posted May 17, 2004 09:31 AM         

hope the doctor was able to fix all your *ouchies* today. (were you tempted to give his scrotum a good squeeze? )

babies don't have their own energy boundaries yet, so meghan might just have been reacting to your own uncomfortable energy - hopefully she'll calm down and rest once you get your pains under wraps.

sending lots of healing (and resting!) light your way

posted May 17, 2004 09:51 AM           

Well...my headache's gone this morning
That's something.
I've resigned myself to at least a partial bedrest. I can't go full-throttle on this, but it'll do. If it doesn't get significantly better by the end of the day, I'll call my PCM (Primary Care Manager...yaaaay, military medicine) to see what can be done.

pixelp - She ended-up drifting off (shortly) at 2 AM, woke-up at 2:30 AM, and went back to sleep from 3-5:00 or so. So I got some sleep. It wasn't that bad.
I sooo should've tried the warm bath, though - she loves them, almost going to sleep while in her little tub - but I didn't read your post til this morning.
Re: Jase: Yeah, I know, but I'm being stubborn and getting him his sleep. Flight School really is tough and he needs to be as awake and aware as he can be for it...and, heck, I mean, at least I have the potential to grab a few catnaps during the day. If he tries that, he'll crash.
Just say no to crashing helicopters.

Gaw, how are things going with you?
I've been so preoccupied w/ everything that I've lost track of the cool peeps on here.

posted May 17, 2004 09:53 AM           

Thank you for the recommendation, though - I hadn't yet thought of that

posted May 17, 2004 12:48 PM         

My first DD was a preemie, and had a hyper-sensitive, overloaded nervous system. She screamed 20 hours a day for the first year. Yes, she's still alive. But it was no cakewalk. Here are my tips:

Sometimes you just have to walk away, and let her cry. I know it's hard; you've been hardwired to not do that. Try it anyway.

Earplugs are good.

If you are drinking lots of milk, cut way back. Sometimes babies don't like that. My DDs pediatrician had stop drinking milk, and start drinking a beer or two a day. Really. Truly. Or, you can try brewer's yeast, but the beer is much better. If you have a La Leche League, call them. Or, your hospital probably has a nurse in the Labor / Delivery area who is a "Lactation Consultant". She'll have some ideas.

Good Luck! I PROMISE it will get better!

posted May 17, 2004 04:18 PM         

For what it's worth, I do understand. My first child had colic the first month of her life and I was getting so little sleep I actually hallucinated. Hubby was on 3rd shift so I would try and get a few hours after he came home in the morning.

She cried and screamed for hours on end, but by trial and error we learned a few tricks to help her (and us, lol) get some rest:

Warm baths...yes, very good one. I'd hold her in my arms and trickle warm water over her and it soothed us both. And yes, baby massages. I used a tiny bit of baby oil. Car rides...we'd drive around every evening. Long walks in the stroller (once you're feeling better; hope it's soon!). A major life saver was the baby swing. We had one that interchanged from a seat to a cradle. I'd crank it up, and the motion along with the soft "clicking" sound would enable her to take a brief nap each afternoon. It seemed that DISTRACTING her other senses away from the tummy ache was what helped.

Oh, one other thing. If it's hot, don't be afraid to just dress Meghan in a diaper. My first daughter was born in June and it was particularly HOT that year. As a new Mom I made the mistake of overdressing her
and she got prickly heat. I felt so bad, then my Mom told me she did the same thing with ME (also born in June). Anyway, it cleared up within a day or two of taking the clothes off and letting the skin breathe.

And yes it WILL get better, I promise too! As June passed into July that year, one morning when my daughter was about 6 weeks old, I woke up ON MY OWN (without the sound of a crying baby) and raced to her crib to find her awake, rolled onto her back and cooing at the little animals of the mobile over the crib. It was 7:00 am. She'd slept straight through, from about 11:00 pm the night before. After that, we all "settled down", lol. So hang in there.

posted May 17, 2004 10:18 PM         

I hope you are feeling better now and getting some sleep. I can't give any baby advice since I've still not had children yet.

I would also suggest a Chiropractor. I had problems with my legs and feet for 2 years, my medical coverage Doctor's could not help me, so I am paying out of pocket now for a Chiro who has pretty much cured me.

posted May 18, 2004 06:01 PM         

As far as baby goes, there's this great naturpahic medicine company called Hyland's. They make colic tablets (and teething tablets, but that will come later ). The tablets are in a lactose base, and are made up of mostly chamomile. Babies love the way they taste, and they calm down quickly after given a couple tablets. They're not very expensive. Here they're $4-5 for like 100 tablets. You can find them at just about any health food store, and many pharmacies.

