Thursday, January 29, 2009

Colicky Kate

Yes, colicky. I know- woe is me. Exactly...woe is me! It started when she was about 6 weeks and I just kept thinking it was a "bad day" or a "bad night". Not so. The first 6 weeks she was actually pretty good. She slept a lot and even went for 6 or 7 hour stretches at night. Now she is up every two hours at night. She quickly eats, often poops (last night it was 2 blowouts in a row) and sometimes goes back to sleep. If she doesn't go right back to sleep I have to spend the next 45 minutes putting her binky back in her mouth until she finally falls asleep. Then its only about another hour before she gets up again. During the day I cannot get her to sleep in her bassinet. I let her sleep where ever it will work. The swing or the carseat are usually our best bets. But there have been some crying spells that will only end in sleep when I take her for a ride in the car. Usually her naps only last about 1/2 hour. Not an acceptable nap in my book. My other kids all had a schedule by this point and slept well during the day. (I'm actually OK with night wakings to feed when they are taking nice, long naps during the day.) She is not a great eater either. Some feedings she just screams and pushes away from me (even if I'm pretty sure she must be starving). It has been a huge frustration most of the time, but I've tried bottles and they are no better. What to do? All the books say most infants outgrow this by about 4 months. So I'm kindof hoping that maybe after another month things will get better. I've tried Mylicon and Colic tablets and Gripe Water. I can't really tell if they help or not. Today I set up her crib and am going to go buy a musical mobile that I'm hoping she will like. It is very tricky to get anything done around my house and even trickier to teach piano. The other day I had to just let her scream while I taught. Poor baby. I must say, though, she is as cute as can possibly be. When she is awake she loves to interact with everyone (for about 1/2 hour until she realizes how tired she is) and she has the sweetest, happiest smile that is just precious! Any thoughts or suggestions are certainly welcome! Thanks,

Mommy Zombie

9 comments:

Sally said...

Sounds like Brittney's little girl. I think they finally said it was reflux and gave her a prescription which helped. You have my great sympathy.

Jen said...

We had a really hard time with Connor for the first several weeks. The doctor told us it was reflux, but I wasn't sure because he wasn't a big spitter and he ate well, he just was a very restless sleeper. The doctor prescribed something (I can't remember what it was now, but it was expensive and it didn't work), but I just wasn't comfortable giving my newborn medicine that I wasn't sure was absolutely necessary. We also tried elevating his head, but he usually just ended up at the bottom end of the bassinet. The only way that I could get him to sleep was for him to lay on his tummy on my tummy. So, I went against everything the doctors tell you about babies sleeping only on their backs and I let him sleep on his tummy. It was like a miracle after that. We didn't have any more problems. When I told my doctor what I was doing, he said that telling me that was OK was like telling me to drive in a car without a seat belt. But, you have to do what you feel is best for your baby. I hope you find something that works for her so you can get some rest!!! One more idea (if you haven't tried it already...) Parker really likes soft music, like Primary songs. We just keep a CD player in his room and turn it on when he goes down for the night.

Jill said...

hmmm..her naps sound JUST like Jacks! Although he is doing great at night. I am so sorry that she is fussy. It really does make life miserable. Annie had some sort of collic too. She out grew it around four months too. I am sure Kate will be better soon. As far as daytime naps go, I have found if I can get Jack into his crib before he is over tired, he does a lot better. Because he sleeps so poorly during the day, he can usually only stay awake for an hour before I get him off to his crib again. It's pretty tiring, but I have hope that evenutally his naps will lengthen and he will only have to have three naps a day..(instead of fiveor six) Good luck with your sweet baby!

Layne said...

Have you tried Beano? Bwa ha ha ha!

I have a suggestion, but it would take too long to type it out, so I'll try to remember it the next time I talk to you.

Burt Family said...

Oh goodness, I feel your pain Jenny. My oldest was the worst colicky baby EVER! I still have very vivid memories of staying up half the night trying to get her to sleep! During the day I recruited my mom to come and hold her across her chest so I could get something done. Don't know if anyone has suggested it or not, but I did do the rice bag and it helped some. I made a rice bag out of a nice long tube sock that fit great in the crook of her tummy and would lay her on her side to sleep. I would place a rolled blanket behind her to keep her that way. I could usually get an 1-1 1/2 hours out of her, and if was quick and could get the rice bag warmed back up sometimes longer. Not a sure remedy, but maybe worth a try. The other thing is I used to place the car seat on top the dryer with it going and let her sleep that way, the movement helped.
Good luck! I seriously can relate :(

Lisa said...

Yes, my mom blog stalks. Camryn was a hard baby like that too. The Hyland Colic Tablets finally did the trick, but it sounds like you've done that. Teaching piano is impossible with a bawling baby...and just wait, she'll be even more fun as a toddler. No, keep trying...infant massage? Have her suck on ice maybe when it's 3 a.m. and you've tried everything else. I don't know why, but sometimes they love that. Good luck!

highdeekay said...

Eden had "silent reflux" which means that the acid would go up and down (burn twice) instead of up and out. She was one miserable girl until our awesome Pedi put her on Zantac. Phil and I were both really nervous about putting our little newborn on meds but it really did the trick. Often they only need the meds for a few months but she was on it a year. Still, it was totally worth it because she wasn't in constant pain and therefore making us exhausted. Good luck finding out what is causing the problem. Hang in there.

Unknown said...

As you know Cooper was SO hard until he was 14 months old (hope that doesn't depress you). First, remember it is ok to let her cry in her crib if you are worn out. She is safe and will probably cry anyway! Next we put him on straight soy milk. He also had a HUGE hernia in his belly button from his constant screaming. I laid him on the dry a lot( he liked the warmth and white noise). I also fed him sweet potatoes starting at 4 months (that substance for some reason soothed his stomach somewhat). We went to so many dr.s, baby massagers, etc, etc. But ultimately it was survival until he outgrew it. Oh- and he had terrible ear problems that were playing into it too. So sorry you are having to deal with this. It is so hard and wearing. To the point Ryan doesn't want any more kids because he is afraid of it happening again....

Live More Now said...

Oh you poor Jenny-mommy-zombie! I can only imagine what that is like, but I hope her 4-month marker finds her doing much better! Hang in there! I know I was a colicy baby, and I think that's lasted into adulthood! ;)