Those closest to me have been echoing each other lately: “Sylvie is SO smiley. She seems to be doing so much better!” The combination of these comments with my husband telling me life seems more manageable these days {Ha 🙂 } might actually lead me to believe we have come to the end of an era – the colic era.

Looking back, we were beyond spoiled with Maven. She was a great sleeper and a big, healthy baby. I could nurse her in the middle of the night, swaddle her up and lay her wide awake in her bassinet to not even make a peep until her next feeding. She was a 7p-7a sleeper by three months old. Our sweet Sylvie, on the other hand, has had her challenges.

My first clue should have been when she screamed bloody murder the first time we put her in the car seat to bring her home from the hospital. I took her out multiple times, tried to feed her, console her, redo the straps and buckles, anything to stop her from crying, but we finally had to bite the bullet and leave. I had anxiety and was fearful the nurses would say something because her wailing was just so loud and sad. The first car ride had me in tears. {I’m a stress-ball when my babies are helplessly crying while strapped in their car seats behind me.}

Cooperating for a photo op. Little did we know in the next moment the colic era would loudly begin…

 

Sylvie was restless from night one. She didn’t like the swaddle, yet she didn’t like to be unswaddled either. She squeaked, whimpered, whined, cried and was restless every time we set her down, especially on her back in the bassinet.  We would keep her upright as much as possible. We let her try to sleep in the Rock N’ Play thinking the angle and sling would be more comfortable.  We dressed her warmer, fed her more, fed her less, endlessly pat her back for burps. We let her sleep on her tummy. {gasp!} I wore her or carried her constantly. We could never put her down. Actually, it’s more like I could never put her down. I seemed to be the only medicine that would soothe her, though not easily and not completely.

I probably called the pediatrician’s office or consulted my very own M.D. (thanks sister!) daily. I read any research and advice I could get my hands on and tried absolutely everything. It made me feel better to try new things, even if not proven to work, so I was at the very least doing something to help my poor baby. The list includes, but may not be limited to: pacing my house at all hours of the day and night, tight holds, loud shhhhhh’s, bounces, sways, skin to skin contact, the swing, the bouncy seat that vibrates, the Mamaroo, nearly every baby carrier on the market, simethicone gas relief drops, gripe water, Gerber Soothe probiotic drops, glycerine suppositories, Merlin’s Magic Sleep Suit, formula (for several days while I feverishly expressed milk to keep up my supply), approximately three months of a dairy free diet, small amounts of baby cereal, essential oils and chiropractic care. Each time I took Sylvie to the pediatrician, he would hem and haw over her symptoms that were not presenting as classic reflux and fell into this gray area of “we don’t know”. We had been labeled “colic” for all too long. {Arguably one of the most confusing and unhelpful diagnosis for an infant, ugh.} Our ped is great and I would recommend him to anyone in the area, but as a mom, I just knew something was still wrong. We finally tried ranitidine (a first line reflux medication) in attempt to stop any silent reflux that Sylvie may have been experiencing and were told it could take up to 2 weeks to work. While I may have seen a small improvement, I wasn’t sure what “better” would even look like at this point. {I was also questioning why we couldn’t just get “the good stuff” right away rather than first line treatment!} Maybe this was just Sylvie’s temperament. *Sigh*

It was exhausting. I was going on months of little to absolutely no sleep. I couldn’t even let anyone else hold her. Or, if I did, she would all too quickly come right back to me and my exhausted, sore body would go through the motions all again. I’d put on my fake mom grin and say “Oh, it’s okay, she’s just a momma’s girl”. I felt worn down and let down that I couldn’t make anything better for Sylvie. I was so incredibly sad for her that this poor, sweet little girl had been uncomfortable since day one of her precious little life.

While I had been repeatedly told and informed via my research that colic would soon end as her growth and age would surpass the peak timeframe, I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Month 3 passed, then 4 and onto 5 and 6. Somewhere in those later months we switched to a new reflux med (omeprazole AKA Prilosec) and it truly seemed to do the trick. Whether it was the combination of things we had tried, the new medication and/or her outgrowing some of the colic and reflux, was beside the point. She was finally turning a corner.

Fast forward to today, at almost 7 months old, Sylvie is such a gorgeous, happy, blue-eyed baby girl and I love her more than words could describe. Though “it’s always something” causing challenges or lack of sleep, I guess I do have to agree with Mark that life is a little more manageable these days. And I’m confident that sweet Sylvie’s smile is just about the best reward for all she (we) endured.

QUESTIONS?

If any of you mommas out there want to talk colic or reflux, please reach out to me! I am more than happy to share reviews of everything we tried and discuss some of the research I came across (such as holding a colicky infant more during daytime hours may help ease symptoms overall). And, hang in there. My heart goes out to you. Whether or not it feels like it at this point in time, things do get better. And you, you should get a badge of honor for all you go through for your little colicky baby.

Stay strong mommas, and carry on.

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