Baby is very susceptible to your every feeling. If you feel even slightly frustrated by the situation, it's your best bet to put her down and let her cry. She will eventually tire her little self out and fall asleep. My youngest was a fussy baby. I used to put her down to fuss and go into the bathroom and run the shower so I couldn't hear her screams (else I wouldn't have been blubbering right along with her). Someone suggested ear plugs. The idea is to keep you from hearing the cries so you don't feel the need to save her. She's fine, and believe it or not soon that sweet little angel's cry will hardly even phase you.

posted May 19, 2004 05:21 PM         

I was thinking...it could be something you've eaten that is giving her an upset stomache. I know you don't drink, or eat onions, but what about things like dark green veggies, or lentels, or carbonated drinks, maybe even coffee? I realize you're smart enough to know that whatever you eat, she eats...but sometimes certain foods that seem innocent can actually upset a breast fed baby's tummy.

foods that can make you gassy could give her a bloated, distended stomache, which really can be painful for a little body like that.

There's also gripe water, for baby stomache upset. I was pretty lucky, my baby bull wasn't too much of a fusser, unless I gave her an upset stomache by eating spicy food or something, but I learned quite quickly what foods seemed to bother her.

posted May 20, 2004 11:40 AM           

THANK YOU to everyone who's helped and/or sent well-wishes

lovely libra - How old were they when you began them on tea? Yep, I have some lavender baby soap (love, love, love it...the only problem being that while she does fall asleep during the bath, she screams once she's pulled out).
Do you have a website re: baby massages?
Yes, I need one, too

Kells - Dearlord, I'm not sure how I would've handled "cholic" like that.
It may have been the milk that day...I did go on a bit of an Ovaltine binge :-/
She's back to at least taking bottles of my milk now, though (oftentimes I'm too...umm...engorged for her to get a good latch and she's not willing to wait til I express some).

Twin Lady - I will definitely have to try the car ride idea if she's like that again one night (military housing's safe, but I still get creeped out pushing a stroller through it at midnight). And there's no question - Miss Meg will sport a diaper, sans clothes, for long stretches of the upcoming, hot-arse Alabama summer.
My Mom did that for me, too, and we were only in Virginia.
I will hang in there, and thank you.

Nephthys - My back's doing much better, but I'll still look up a chiropractor for preventative purposes.

FishKitten - A lady at the hospital recommended the same thing (I wasn't there for anything serious, just to get a prescription) upon hearing how much and often she eats (a good ounce more than the pediatrician says she "should" and with an hour less in between).
Do you think putting a very thin dilution of it in milk and then feeding her with a modified nipple would work?

LibraSparkle - Yep, I know that problem...my sack of potatoes is up to larger than a DD cup filled with heavy flippin' milk.
Hylands? I'll keep a look out for it.
Re: her crying: Yeah...Jase and I already think that we're bad parents for kinda making fun of her a little bit when she cries on the changing table.
"Oh! Yes! Being a baby is *horrible* I know! I knoooow!"

lioneye - What's gripe water and pablem?
Silly Canadians...
I haven't eaten anything on that list (OK, garlic...but I've eaten that for a while)...
But she really is doing much better now.
All I have to do now is learn not to give in and put her on my chest so she'll drift off...that'll get painful by the time she's 9 or so.

posted May 21, 2004 12:53 PM         

Here's a link to the colic tablets at drugstore.com http://www.drugstore.com/qxp30632_333181_sespider/hylands/colic_tablets.htm

You can at least see what they look like, so you know what you're looking for.

posted May 25, 2004 11:39 AM         

If you haven't got one, look into a baby bounce/vibrate seat at Walmart, or the PX/BX, or Target, or whatever is there. We were given one by a friend, and it saved my baby's life. (Kept me from bouncing her off a wall) It's a bouncy seat with a vibrate mode -- but it's NOT a swing. They run about $25 or so. Light weight, and easy to pick up and move. I think the "Barcalounger" was the only reason I got to take a shower for the first 6 mons.!

Try an ice pack on your back in 20 minute intervals. It's not soothing, but it DOES help. You are in my thoughts. <sending sleepy light your way.>