Disclaimer: If you are squeamish or fall into the category of people who believe bodily functions should not be discussed in public forums... you might not want to read on. Consider yourself warned.
Yesterday, I took Sam to the doctor. He has his one month appointment next week, so I had been procrastinating taking him in for a "sick visit;" but, after a horrible horrible night of screaming on Thursday, I decided I absolutely could not go one more day like this if there was possibly an "easy fix."
No such luck. No easy fix. The doctor - who was white haired, wore a diamond stud earring, and patted my back to comfort me- confirmed what I already knew. Sam has colic. He is totally healthy, just one of the lucky 20% of babies with this "mystery condition" that causes excessive crying. In the doctor's words, there is good news and bad. The bad news, "it will get worse before it gets better." The good, "it will go away - probably by 12 weeks."
Just what a new mom wants to hear.
It's bittersweet. Of course I'm happy that my baby is healthy. Of course I realize that there are mothers out there with babies who really are sick. Of course I know that twelve weeks in the grand scheme of life is VERY short... But right now, it feels like ETERNITY.
Thankfully, my baby boy still gives me just enough adorableness to make every second of his blood curling cries worth it. After a long crying spell when he finally drifts off to sleep, nothing makes me happier than his little lips curling into a smile, like he's laughing at dad and me - how crazy we are navigating this new land.
Now, on a lighter note... Sam was a little angel in the waiting room of the pediatrician's office yesterday. By the time we got into the exam room, he was napping peacefully, and I was sure the doctor would think I was imagining these "crying spells" I spoke of.
Then came the rectal temperature.
As I got Sam out of his car seat and unfastened his little diaper, the nurse warned me that many babies poop when they have their temperature taken. Ok. We can handle poop. Little did we know...
Not five seconds later, he became one of those babies. Only, instead of simply pooping... Sam let that nurse HAVE IT. He squirted poop EVERYWHERE. It went all over her Tweety Bird scrubs and ALL OVER the floor, walls, etc. Literally, custodians had to be called in to mop, disinfect, and put a "Caution Wet Floors" sign in our exam room while I basically bathed him in wipes and changed his clothes. Meanwhile, the nurse announced that she had NEVER seen anything like that before and freaked out about cleaning her own outfit.
That's my boy... Always surprising the medical professionals. First with a quadruple nuchal cord, and now with projectile poop. ;)
(Something tells me this will be one of Sam's favorite stories to hear when he is older.)
Have a good weekend & don't forget to enter my E. Ria jewelry giveaway here before Monday!
Oh girlfriend.....COLIC! My daughter started screaming at 6 weeks old & one day just stopped when she was 12 weeks. I totally feel your pain. She would just scream. Nothing could make her stop, nothing could comfort her.....nothing could comfort ME! We played alot of pass the baby during her screaming fits. The good news is......it does stop. One day you will just realize "omg, he didn't scream today"! Just know that it is totally normal and even though you think there must be something wrong with a baby to make him scream like this, it's just something they do. It's also totally normal to feel like you could throw him through a plate glass window. But like I said.....it WILL stop.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your blog & especially enjoy reading about your new adventures in motherhood.
Oh, and as far as poop goes......wait til he smears poop all over his crib, walls & self during "naptime". :-)
Hey! I came to your blog from Callie's blog and wanted to offer a word of encouragement. My daughter who is 1 now, had colic for about the first 10 weeks of her life. It is SO hard! Hang in there! Maybe you have tried this and it didn't work or haven't yet... but something that did help a little with my daughter was a sound machine. I would swaddle her, put her in the bouncy seat (yes, she slept in it at night because it was the only thing she would sleep in), and then turn the sound machine on. If she was crying, I would turn the volume up a little louder than she was crying and then as she quieted, would lower it. Sometimes in was on REALLY loud, but it was the only thing that helped!
ReplyDeleteSorry you have to go through it!
Oh friend...I am cracking up at the poop story!! Good thing Quinn helped prepare you a little last summer ;). So sorry about the colic - I was colic for 6 months (my mom, siblings, all extended family members still talk about it), and I seemed to turned out OK, right? Hang in there :)! Loved getting to talk to you the other day.
ReplyDelete-Liz McD
I love to read your fun and funny blog! I've never commented before, and I know you've read or heard every tip on colic already, but the one life saving thing for us was...pick a "soothing" method (swinging or swaddle/shooshing, etc) and then (here's the key!) stick with it for at least 15-20 minutes before deciding it's not working. When a babe is crying we often move from patting to rocking to swinging,etc. too quickly - before really giving the baby a chance to settle. Many many blessings to you and your adorable boy!
ReplyDeleteHave you read "The Happiest Baby on the Block?" It gives some awesome advice for colic-ridden babies and, from what we've tried on our little crying boy, it seems to work! It's an easy read (if you can find the time) and well worth it when you have a child with colic. We haven't been diagnosed yet, but we're thinking our little man may have it as well. Hang in there! :)
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh that is too funny about the poop! WTG Sam! Good luck with the colic, I've was blessed to not have to go through that, I hope all the ideas that the above comments have given you might help provide some relief!
ReplyDeleteas a future teacher, I am officially in love with your blog :)
ReplyDeleteI am cracking up with that poop story! Love it! My daughter was a newborn and I took her to a Huggies casting (don't ask me why). The room was filled with nervous new moms hushing their newborns when I decided it would be a good idea to change my baby's diaper. Biggest mistake ever, though it wasn't poo, it was pee, and it was everywhere. All over the casting couch, me, her clothes, I swear it was a gallon of pee, everywhere. And not one person offered help, a wipe, a extra diaper--they just looked and moved away. My daughter also had colic--the worst. We used Colic Calm--a FDA approved, all natural gripe water. It was a lifesaver. If you want to find it, you can check it out here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.coliccalm.com/gripe-water.htm
Good luck!