Sunday Update

Boola is still in the hospital and we are not sure when she will be able to return home- she is running a fairly high fever and is in quite a lot of pain. We visited her briefly last night and she does not look well. We were not able to stay long as the nurses insisted the geriatric unit was being put to bed and made us leave. At least we were able to bring the children in a for a quick visit.

Mila continues to scream for hours at night. It is driving me insane, but it does seem like the text book version of colic.

:Colic is one of the mysteries of nature. Nobody knows what it really is, but everyone has an opinion. In the typical situation, the baby starts to have crying periods about two to three weeks after birth. These occur mainly in the evening, and finally stop when the baby is about three months of age (occasionally older). When the baby cries, he is often inconsolable, though if he is walked, rocked or taken for a drive, he may settle temporarily. For a baby to be called colicky, it is necessary that he be gaining weight well and be otherwise healthy.
The notion of colic has been extended to include almost any fussiness or crying in the baby, and this may be valid since we do not really know what colic is. There is no treatment for colic, though many medications and behaviour strategies have been tried, without any proven benefit. It is admitted that everyone knows someone whose baby was cured of colic by a particular treatment. It is also admitted that almost every treatment seems to work—for a short time, anyhow. : - Dr. Jack Newman, world renowned lactation & breastfeeding specialist

Needless to say, however, that the lack of sleep, lack of showering, and the lack of "me" time is slowly wearing away at me. We have tried all the "typical" solutions - rocking, slinging, swinging, shhhing, feeding, bathing, rubbing, massaging, cuddling, walking, medicating, everything. Despite our best efforts, she continues to scream for a minimum of two hours each night - usually from 11 to 1, 2, or 3. We do NOT let her cry it out - she is small enough as it is, and crying uses up all of her "growing" energy and causes stress hormones to rise dramatically. These stress hormones can make her more edgy and more prone to crying. Therefore, crying = more crying.

All I really want right now is a nap, and a shower :-)

Don't get me wrong - I am NOT suffering from PPD. I am *not* feeling resentful towards my daughter, just frustrated that something is bothering her enough to make her scream, and i can't help. Very frustrating for an AP parent. We've discussed it with her Ped and he says colic may be a sign of an immature brain, and that it works itself out as she gets older. As long as she is eating well ( she is ), eliminating well ( she is ), and gaining well ( she is ), there is NOTHING to be done if it is truly colic.

Robby is doing well although he *is* showing some jealousy at this point - which is understandable considering his sister screams all night. He has several times asked me to put her down to play with him - usually after she's been crying for some time. When I am home alone at bedtime - unless she is sleeping, i cannot lay with him which he really enjoys. I wish I could do more.