Colic-y Babies & Listening Habits

[jpmosu]

Hi,

I haven't been following discussions round these parts lately--ever since Dec. 16th, to be exact. My first child, Lydia, was born that day.

Now, 5 weeks later, I assumed I'd be able to return to some regular jazz listening (and Organissimo surfing), but the baby's crying and lack of sleep seem to be regressing, rather than improving.

Don't get me wrong: my wife and I are so fortunate to have Lydia (there were two other miscarried pregnancies). She's beautiful and alert, but just doesn't seem to be able to sleep much (the problem is that she begins to writhe with GI distress after nursing). But despite our joy in finally having the baby, I feel like there's a hole in my life, too, since I've had virtually no time for music.

I guess I'm writing because I'm sure that others have been in this situation, so any sage advice would be welcome. (I'd even accept pity, right now!).

Does it get better?

Can it possibly get worse?

Will things improve in time for the new Ellington re-issues (in Feb.)?

Does anyone want to rock a baby to sleep?

john

[Alexander]

I feel for you, I really do. My daughter is almost four years old now, and I remember well the long, long, LONG nights when she had to be fed every two hours. A preschooler is a walk next to a newborn.

It does get better. She'll settle down. She'll need to eat less often. The tummy troubles will pass (try giving her a tiny bit of pear or apple juice. When my daughter was a baby she was often constipated and a little extra fiber goes a long way towards keeping things moving). I always found that feeding time (my daughter was on formula from the start, which meant that I could share in the feeding) was a good time to do a little listening. Just remember that her little eardrums are delicate, so keep the volume down...

[RDK]

Hang in there John! Five weeks is a tough age (for the parent that is). I've got twin girls, coming on three, and I'd say the first four months were the worst. They were born early and small (less than five pounds) and seemed to feed every couple of hours. Fortunately, they didn't cry much (at least at first). But it does get better - a lot better...

Just thought of something that worked well for us. When they were infants, I almost always had some sort of music playing, even while they were sleeping. This was partly to make them accustomed to a "noisy" environment while they slept, so that they wouldn't be wakened by the slightest sound. (My sister-in-law, in contrast, had to create perfect quiet in order to get her kid down - and even then the slightest sound woke him up.)

Edited January 22, 2004 by RDK

[PHILLYQ]

It actually does get better, even with a baby with colic(My heart goes out to you and your wife on that- hang in there). You might wnt to try some soothing music for later in the day with your daughter to help ease her into the night hours. I played 'Crystal Silence' by Chick Corea & Gary Burton many times while giving my son his last bottle of the day, and it seemed to help him into the transition to sleep. I'm sure you have many discs that have some soothing ballads,etc. thatyou canenjoy and that help soothe your daughter. Most of all, though, enjoy her developing and growing up- it really is once in a lifetime and is a joy to behold!

[Chrome]

A couple of tips ... babies love skin-to-skin contact, so turning up the heat and cuddling with them w/o a shirt on can be very calming, for everyone involved.

Also, try to get into some kind of ongoing night-time routine, where you're putting the babe to bed at the same time, and doing the same things, each night. This can include music, too. For example, with one of my daughters, we always started settling down with "Kind of Blue," another seemed to really respond to Howard McGhee's "Jazz Brothers."

On the other hand, sometimes they're just gonna cry no matter what you do. With our first, we went to the pediatrician because it seemed like he was crying too much at night, and the doctor said they don't usually consider it a problem unless a baby is crying for more than 1 hour straight! After five minutes, I'm usually ready to tear my hair out.

My mother said that with me, she'd just put me in the crib and go take a shower so she couldn't hear me wailing.

Good luck!

[Chrome]

... almost forgot one of the most important things: You won't believe how much it helps if you and your wife think up ways to get a little extra sleep yourselves. I know it's far from easy, but napping when the baby naps, taking turns sleeping in on the weekends, etc., will really really help you deal with things.

[scottb]

I sympathize with you. Our second daughter had colic and that was the longest six weeks of my life! My wife and I were constantly fighting about whose turn it was to get up.

One bit advice concerning colic, making a tea out of Fennel is supposed to sooth her stomach. I don't remember the details of the recipe but I'm sure you could find in on line.

I tell you what worked for us, although I couldn't really recommend it to anyone else for fear of something tragic.

We started placing her on her stomach which these days is a big no-no because of the increase in SIDS. An old wise babysitter of ours suggested that babies handle gas much better on their stomach and we experimented during the day and found she actually did do much better on her stomach and to this day, at 2 years old she still sleeps on her stomach.

[Chrome]

I have to admit, we let our last one sleep on her stomach, too, for the same reason.

I had forgotten/repressed that.

You know, some doctors doubt an actual thing called "SIDS" exists in and of itself ... they claim there's always a different underlying cause, but that some health care people just aren't looking hard enough.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Our first was born nine years ago yesterday. She was not the best sleeper either but is as un-wakable as a teenager now.

We had one of those Rykodisc "Hawaiian Rainshower" CDs. 5 to 6 PM or there abouts was her real finicky time and we'd just set her down between the speakers and let it wash over her. I think the white noise / womb sounds of the "rain" did the trick. It became instantaneous and the disc never left the player. By the time she was three we were dancing around to "Let Freedom Ring". Today she showed me how her piano teacher has her doing a little bit of "stride" w/ her left hand. It gets better all the time! good luck!!

[jpmosu]

Thank you all for the advice/support.

I guess I'll admit it, too. Our baby does sleep a bit better on her stomach. Doing so gives my wife and I MUCH anxiety, but the baby is really struggling for any sleep at all, so we've gone this route--at least for now.

Guess we're not alone in making this decision!

john