Don't worry, I am still here!
I have been slowly working on this post for the last... well... 5 weeks at least.
As you all read, Willa came into this world making quite the entrance.
We had a great time in the hospital, she slept great, ate great, pooped great, did everything,
well, GREAT! We thought "awesome, this is going to be a breeze" HA!
Who were we kidding?!
I was in denial that colic was the answer to what was going on with my perfect little rainbow baby.
Denial is exactly what it was. She's breastfed. Breastfed babies don't get colic. They just don't.
Man was I wrong and I wish I had come around sooner.
There is so many different things that seem to cause these problems, colic, reflux, lip/tongue tie (watch for my next blog post on this!), gas, food allergies, etc. I was determined that it was something I was eating so I removed all my vices, dairy, chocolate, caffeine, citrus fruit, green vegetables, and spicy food. It seemed to help some, but just as I thought "yep that was the ticket... NOPE!" I doubled up my probiotic, always remembered to take my vitamins, gave peanut a probiotic herself... ugh makes me sleepy thinking about everything we tried. Convinced it was reflux, was put on prilosec (let me say, that is the most AWFUL tasting medicine for infants ever! She hated it, and it was like wrangling a very tiny screaming monkey to give it to her!) Gripe water, gas drops, swaddling, essential oils, and yes, I was adjusting her almost daily...
nothing . was . working.
The only thing that seemed to calm her at all was babywearing! Holy moly it was like sleepy dust as long as she was wrapped up tight, had her pacifier, and I kept walking! One of the bonuses to babywearing is that you can walk around with them but have 2 hands to do what you need to do around the house! Lets just say that I burned off a lot of baby weight by all the walking, bouncing, and babywearing I did! It didn't "cure" her, but it helped keep me from crying with her quite a few times! I am so glad I have a friend that was able to help me out and teach me because it was seriously a sanity saver during the last 11 weeks! Plus, it is a great chance to get your snuggle time in! Did you know that having your baby close to your chest will also help maintain your milk supply while nursing? How great is that?
The crying started out at random times of day, but when it finally started to settle in between 5:30 and 9 pm, I had to admit that I was wrong and it must be colic. I was starting to feel so defeated. Like seriously, defeated. I would try to explain to people what I was feeling and I hated to feel like I was complaining because "You wanted a baby, you asked for this." Yes, someone actually said that to me.
Well you are right, I did want a baby, but I didn't ask for a beautiful little face that I could no more than snuggle for 5 minutes before she was screaming her face off for hours. She wanted nothing to do with anyone other than me, not dad, not grandma, nobody. Mom, that is it... But this mom was getting exhausted. My husband had to work on the road for most of my 8 week maternity leave, so I had to make it work to do it all. I won't say that I was depressed, but I will definitely say that I was very stressed and EXHAUSTED both mentally and physically. I remember thinking, how do women do this by themselves? I give you huge props mamas! That was so tough!
We are currently sitting at 11 weeks old today for miss Willa. And let me tell you, she is getting better! Thank the Lord! We finally decided that we had to do something different, which was also very hard for me to do... we decided to take her to a different chiropractor. I see babies, but not daily. It was something that I was afraid to admit having to do, I don't know why, but I had to do it. And man am I glad we did. We found a chiropractor in Sioux Falls, South Dakota who is certified in pediatrics and sees more kids in two hours than I see in 2 weeks! She was amazing! It is a hard thing to do, taking your child to someone else that does the same career that you do, especially when you feel like you should be able to do it yourself. Needless to say, we have had some awesome results! The day after her first visit was like we had a new baby! Hubs and I sat on the couch that night staring at the clock waiting for the meltdown to start... it never did! We were so relieved!
The next day was Thanksgiving, meltdown city, horrible next few days (found out that lots of people from Thanksgiving got the stomach flu, so I think that had something to do with her too, she just wasn't right), then baptism on Sunday (meltdown there), crabby Monday for daycare, and Tuesday another visit to Dr. Ashley! This time the visit went much smoother and she didn't even cry! She has had a great week since! A few meltdowns here and there, but that is to be expected with an 11 week old! But no crying for hours! Hallelujah! I am so optimistic that we are on the right track!
Now like I said before, colic is not for the faint of heart! It pulls at your heartstrings and makes you feel so incredibly helpless. Your baby appears to be in horrible pain and you just can't take it away. All of this while listening to screaming for hours. So please, the next time you hear someone say that their baby has colic, be considerate... give them a hug, that's what they need and deserve!
And for those of you that are going through the same things I have described, look into the use of craniosacral therapy and chiropractic adjustments for colic. We also have been using a wonderful probiotic especially for infants that seems to be a great help as well! I am hoping we are on the upswing of things! But if not, we will be headed to Sioux Falls until we are! :)
Here is the info for Dr. Ashley, she is amazing!
If you visit her, tell her I sent you!
www.drashleychiro.com
I will try to not stay away so long this next time! I am back at work, Willa is going to daycare 3 days a week while I work, daddy is back home, and life is crazy! I wouldn't want it any other way!
I am working on another great post on lip/tongue ties that those of you who have had or are having problems with your nursing baby you'll want to stay tuned! I have some great info for you!