Oh Honey...I'm so glad you seem to be on the other side of the dreaded colic. My first baby (now a 34 year old trauma surgeon) had it for 14 long ass weeks and although I have forgotten much over the past 34 years, I remember vividly my first few months with my first colicky baby. (ONLY colicky baby-second was chill as long as I nursed her every 2-3 hours) First 2 weeks she was an angel chill sleepy nursey baby helping me recover from my C-section. Then a switch flipped. Every night at 6 PM she would start crying inconsolably-not just crying but purple faced ,rigid spine ,wailing like I was poking her with hot irons.It was like she was in excruciating pain and there was nothing I could do to relieve her. No car driving, dryer sitting etc would console her. The only thing that worked for me , I eventually discovered,,was the Snuggli- a primitive form of the fancy baby/body wraps y'all have today. I would stuff screaming tortured infant in this thing and then WALK for about 3-4 hours. If I stopped walking the wailing would resume. If I tried to get her out of it too soon, the wailing would resume. We were living in Savannah GA. at the time and I would walk the neighborhood for hours-whimpering and dying of exhaustion and wanting to go to bed. If my husband didn't walk with me at least part of the time I became resentful. I remember one time being so frustrated when she wouldn't stop screaming crying and I had her on her stomach on my knees and I was rocking her back and forth to no avail and I realized I needed to put her in her crib and go outside and cry myself before I rocked her too fast. I felt like a horrible mother. A "good" mother would be able to console her baby. A "good" mother would not be so frustrated with her baby. Everyone said it would end at 12 weeks. it didn't. It lasted 14 weeks. and then another switch flipped and she became an angel baby, free of pain and wailing. 34 years later I STILL remember those first few months vividly. Aw Honey, so sorry you had to deal with colic.SUCKS! But as corny as it sounds-it does get better! So much fun is ahead of you! (well except the terror. That never goes away) Sending much love. Love your podcasts. Dumpster fire keeps me sane and laughing. I'm 63 and my 25 year old daughter loves you too. My 34 year old daughter would love you too but she's a surgeon with 2 kids so doesn't have as much time. Love on that baby girl. She's lucky to have you. Cheers new Mom. You've joined the club. (Insert heart emoji here)
While specifically about colic I feel like this post also captures the general feeling of newborn life insanity… my daughter also went through a phase where only that terrible 45 degree angle could soothe her. I sent this post to my husband and he immediately replied, “Nooo… not the dreaded 45 degrees!”
You’ve captured something so evocative here — I’ve sent this post to a few folks I know who are dealing with colic (or dealt with it recently) and all felt “seen” reading it.
Oh Honey...I'm so glad you seem to be on the other side of the dreaded colic. My first baby (now a 34 year old trauma surgeon) had it for 14 long ass weeks and although I have forgotten much over the past 34 years, I remember vividly my first few months with my first colicky baby. (ONLY colicky baby-second was chill as long as I nursed her every 2-3 hours) First 2 weeks she was an angel chill sleepy nursey baby helping me recover from my C-section. Then a switch flipped. Every night at 6 PM she would start crying inconsolably-not just crying but purple faced ,rigid spine ,wailing like I was poking her with hot irons.It was like she was in excruciating pain and there was nothing I could do to relieve her. No car driving, dryer sitting etc would console her. The only thing that worked for me , I eventually discovered,,was the Snuggli- a primitive form of the fancy baby/body wraps y'all have today. I would stuff screaming tortured infant in this thing and then WALK for about 3-4 hours. If I stopped walking the wailing would resume. If I tried to get her out of it too soon, the wailing would resume. We were living in Savannah GA. at the time and I would walk the neighborhood for hours-whimpering and dying of exhaustion and wanting to go to bed. If my husband didn't walk with me at least part of the time I became resentful. I remember one time being so frustrated when she wouldn't stop screaming crying and I had her on her stomach on my knees and I was rocking her back and forth to no avail and I realized I needed to put her in her crib and go outside and cry myself before I rocked her too fast. I felt like a horrible mother. A "good" mother would be able to console her baby. A "good" mother would not be so frustrated with her baby. Everyone said it would end at 12 weeks. it didn't. It lasted 14 weeks. and then another switch flipped and she became an angel baby, free of pain and wailing. 34 years later I STILL remember those first few months vividly. Aw Honey, so sorry you had to deal with colic.SUCKS! But as corny as it sounds-it does get better! So much fun is ahead of you! (well except the terror. That never goes away) Sending much love. Love your podcasts. Dumpster fire keeps me sane and laughing. I'm 63 and my 25 year old daughter loves you too. My 34 year old daughter would love you too but she's a surgeon with 2 kids so doesn't have as much time. Love on that baby girl. She's lucky to have you. Cheers new Mom. You've joined the club. (Insert heart emoji here)
While specifically about colic I feel like this post also captures the general feeling of newborn life insanity… my daughter also went through a phase where only that terrible 45 degree angle could soothe her. I sent this post to my husband and he immediately replied, “Nooo… not the dreaded 45 degrees!”
You’ve captured something so evocative here — I’ve sent this post to a few folks I know who are dealing with colic (or dealt with it recently) and all felt “seen” reading it.
This post also inspired me to write about my own challenges — for me, it was breastfeeding: https://theinstinctivephilosopher.substack.com/p/breastfeeding
Glad you’re through it. It’s sure nice to be on the other side of things.