Thursday, November 20, 2008

Please Make Him Stop Crying!!!

I woke up this morning feeling y-u-c-k-y... Achy, chills, queasy!!! What is up with that.... I can't be sick!! Oh well, as long as I'm well enough for my Writer’s Workshop assignment!! Don’t worry, MamaKat…the dog did not eat my homework!!
In our house, whenever somebody has a birthday, we start celebrating a week ahead of time…. We call it “--------‘s birthday week” and they get the special treatment all week. I love to do it for everybody else because…….well, because I want it done for me!! He-he.... So, in keeping with that theme, I will do my post today (my writing assignment) about Ethan again.
I remember when Ethan had colic…. Yikes!! Yes, I was ‘blessed’ with a newborn baby with colic. And for those of you who have also been “blessed” with a colicky baby, you will know where this story is going. It started when he was six weeks old....and I remember thinking why is he still crying; I've fed him, changed him, I'm holding him...arrggghhhh!!! This went on every day, although luckily it wasn't all day long (as I have heard of colicky babies that cry all day). It was the same times every day, always around lunchtime and always around 6:30pm. It was crazy-- he would cry so loud and so long and his little body would stiffen up and straigten out and I just didn't know what to do..... actually I usually ended up crying too; out of frustration & helplessness. This may sound awful, but there were a few times where I would just lay him in his crib, walk out and close the door just so I could gather myself (no, i didn't leave him in there long---just enough to breathe a minute). I tried everything-- different routines, changed his formula, Star of Anais tea, swaddling & shhhing (remember the 5 S's)....you name it, I tried it. But then somebody mentioned to me about Chamomile tea with a tiny bit of sugar in it. Why hadn't I thought of that yet?? After all that time, it just stopped...I don't know if it was from the chamomile tea or if he just grew out it, but it was a dream come true!! I stuck with that tea...every night after dinner he got a bottle of Chamomile tea and it always relaxed him. Oh, I remember that... remember it like it was yesterday!!

17 comments:

Jo-Jo said...

Wonder if that would help my 2 year old sleep! I sware, he never sleeps!

April said...

I was so blessed that my kids didn't ever have colic. My friends baby did and I don't know how she got through it. It must take one tough Mama.

Diane said...

Bless your heart. Don't feel bad about leaving him to cry. Your sanity was more important in that moment!

Michelle said...

I hope you are feeling better.

I was fortunate that my girls didn't have colic, but it was hard not knowing what the heck they were crying about!!

Brandy said...

I was lucky enough to not have colicky babies I feel for those of you have because I think I would go insane with non stop crying all the time. I was blessed with a child who requires little to NO sleep and the wierd thing is it started when she was 18 months old she just woke up one night and didnt go back to bed til she was 3. You think Im kidding but Im not my favorite soldier and I got VERY LITTLE sleep during that time and we gave in adn finally started letting her sleep with us just so we could sleep I had always been against that right up til I needed sleep! Now shes 4.5 and still wakes up 2 to 3 times a night most nights but atleast shes in her own bed again!

Sam_I_am said...

I just had a scout mom tell me about her daughter being so colicky. She said she used to sit and rock her and cry along with her, but now, she's the best behaved of the 4.

Sandra said...

Chmamile tea is the BEST for everyone with sleep problems. It tastes great, and for kids over 2, you can use honey, and it's a little better for them.

Jen said...

It is good to remember. I had a slightly colicky baby too.

Kelly said...

I TOO WAS BLESSED WITH A CLICKY BABY!!! Tay had it for 3 straight months!! She cried ALL the time! I would often cry right along with her! My hubby received many many many calls for help! Me sobbing and my daughter wailing in the background! I used Colic-ease, found off of the internet! It did not cure it, but at least it helped, a little! Thanks for letting me know I was not alone!

LazyCrazyMama said...

Oh my. My little man also had colic, so I know exactly where you are coming from. It was horrible. And you did absolutely the right thing by walking away and leaving him in his crib when you had gotten to that point. My son didn't get over it until about 6 mos or longer! Gas medicine helped somewhat. But he was every evening like clockwork.

La Pixie said...

wow, I dont have any kids yet, but I am praying that I dont have to deal with colic. seriously... it scares me.

Sometimes Sophia said...

Great idea... the tea. You were clever to figure it out. My firstborn was into projectile vomiting and he never slept. Life was really tough for the first few months. Somehow we survived.

Jenners said...

Visiting on my tour of MamaKat's writing assignments. I'm sure a colicky baby would sear itself into your memory forever. I feel lucky I didn't have to experience that!

Momma Trish said...

I have totally been there! My first was extremely colicky. It started around 2:00 in the afternoon and stopped a midnight. The only thing that soothed him was being driven around in the car. We did a lot of driving for several months. Man, could he wail!! Thanks for sharing your colic experience.

Ba said...

I remembered those days. It was not easy for all of us. But know he is handsome young boy and with a lot a brain. I love you Ethan and what a blessing you are.
Happy birthday my sweet boy!

Debbie said...

Oh we have all felt that plea to make that baby stop crying! And sometimes I would cry right with them.

KatBouska said...

Oh my gosh I just don't think I could handle a colicky baby. As if newborns aren't hard enough as it is! But woo hoo, you survived!!