Great day, followed by really bad one

[Anonymous]

It’s like I have two different babies….yesterday I took my son to the Y nursery for a brief tour, then to the mall, then later to a mom’s group meeting at a restaurant. He was perfect all day. He spit up but not too badly because he didn’t get agitated and was in a good mood.

Today has been a different story. He has fretted and cried all day. He cries no matter where I put him or if I hold him. He cries in the bouncy seat, the swing, the crib, the baby carrier, and my lap.

As a result, he has done nothing but hose me with spit up continuously all day long.

I have to confess I felt frustrated to the point of anger by evening. My husband has a one-hour commute one way and does not get off til 7 at night so it’s like I’m a single parent. When he comes home, he plays with our son a little but then conks out on the couch by 10 and stays that way for the rest of the night. I have never been tempted to do anything violent to my child and never would, don’t misundertand, but it does drive me insane sometimes. He’s 11 weeks so I thought maybe he was past the colic but I guess not. I had to get out the swaddle blanket it was so bad. I had hoped to retire it by now. Dr. Harvey “Happiest Baby on the Block” Karp says colic is supposed to be gone by 12 weeks – the end of the “fourth trimester” but it was terrible today. Heck he was not this bad when he had his shots on Monday.

Just had to change my soaking wet shirt again and clean the carpet where he hosed it. This kid had better outgrow this spitting soon before I lose my mind.

LoisLane

[Anonymous]

I’m pretty sure I read that the reaction to some of these shots can be delayed up to 7 days. Maybe that’s what’s bothering him today.

I really do understand your frustration. My dh is home early but he’s always felt that it’s my job to take care of the children, especially when they are babies. It’s so hard to do it alone. I really think it’s unnatural, too. In some cultures it is considered ludicrous for a mother of a new baby to do it alone. The mother is pampered and family members help with the new baby. And that’s with a healthy baby. A reflux baby is so much harder. I’ve had two of them!

Is there anyone who can give you a little break once in a while?

I wish I had better advice. Just know that you are not alone, and it will pass.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, I know many people whose babies didn’t outgrown their colic

until after 4 full months. But it could be that he was really overtired from

such a busy day yesterday? Some babies are really easily overstimulated –

my DD was this way until at least 6 months – it went without saying that the

day after a busy full day would be a bad one…

[Anonymous]

I was thinking the same thing that Karen said: maybe he was just reacting to the busy day yesterday. I know whenever we do anything different and not routine, Bryce will be fussy the next day. Or could he have an earache or something?? Just some thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Yes, both my kids got overstimulated and overtired easily. But that being said, Hailey screamed and cried nonstop for 6 months straight. Our doctor told us that some babies are like that and don’t outgrow that kind of behaviour until later than others. If he has good days and bad days, I’d be less likely to say “colic”. I’ve noted that colic tends to be every day, same time, same pattern, but that might just be my kids.

When either of my girls had days like that, I’d take them into their bedroom, make it very dark, put on some soft music, and try to rock them to sleep. I found that if I could calm them to get a good nap, they were somewhat better off when they woke up.

I also know how you feel about losing it at night. I often pray for forgiveness that Hailey will not be scarred by all the times I’ve said awful things in the heat of the moment. Is there someone who can give you a break? I know that when people used to ask me that I’d laugh to myself, but if there’s someone who can watch him for even a little bit, that might help you to regroup.

Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

Hello Lois Lane and others,

We’ve had the good days/bad days experiences, too. Right when I think I’m about to hurl myself off a cliff, we actually got a day with minimal fussing and – wow! – not a single puke. But those days were rare.

What we thought was colicwith one of the boys was actually the reflux – after 14 weeks of age the “colicky time” from 6-9pm went away, but the all-day writhing in pain remained. We tried all kinds of medicines, but nothing worked – he just had to outgrow that stage.

I don’t know about everyone else’s experiences, but with ours it seems everything related to their reflux changes every few weeks…which in some ways is good (they get past the inability to sleep, etc.) and in some ways is bad (they started puking more, etc.).

Hang in there, and try to vent and rant as much as possible! (My husband also works long hours – I know your frustration at the end of a long day)

Laura Hamel, SeaBird

http://www.SeaBirdChronicles.com

Mother to preemie twins (1/20/06) with severe acid reflux

[Author]

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