Raising 3 colic babies has been tough. Let me tell you my story. It’s the most beautiful afternoon. Dad is outside playing with the girls; we have nowhere to be, and I feel like I finally have a couple hours to work on my business. I look out the window and see that the girls are playing nicely, and I say a quick gratitude prayer knowing just how lucky I am. I can’t believe how tough it has been to get here, and I am sure that many of you can relate.
Raising colic babies has literally been the biggest challenge of my life.
L I T E R A L L Y. S O T O U G H.
Baby #1
We were in denial with the first baby, who is now five years old. Chucked up her screaming at the same exact time every night to be “fussy time.” We were told, “Oh, that’s just witching hour…every baby goes through it.” She was born in the dead of winter, so we couldn’t go outside. We lived in an older lake style home with crickety floors and stairs everywhere. We dreaded the hours 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Once she started wailing, we strapped on our tennis shoes and would pace in the small areas we could… my husband, of course huffing and puffing about her screaming the entire time. We tried warming up towels for her tummy, bicycling her legs, massages, setting her in her carseat on the dryer…. everything you could think of. I would shut off all the lights in the bathroom, run the bath faucet, vent fan and sit on the toilet, holding her tightly, shushing in her ear for at least an hour every night. I weaned off some dairy products since I was breastfeeding and got an acid reflux prescription for the baby. It still didn’t help. After 13 weeks, she was magically a different and happy baby.
Baby #2
This baby, now 3 years old, was my toughest. Being born 4 weeks premature, I instantly knew her digestive system wouldn’t be fully developed and sure enough, she was C O L I C as hell. Because I knew what I hadn’t known with the first one, I went on a complete dairy free and dairy protein free diet, including no whey or casein this time. (It’s in everything by the way!) I took the baby to the chiropractor, had a prescription stool softener and one for acid reflux. I did everything I possibly could to get through such a hard time. This baby would literally start screaming at 5:00 pm until about 11:30 pm at night. Luckily, she was born in the Spring, so I was able to walk outside with her. I would walk with the boba wrap and baby bjorn for 4-5 hours at a time. No joke. I’m sure everyone in my neighborhood thought I was crazy for circling the hood so many times, but it was the only thing to keep her quiet. If I stopped moving, it was the end…. of my sanity. When it was time to put her down for the night, I would walk in circles in her pitch-dark room with white noise blaring, stomp and march while hold her cradle style, or bounce on a ball. I relied on the sweater I wore at the time to help support her weight. That’s when the Mommy Wrap came alive. I thought, why isn’t there a sweater that has multiple pockets to help store the things I need when my baby is screaming, and my husband can’t hear a word I say to help me, something to attach the pacifier, and something that I can use to help support holding my baby. Her colic ended after 14 weeks, but we still struggled with high maintenance issues after that… (and still do to this day in some degree!)
Baby #3
This baby is my little miracle baby. For those that don’t know me, I’ll have to tell you why later… and it doesn’t have to do with colic! The point is that I had the colic thing down. Read my post on The Top 10 Things that Got Me through Colic. I knew exactly what to do and exactly what to expect. And, when I say that… keep in mind, not everything works for every baby, but I at least knew all the things to try! Immediately when I had her, I went dairy free. At 4 weeks, I saw the signs of colic and immediately got her into the doctor. I kept her upright sleeping and I even purchased a Tranquilomat, which I loved!
The Mommy Wrap
Use code COLICMOM for $10 off a Mommy Wrap, plus FREE shipping! The Mommy Wrap ended up being a life saver for me. I would use it to help get bubbles and burps out of her. I had the Mommy Wrap in full product test mode and I had a new baby to put it to use! I would wear it while bouncing the baby on the exercise ball and listening to my podcast. My kids were 2 and 4 at the time, so they still really needed their mom. I was able to transfer the baby with no hassle because of the ease of the connectors. Oh, and if she started crying, I could just swoop her up and snap her in literally while walking to break up a fight over barbies. I would use the Mommy Wrap to help hold my newborn when sitting outside having a glass of wine, or even over the baby bjorn on walks, adding pockets to my stretch pants. I was SO over barking orders at my husband to bring me this, and bring me that, or misplacing the burp cloth I just had, or starving and not having time to eat… all while trying to keep the baby from screaming or trying to hear myself over her screaming. The pockets. Oh, the pockets! (Remember, this is a time that my postpartum body was still wearing yoga and stretch pants all day). The pockets in the Mommy Wrap became my new best friends. They were so supportive, holding everything I needed for an evening of colic, never to be misplaced. The back pocket for my phone? Thank you. You’re welcome. I hated attaching the pacifier clip to the baby, so I attached it to the connectors designed for teethers and pacifiers on the Mommy Wrap. No more bending over every 5 seconds or searching for a paci. This is also at a time that I wore nursing tanks and went bra-less for most of the time. The Mommy Wrap was a perfect cover up, nursing cover, postpartum belly cover and quite frankly my go to, wearing it every day with or without baby. Now, I can’t even clean my house without wearing one. I want my fellow colic moms to enjoy the same help I had. I want it to be affordable, so I have created a code.Baby number three has been such a joy. After about 12 weeks, she because the best baby I could ask for. She is now one, and I am well over the colic days, still counting my blessings.
Three-nager times… B R I N G I T O N !!