborn by holding them too much. 
• Remember, this too, shall pass.  Most babies only have colic for the first few months. Thankfully, this was true for us, too.

If you have any tips or suggestions, please share them.  The more information a person has who is dealing with a colicky baby, the better!

Lauren

littlechoochoos.blogspot.com