Wednesday, August 12, 2009

This too shall pass...

I think the "honeymoon" period of bringing baby home has definitely passed. She was 4 weeks old today and she has begun to show a very fussy side. I know a lot of babies go through a fussy period (at least that's what I've been reading on Baby Center) and that I just have to grin and bear it, HOWEVER, it doesn't make it any easier even if I do know that it's not just my baby and it's nothing I'm doing wrong. At least I HOPE I'm not doing something wrong. I feed her, burp her, change her, rock her, give her the pacifier...I try everything and nothing seems to work. We give her gas drops AND gripe water to help with any colic/gas she might have but none of those seem to help just a whole lot. She has lots of gas and I know this because she's a little tooting machine! She spits up a lot too. In fact, just about 20 minutes ago I was giving her a bottle and she literally spewed out at least a good 2 ounces of her formula all over the place. I'm not even exaggerating! I have never seen so much liquid come out of a little baby! I don't know if she's colicky or if she's going through a growth spurt or if she is just tired and doesn't know how to deal or if she's just a drama queen. This is the frustration of new motherhood with a newborn. I have absolutely no idea most of the time what she wants when she is crying. The only thing I really know is when she's hungry because of her rooting around and trying to suck milk out of her hands. 

I'm frustrated that I don't know exactly what to do to make her feel better and I am looking forward to when she settles into her own. We even changed formula to one that is for fussy and colicky babies but it doesn't seem to be helping much, or maybe she's just had a couple of bad days since we got it. I'm going to get her through the whole can of this and see if I see a difference in the next few days. I hope it does! Currently, as in for the past 10 minutes and who knows how much longer, miss Brooklyn is sleeping peacefully in her pack n' play after daddy took over and fed her some bottle and burped her. She then started dozing off in his lap, of course. She will fall asleep with him but not me. I'm just happy she's sleeping now and not crying. 

On that note, I'll stop venting. I love my baby girl, I just have to get used to the fussy nights and spells of hysterical crying. lol.

good night and wish me some solid sleep.

4 comments:

Aileen said...

I hope she settle down and had a good night's sleep! Poor little thing! Do you think you're over feeding her sometime? I think that's why she throws it up. She may think she's hungry, but she's really not. Any way, she will grow out of this stage!

Heather said...

Have you tried changing her formula to a non-milk based such as Soy? Brooklyn could be allergic to milk and that can cause a bad tummy ache therefore causing the gas and spitting up. Tyler was spitting up a lot and we figured out that the milk I was drinking caused it. Our doctor said that a couple of teaspoons of spit up is totally normal especially with a burp but more then that isn't. I know its hard when you don't know exactly what they need or want but hang in there it does get easier. And remember try to stay relaxed when she is upset because she can sense if you’re frustrated and can make things worse. Plus, I think babies just like to fuss at there mommies because Tyler will be fine with Nathan and then when he see's me he will start fussing at me. I will be praying for you and I hope that little Brooklyn was just having a couple of rough days and it was pass soon.

robineilene said...

amen, amen, and amen. I can agree with every single thing you wrote!

I have a friend whose baby had to be in the NICU for the first couple of months after he was born and he was very colicky. She said he screamed from about 4 pm everyday all the way through the night. Anyway, she said they tried every gripe water out there but none worked. Her neonatologist finally gave her a brand of gripe water that she said worked miracles!

All that to say, she is mailing me a bottle of it because they buy it by the case! I will definitely pass the name on to you once I get it! I don't think Adalyn's colicky, but she definitely has a hard time going back to sleep after night time bottles between hiccups and gas! I'm starting to get exhausted!!!!

And of course as I type this she's asleep on Casey. He's doing nothing different than what I've been doing for the past 2 hours! ahh! :)

Unknown said...

Sound rough. A couple of tips from my NICU experience. First of all, if her tummy is hurting, sometimes it is comforting to them if you place a warm object on their tummy and then swaddle them tightly. You have to be really careful with what you use as a "warm object," because they can burn so easily. Never use a heating pad. You can get a washcloth wet with warm water and place it in a plastic bag and then put it against her clothes. Just be careful not to get it too hot! Second, if they keep on crying and nothing seems to help, you can mix some karo syrup with water 50/50 and dip her pacifier in it. The sugar actually relieves pain in newborns...and will help them calm down most of the time. NICU nurses use that one all the time!! Last, if she really keeps throwing up an exceptional amount or frequency, you should probably call your pediatrician and see if they are concerned about gastric reflux. Babies get this too, and sometimes all they need is some reflux med to feel better. That's about it. Hope it goes better!!! =)