Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Colic

Well, It's been a while, but I have a quiet moment. Liam is sleeping, Damon is playing video games, the dogs are chewing bones, and Liz and Brent aren't getting here for dinner for another 30 minutes. 

I don't think I will have the time to fill you in on all that has gone on in our lives for the last 7 weeks, but I will try my hardest!

Liam is doing wonderfully! We had a rough start though. The poor little guy had TERRIBLE (and I mean awful) colic for the first 4 weeks of his tiny life. I felt so bad for him because he was just miserable! His tummy hurt all the time (he would arch his back) and he had terrible acid re-flux anytime he would lie on his back. Any time he was awake it seemed like he was crying/screaming. He was gaining weight fine, which when we were in the hospital was one of the doctor's worries, but he didn't sleep, He was wanting to eat to pacify his tummy, only to make it hurt more. Also, he never really got the hang of breast feeding. He would get so frustrated when he wasn't getting enough milk fast enough so he would pummel my breasts (ouch) and pull away. We finally decided not to fight him anymore and I started pumping all he ate. I was pumping at least 4 times a day (very time consuming, but worth it if it meant he was getting all the milk he needed) but it still wasn't enough food for him as he was getting bigger. I'd done some research online and found out there is this thing called Gripe Water (an all organic tonic used to help with colic in newborns). We went to Mother Nature's and got some and immediately he burped about 3 times when he hadn't even been eating. It seemed to help a little but he would still be really fussy or just spit the gripe water up. He really liked the flavor though, which made giving it to him easy.

 At 4 weeks, I started supplementing in some formula (to my dismay! I had called my mom and just bawled because I felt like a failure that I wasn't producing what he needed) After the first day I noticed that when he had my milk, his tummy hurt and he would scream and scream and when he had formula he was calmer after feedings. I decided to go one whole day with just formula to see if there was a difference in behavior and he barely cried all that day! We thought maybe he was allergic to something I was eating and assumed maybe it was nuts, so I cut them out for days and tried again with breast milk to no avail. I don't know if he is allergic to something or just couldn't digest it well, but we switched him solely to formula and it's like having a different baby! He's happy; laughs even, and doesn't mind just sitting awake without someone consoling him. (actually, he just woke up and is happily cooing in his swing) 


He loves his car seat and he loves the bath - he can be screaming full on and hear the tub running and he calms right down. His smile is absolutely beautiful with that one dimple and when he sticks his tongue out at me my heart just melts :) He's starting to mimic our faces, opening his mouth when we do, sticking out his tongue, smiling at us...it's so wonderful to watch him grow but it's all happening soooo fast! I feel like he's changed quite a bit since that little boy we brought home almost 7 weeks ago. 

Well, baby is crying so I must go...will try to write again soon. Just know that if your baby is colicky, there may be a way to fix it instead of him being miserable all the time! 

Julie




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