We are coming up on the two week mark tomorrow and I am already starting to go a little bit crazy. Laina has been screaming her head off whenever she is awake for the past few days. She is either screaming or asleep, and usually asleep in someone's arms. I've been having visions of my nightmare first year with Chase when he wouldn't sleep unless someone was holding him. I remember sitting on the couch for three hours one day just so I could get some peace and quiet and so that he could get a nap. These thoughts were going through my head as I dozed in a chair while holding Laina on my shoulder, sound asleep after screaming for an hour. Thankfully my Mom is still here, otherwise I might just go insane!
My Mom and I were discussing if it might be colic so we went to the baby books to check it out. They say colic can be caused by a stressed out Mom. Well, how can you not be stressed out when your baby is screaming at the top of her lungs and can't be consoled?! Another factor can be over stimulation. How can a baby not be over stimulated with 4 other kids running around the house?! They are all fighting over who will hold her, running around like a bunch of wild Indians, and yelling at the top of their lungs. Yikes!
Thankfully the kids are all out of the house right now at the movies and Laina is sleeping in her crib during this quiet time. I can't believe my luck that I've had a little time to work on a project I've wanted to do.
The problem is that she seems like she gets so tired that she just starts screaming her head off because she can't figure out how to get to sleep. She gets really mad if you try to stick a pacifier in her mouth because she thinks she needs to nurse to fall asleep. Hello, I am not a 24 hr. all you can eat buffet! She often wakes up an hour after I've fed her and thinks she needs to eat again. The other problem is she has to burp all the time! Last night it took me an hour to get her to sleep after I fed her because every time I layed her down she had to burp again. Then I had to go through the process of getting her back to sleep, only to lay her down and find out she had to burp again! I went through that about 5-6 times last night. Frustrating!
None of my kids have ever been this bad. Yes, they had a fussy period in the evenings, but not this inconsolable screaming. Does anyone have any tips for a tired and frazzled Mom? I'm starting to wonder if I'm too old for this. This would have been a lot easier to handle when I had less children and I was about 10 years younger. I know this won't last forever, but when you are in the middle of it, the end is nowhere in sight.
5 comments:
The pictures of your baby are so adorable! And I love her name!
Some days can be so long and torturous though. Reading this reminded me of my first 2 weeks as a new mom, they felt more like 2 years of sitting in a chair not being able to do anything!
Have you ever heard of Dunstan Baby Language? If not, they might be worth looking into. My mom gave me the DVDs after I had Michael. They saved me! I wished I had had them with Ethan.
Oh man, Maur! I'm sorry! I remember Logan was a little stinker too...until a friend told us about gas drops (mylicon, I think) they helped so much! It's not fun having bubbles stuck inside, no wonder she's fussy. So, that's my advice. :) Good luck!! Love!!
No suggestions--just my love. The only thing good about being where you are is that you do have perspective that it does end. I didn't know that with my first. Hang on tight.
My son Brytan screamed for 6 weeks straight, but like Laina, would sleep ok. I went through all of the steps of giving him all different formulas, I almost stopped breastfeeding, man am I glad I didn't. Finally, believe it or not, I took him to the chiropractor. The Doctor was on that I truly trust and it worked! He was a totally different baby! No more crying. I took him off of all of the meds they had him on for reflux and went back to only nursing and he was perfect. The chiro said that the birthing process is very difficult on a baby's spine and can really throw them out of wack. I hope this helps, I know I thought I was going to go crazy during that time.
Kelly
Oh Bless you, Mauri! I hope things are getting better. You are so right - things will get better, but it sure feels overwhelming in the middle of it all. Your little Laina is such a BEAUTIFUL BABY! Oh wow! She's gorgeous - doesn't look like a red, squishy newborn at all! :)
Hang in there! I'd love to come help if you need it!
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