I can't believe it, but it has been 3 weeks since Alex was born!! Time is flying by so quickly.
In the last week, Alex has gotten even better at sleeping. For the last two nights, she has only woken up once to eat, and then immediately went back to sleep again! Are we lucky, blessed, or is it going to be short-lived? Who knows, but we are loving it while it lasts!
During the day, we have had a little bit more of a challenge though. We aren't sure if she is having tummy troubles or just typical baby fussiness, but she is crying almost all the time when she isn't sleeping or eating. I am still nursing her, but she also gets supplemented with bottles, so we switched formulas to see if that would help and have gotten some medicine drops for gas. It seems to have helped a little, but the poor thing is still not the happy contented baby that we had for the first 2 weeks. It is so sad to hear her crying, escalating into full screams, and not knowing why she is so upset! Rich and I have both found ways to console her (bouncing and swaying her seems to help) but it is tough to keep bouncing a baby for hours just to keep the screams at bay. Any parents with advice??
On Tuesday this week, Rich and I went on our first post-baby date night. My mom came over to babysit, and we left the house around 5 pm to go to dinner. Then we went to see the play "Wicked". It started at 7:30, and I absolutely loved the first half! But at 9:00, during intermission, I couldn't handle it anymore and asked Rich to take me home. I missed Alex so much!!! I knew she was in great hands with my mom, but it was just too long to be away from her so soon. We'll have to go see the play again someday, because the part we saw was just awesome! I think for the next date night that we plan, we'll stick to something a little shorter and closer to home. I need to ease my way into it. It's hard to believe that our life has changed so much in just 3 short weeks!
2 comments:
That is pretty ambitious to go to a play with a newborn! I would have gone home too - it's hard to be away, especially when they're so little!
As for the fussiness, usually there are "witching" hours in the evenings that can last for a few weeks, or it can be colic. But, because of my experience, I am always aware of the possibility of food allergies or reflux. Does it seem to be soon after eating? If it persists, you can always just try cutting out dairy just to see if it helps. It can take a week or two for it to leave your system. It's really early for food allergies, but a friend of mine did that, and it really did help. At 4 months, her daughter can now tolerate some dairy in breastmilk. Just a thought, for what it's worth! :)
I'm so happy to hear that she's doing so well at night. It makes those difficult days a LITTLE easier when you're not sleep deprived on top of it. I'm sorry she's been so fussy. Lea is totally right about the "witching hours". There's something about 5:00 that really makes babies angry! If it's inconsolable it might be colic which can sometimes be soothed by holding her tummy down. Have you tried putting her in a vibrating bouncy chair? My kids always loved those, as well as the swing. Those first few weeks are so difficult, but just know it will pass.
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