Harsh Reality

Okay. So I haven't wanted to use our blog to "vent" but right now after getting no sleep for several weeks it is time that I spend a minute to try and unwind. Newborns are tough. This is no well kept secret. But in an effort to protect our friends and family who are currently expecting their first children, I haven't wanted to reveal how truly difficult some newborns can be (fortunately, only about 10-20%).

Sylvia has extreme fussiness/colic and I have NEVER experienced anything quite like this. The normal standards for whether or not a child has colic are something like the following: If more than three hours every day are spent soothing the infant to keep her from crying or fussing, if the child is gassy and constantly pulling her legs up, if no amount of soothing really seems to calm the child, and if this has been going on for three or more weeks. Medical books even describe the cry of a colicky baby and, yes, that is exactly what she sounds like. She never sleeps and she demands to be held constantly. Even when being held, bounced, swaddled with a pipe in mouth she will still fuss and carry on. It is unbearable and exhausting and I think I need a new life. (Or at the very least a shower.)

The bad news is that things will only get worse and will peak around six or seven weeks of age. The good news is that after that point things will gradually start to improve and she should be a lot more tolerable and enjoyable around twelve weeks.

There is really nothing that can be done in the meantime. All the parenting books we have looked at give the same "advice." They all say to hire someone to clean the house, to hire someone to care for the baby for a couple of hours every day so that Mom can out alone for a while, to hire a babysitter a couple evenings a week for Mom and Dad to go out, etc. Hmmm . . . Apparently only the rich are supposed to have infants with colic. Someone should have told Sylvia! They also recommend doing absolutely anything that seems to help soothe the baby. And, believe me, we have tried nearly everything!

Needless, I am very overwhelmed and I spend my days longing for Dave to get home from work so that I have someone to help me handle the baby. I love my daughter more than anything but I just don't particularly love my life right now. Things will, obviously, get better. But right now I need some really positive vibes from people! (And for those of you who call or email and I haven't managed to get back to you yet, trust me, it is not because I don't want to. It is because I can't.)

[And later today my parents meet with his urologist and will learn more regarding my dad's health. Hopefully the cancer has been caught early enough that procedures can be noninvasive and his hopes for living a cancer-free life are high.]