I’m pleased to report that baby Tom continues to thrive – his veritable life of Riley only spoilt by the advent of colic whose wearing effects we are all resigned to enduring for the next 3 months or so. After this point the health visitor assures us that the colic should disappear and we might be lucky enough to have a small period of peace and baby prosperity before the teething cycle begins...
Oh joy.
To be fair – aside from the one hugely troublesome feed when the colic appears to be at its worst (which seems to hit Tom in the early evening on a daily basis) – the lad is doing well. He’s a real guzzler and is hitting his ideal birth weight target regularly. 9lb something when he was last weighed on Tuesday. I know I should have the exact amount indelibly pressed into the soft putty of my mind but I’m a bloke and we don’t record such things in this way... if at all.
Karen and I are shattered. Whoever said looking after a baby was bloody hard work was under-exaggerating. Having had the day off on Monday to give Karen a break I’m not sure which is more tiring: staying at home looking after Tom all day or going to work and then coming home to help out with the evening feeds.
I confess I’m a wuss but am I enjoying it? Weirdly – yes. Even during the darkest hours of baby-care fatigue the thought is always in my mind to make the most of it as Tom is growing so quickly that all this will soon be mere memory. He’s gone from being almost lost in the bottom of his Moses basket to nearly three-quarters filling it already.
He’s getting quite chunky which is very satisfying to see. A “swollen angel”, in fact, to quote David Sylvian...
With a hunger cry that can drown out any other earthly noise in a 12 mile radius.
Town Cryer or opera singer may both be options for him later in life...
Me, I’m looking into somnambulism...
9 comments:
You're right, babies do grow up so fast, that you'd best treasure each (colicky ;-)) moment! :-)
colic is a hard one to deal with and i sympathize with you...i was thankful my son didn't have it and i was spared...i have been told that colicy babies have less problems later on and i know that doesn't help now...but there is so much to experience with a child...take what you can get...that goes for blessings as well as sleep time...
Every time I've had one of those 'giving birth' dreams it's always been to kittens. Even odder, in the dreams I'm not surprised.
I'm sure there must be a symbolic reason there! :-)
Glad you're enjoying it though Steve - you write very well - if not quite well enough to cause my hormones to lose their reason to this moses basket madness!
Hi Eve, yes, we're doing our very best to see the joy in colic!
Thanks Daisy, it's good to know that there might be a plus side to Tom's colic. For now though there is little we can do but use some special drops we got from the chemist, give him comfort when he needs it and sometimes let him have a good old fashioned wail when he needs that too!
Aw go on Laura, at least imagine how lovely it would be to see a litter of kittens in a Moses basket! I'm not sure of the symbolism of giving birth to cats though... that may need looking up on-line!
Apparently I was an extremely colicy baby for a long time. Wouldn't be able to tell you myself, of course!
I love reading about your experiences. It makes me look forward to haveing them myself even more (should that day ever come...), even the tiredness, colic, grizzlyness...all of it!
Have fun and cherish every single moment. Time goes so fast, and I am only just realising it...
I was lucky as neither of my wee darlings got colic. However, they have made up for that in other ways! Its all aprt of growing up and being a good Kiwi (or parent?)
He sounds wonderful anyway, and good on you for taking a day so Mrs Steve could have a break. Give yourself a chocolate fish!
Per.pri, Amanda - thanks as always for your comments! Apparently I was a colicy baby too - my mother was quick to pitch in with that revelation when we revealed Tom's problems - so I guess there's a possibility it's all my fault. Is colic hereditary?
Yeah taking the day off was the right thing to do: I think Karen was on the edge of cracking up. I've never seen anyone need sleep so badly...
steve...i had a friend send me this site http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/health/129211/Colic?pkw=Colic
she said it helped her a lot to understand why what she was doing wasn't really helping...she said to make sure to read through the whole article (at the bottom press more) and it may give you more insight to things that help and things that don't...most of all she said just love your baby and be patient...this too shall pass...
Daisy, from the bottom of my heart: thank you!
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