At first I was going to include this in the last post title "One Month Old" but it was so long and discusses a topic that has dominated our lives the last two weeks that I thought it needed its own post.
We are still challenged by reflux and colic. Obviously he is gaining weight well so he is not spitting up large volumes, but the reflux is painful (he lets out a sharp cry even in his sleep)and adds to his crabiness along with the colic. Speaking of colic, I hate the term colic. So many people use this term when referring to a baby that is simply hungry, difficult to burp, constipated, or just wanting to be entertained. I strongly resisted using the term colic, but after two weeks of screaming and sleepless nights that is precisely what Noah (and Mom and Dad) are struggling with. The pediatrician said, "tell me what you mean by colic".
"Well, he in completely inconsolable from about 5:30pm to 2 or 3am every night, he draws his legs up, screams in pain, the light is gone from his eyes, and he won't even look at us. This is after we have determined he isn't hungry, dirty, bored, tired, or overstimulated. And he is a completely happy interactive baby during the day."
The pediatrician says, "Yep, this is definitely some bad colic we are dealing with."
After going over my diet with a fine tooth comb we decided he is just going to have to out-grow this, but there may be something better to deal with it than the Mylicon we have been giving him 3 and 4 times a night.
The pediatrician suggested separate trials of Gripe water and chammomile tea. Your grandmother's remedies and something the Native Americans love she said. More like my great-great grandmother's remedies in my case. My grandmother and great-grandmother had never heard of gripe water. She said the main ingredient is sodium bicarbonate and it wouldn't hurt to try either of them. Jeremy says they have people ask him for it at Target all the time and he never knew what it was. Desperate for anything to relieve my son's pain, this Mom headed to CVS right after our appointment.
I picked up Gripe water and erythromycin ointment at CVS. We are still battling a clogged tear duct that began at birth and a subsequent eye infection. We were instructed to try the gripe water for 5 nights and then the chammomile tea for 5 nights and then decide what works the best for Noah. Maybe by then he will have outgrown the colic all together. Wishful thinking I know.
Wish us luck tonight with a feeding from a bottle of milk and gripe water! Hopefully we won't be walking tracks into the carpet, going for a drive at 1am, or turning on the vacuum for hours again!
