I met up with a friend of mine whose baby is a week older then Theodor today. Her daughter is lovely and sweet and a completely normal baby. I was in shock. I honestly couldn't believe how "easy" she was. Not to say that taking care of a newborn is ever easy because it isn't but she was no comparison to Theodor. Before today I always sort of thought in the back of my head that all babies were like Theodor even though I knew from the statistics in my current favorite book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" that 80% weren't like him. Seeing it made it much more "real".
Her daughter was perfectly content to be awake and looking around and even could be awake in her pram without crying. She also cried very quietly and calmly when she was hungry not going from 0 to 100 like a certain someone I know who has no quiet/calm cry. My friend also mentioned that they can put her down and sometimes she will just coo and look around and sometimes she will even fall asleep. Of course her daughter also got fussy and cried a bit but it was honestly not even close to how Theodor is almost all.the.time.
and you know what? I don't mind. I'm not jealous, I just feel like a rock star:D
Because even though I have this baby who SCREAMS as LOUD as he can most of the time when he is awake, or cries for an hour or two in the middle of the night, I'm still getting a marginal amount of things done. I'm getting out of the house with him every day for at least an hour.I am still doing the majority of everything around the house since my husband works so much and I don't feel like I am drowning. Although it needs to be said I could not be doing any of this without my husband, who is a huge help and support. I'm getting a shower or a bath in every day. I'm still madly in love with my husband and can't wait to go on our first baby free date. I mean I even went grocery shopping with the baby and didn't freak out when he cried hysterically for the last twenty minutes spent checking out and walking home... although I did have to take a 5 minute break once we got home;)
So yeah I'm a rock star with an awesome "lively" baby and I am totally OK with it. Although I don't want to sugarcoat that I will be thrilled! when this whole colic thing is over:)
P.S. Chiropractor- he has gone 3 times and it has definitely helped. He sleeps for longer stretches now especially in the wrap- he has slept for 3 hour stretches a few times which is a BIG deal in our house.
Visiting an Osteopath was recommended by our pediatrician to help deal with our baby's colic/fussiness/ screaming. I read a bit about osteopathy online and we went ahead and made an appointment.I went in with an open mind and we left 85 Euros poorer and with the impression that we had been conned :D The osteopath put her hand on Theodor's head and butt for about 20 minutes and explained that she was feeling energies that no one but a trained osteopath can see and encouraging Theodor's muscles/bones to go into the right position as they had moved during the birth and the process of getting into the right position takes time and can be painful for the baby hence the crying.However she also said that even with "her treatment" we should just give the baby time-3 months was her suggestion, which surprise surprise just happens to be the time when colic ends naturally anyway, and make sure to give the baby lots of love and closeness. She also suggested 3 more appointments every 3 weeks.So we left thinking she hadn't done anything, and now 4 days later I can honestly say I have noticed absolutely no change in Theodor, and that we definitely will not be going back.We will however be trying out a chiropractor as hope never dies :D
We have been home now for over a week and every day has some really wonderful moments. I feel like the moments also keep increasing and my love and awe for this baby is ever expanding.
I love Theodor's little toes and his hammy little sausage fingers which he got from my husband.
I love the way his bottom lip quivers when he is about to cry, and that the face we see from him most often is a big theatrical frown.I love holding him when he is sleeping and even sometimes when he is screaming.I love that he likes being in his stroller, car seat, and sling... most of the time;)I love that when he takes a bath with papa it reminds me of my beautiful birth with him and the moment they put him on my stomach.I love that he is a champion breast-feeder, able to latch on perfectly from the beginning and eating with voraciousness now.I love that I get to give him kisses all over his soft cuddly body whenever I want.
Overall I guess I just love that I get the privilege of being Theo's mom.
I hope I didn't scare any of you with my last post-especially those of you who are pregnant with your firsts. Being a mother is lovely especially after the hormones calm down after the first two weeks. It is wonderful to gaze at your child and see you and your husband and a completely new life with its own preferences and looks and ideas, and it is especially amazing as they become slowly more and more aware of the world around them.However after the first two weeks is also when colic,acid reflux, etc show up and for the about 20% of parents whose children have these problems the next weeks are hard. There is no blissed out laying with baby as the chances are high that baby is screaming while you pace the floors trying any and everything to calm baby down. You don't feel much in the mood to do anything besides count down the days to 12 weeks when these problems are supposed to improve by themselves and you might finally get more then an hour or two of sleep in one go.Don't feel bad if you are one of the "lucky" ones and sometimes feel resentful ... no one can possibly think listening to a baby scream for two hours is enjoyable or what they had always dreamed of when becoming a parent.We were at the pediatrician today and he said that studies have shown that basically all the current medicines which people try with colic and acid reflux don't work and the only thing that does is seeing an Osteopath. Which we are doing on Friday. I will let you all know if it helps or if my days and nights are still spent mainly like this.
So the first two weeks have passed and I can honestly say they have been the hardest two weeks of my entire life. They have also been full of joy and happiness. I don't have time to write much since my baby is currently having acid-reflux problems and never sleeping more then 90 minutes and last night slept for all of 3 hours between 6pm and 6am but I wanted to update with a few points.
1. Theodor is gorgeous and watching him sleep makes me want to eat him up.
2. Going back to the hospital with your child is one of the hardest things you will ever ever do as a parent. Theodor had high jaundice levels and we had to go back for 5 days. It was so so awful, and I wouldn't wish an experience like that on anyone. 3. Lack of sleep can make you crazy, depressed, and wondering why in the world you wanted this thing. People who have easy babies will pretend like they understand but really there is a world of difference between 2-3 hour stretches of sleep and 0-90 minutes. Trust me.
4. It is OK to not love every moment of taking care of a newborn. It can be incredibly hard and thankless work, especially if your baby is "spirited". Don't take it personally, and don't feel bad for not loving every moment. You can be completely enamored with your child and love him more then anything and still not feel complete joy breastfeeding, especially if you are on hour 3 of a cluster feed;)
5. My husband is amazing, and I am so so happy to have him.
6. Teddy sometimes smiles in his sleep and it is the most beautiful thing to see. I can not wait until he starts doing it when he is awake.7. Overall I love being a family of three now and I am so excited to see where the next two weeks take us.
