Friday, September 18, 2009

Calming the Colic Cry-sis

Nope, not much closer to that. We have good days and bad days, and then most evenings are spent in cry-sis mode! ;) But it is getting better. It's hard to say whether the baby is getting better colic-wise or if I am just getting better at handling it and calming him. But we've got the major evening crying spells down to maybe 30-45mins most nights. But then I still have to hold him all night until bedtime. If I set him down he wakes up and it all starts again. The first couple hours of his sleep are pretty restless, every now and then I can feel his little body tense up and he will be on the verge of a scream - that's when I will get up and walk around and pat him and bounce him, and he'll drift back off.

I have been busy reading and researching. A BIG thank you to Helene, who recommended The Happiest Baby on the Block. I really hadn't thought of looking into any books. And the funny thing was that when she recommended it, after I went and read the description, my mother had also been recommending what she had heard about the 5 S's in getting your baby calm... (where she heard it I have no idea!) But the 5 S's are: Swaddling, Side (or Stomach), Shhhing, Swinging and Sucking. I almost didn't buy it because I WAS doing all of those things instinctively. But I went ahead and ordered it thinking that maybe I wasn't doing them right. And I was so glad that I ordered it. I'm not going to say it's been a miracle worker, but it has certainly helped. For colicky babies you need to do all 5 S's in a pretty specific way. I just haven't had the frame of mind to actually go all the way there. And really, I think I need to get the DVD, I need a visual ;) But I have most of them right and working for me.

I am still spending most of my days waxing and waning from complete and utter frustration to exhaustion and defeat. It seems the baby will have one good day and then 4 bad ones where I can't put him down at all during the day or night. Now he's been non-stop since Tuesday. I haven't gotten anything done. My arms are killing me! And I horribly need a break. I was contemplating asking my SIL to come and hold the baby and sit with the other two for a couple of hours on her next day off so that I can at least sweep and mop the kitchen! It's reaching the point of disgusting. OK, who am I kidding? It's been there for a while. The little breaks I've been getting I've had to use to catch up on the dishes and laundry.

But I did actually vacuum yesterday! And it was a thing of beauty ;) Here's how it went: I was totally at my breaking point, Lazy Baby had been screaming in my ear for almost an hour, Little Man had been non-stop for about as long, and Baby Girl had been busy breaking out all the wipes and diapers and climbing the gate which keeps our entertainment center safe... I had completely had it. Then Little man rolled up the big living room rug, and tugged a string out of the small one - as he had the string in his hand he said "I didn't do nothing. I didn't do this." I laid the baby down long enough to put him in time out, which made him start throwing a huge tantrum and the baby get completely hysterical... I just said "screw it, I'd been meaning to roll up that rug and vacuum." So I plopped screamy baby into the swing and broke out the vacuum cleaner. As soon as I started the vacuum cleaner Lazy Baby quit crying and went to sleep!!! Every time I shut the vacuum off he'd wake back up and start crying again. So I vacuumed REALLY good!!! I'm going to have to find a way to tape that sound and make a CD! Maybe I will just vacuum the kitchen floor today ;)

9 comments:

Tina said...

I didn't have a colicky baby but had a friend that did. It stinks. Hope that you can find some time for only you to rejuvenate from the rough days and nights!

becky s said...

Maybe this is a stupid question, but have you tried using a moby wrap or the like? Keeps the kiddo close but frees up your hands. It helped me a bunch when my little guy wanted to be held all the time (but he wasn't colicky.

~~Mel~~ said...

Wow the vacuum of all things made him stop? lol.

Helene said...

I'm so glad the book is helping!!! I was amazed at how specific you have to be with the 5 s's but it sure worked well once I got it figured out!!

How funny that the vacuum made him stop!! So maybe he needs one of those sound soother thingies....my husband has one and it has different sounds on it, like white noise (I think that's what it's called), heartbeat, rain falling, ocean waves, beach sounds. It's very soothing and sometimes I've used it to help the kiddos fall asleep.

Hang in there....just know that this is a stage...it too shall pass. But I know when you're in the midst of it, you think you might actually go insane. It will get better, I can assure you of that.

missy said...

stopping by from SITS.
i had a friend who just ran the vacuum to get her baby to sleep to.....but she didn't always use it....just set it next to him and let it run!!!!!!! hey.....whatever works i guess.....i have never had a baby that cried that much.
hang in there and hope things start going in the right direction for you!!!!

SPEAKING FROM THE CRIB said...

visiting from SITS and new follower

my BFF had a colicky baby and she too did the vacuum trick. she also sometimes did headphones too.

but it is still difficult to relax when you know your baby is screaming in the next room :(

hang in there - it won't last forever! now that baby is 13 yrs old! shew! that went fast!

Carolyn @ My Backyard Eden said...

Hang in there with the colic. My 13 year old went through about a 2 month stretch when he was 3 months old. He'd start crying at about 6:00 pm and go until about 8:30 pm. Then one day, it miraculously stopped. Good luck! Glad I stopped by from SITS!

Anonymous said...

Yup, you need a noise maker!

Lol-'i didn't do it'. Denial starts so young!

I Wonder Wye said...

Damn, I'm glad I only have four-footed kids to contend with. Your baby is a doll, though, and totally worth it. Being a writer and needing that 'me' time to write with a wee one to take care of sounds hard.....stopping by from SITs

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