Tuesday, December 29, 2009

One month check up

Well, little Maggie went for her one month check up - she is up to 8 lbs 14 oz! Way to go, girl! And she is checking out great in other ways too. I talked to the doc (who I just love love love by the way) about her crying. Have I even talked about that on the blog yet? She cries inconsolably for about 20 minutes at a stretch. It's pretty awful, because no matter what we do, nothing calms her down until she passes gas in some way (and it's rarely burping - she is SO hard to burp). We've tried Gripe Water, but it wasn't working, and colic tablets - with limited success... but I hadn't tried a few other suggestions I'd gotten (like chamomile tea) because I was waiting to talk to the doc. When I told her the things we'd tried, and conveniently Maggie was having a bottle while I was in the office, so the doc got to see that she wasn't rearing back (like acid reflux would show) - she gave me a few suggestions - which started with Gripe Water and chamomile tea. I told her the Gripe Water wasn't really working (which is a whole other story) - so she said we'd try to switch to soy based formula.

So, we tried that today - but it'll take a few weeks to know if that is the issue. The good news is she switched over with no issues. But, when I got home today I re-read the directions on the Gripe Water and I was giving her like 1/8th of the amount I was supposed to. After her last bottle, I gave her the right amount. She fussed a little, and is now passed out happily. NO huge crying episodes. Whoops.

The doc assured me that if we checked all the main baby items (not hungry, clean diaper) that it is OK if she cries. That some babies just need to cry. I realized that before, but was so upset that none of my normal calming things were working... it's good to know that it wasn't something we were doing wrong, that maybe she just needed a new formula. Here's hoping that with that and the Gripe Water we make progress and there is less crying (all around - because sometime HER crying makes me cry).

The doc also pointed out that we could start bathing her a little more regularly (whoops again - she's had 2 baths since she's been home)... and I explained that when she's calm, I'm just not willing to potentially fire her up by giving her a bath. When we gave her a bath tonight, she was SO calm. Duh. babies love warm baths. So - we will get into that routine too.

Want to see a picture of her that cracks me up? Taken today:

We've switched to a co sleeper, which I'm really liking. Took her a little bit to get used to, but I feel like we are maybe rounding a corner and figuring her out. And look at that sweet face! Happy one month, baby!

20 comments:

HereWeGoAJen said...

Yeah, you have to give a LOT more Gripe Water than you would think. I remember Matt looking at me filling up the little squirter thing and saying "really, all that?" And then my answer was no, this is only half!

I'm glad she's doing so well!

Sara said...

I was surprised at how much Gripe Water you have to give too! I never imagined it would take so much, but it has been helpful to us these past 5 months. It just seems to settle the little belly.

I'm glad Maggie had a good checkup!

Sara said...

She is so sweet! Glad to hear you're rounding a few corners re various stressors :)

zach05kate95 said...

I hope she is one the road to a better belly. She is really cute, too.

Ruth said...

O hai, cutie pie!!! She's gorgeous, Cece.

Esther and Brian said...

Great to hear that she'd doing great! Hope the new formula will help out...My friend's little girl was switched to soy due to really bad colic/crying and she did great on it. At 4 years of age, she is still milk-sensitive and has to drink the lactose-free milk or soy...hey, whatever works and makes her little tummy more comfy!

Anonymous said...

Is this person trying to steal your tragic story?
http://instructionsarenotincluded.blogspot.com/

You have a beautiful sweet family.

Anonymous said...

She's so sweet, CeCe!

Anonymous said...

Whoever posted that last comment accusing Cora's mom of stealing your tragic story is a complete A-HOLE! I can't even fathom making that kind of statement. Cora's obituary can be viewed at http://www.zwickjahn.com/index.cfm.

Anonymous said...

My son did well on Alimentum, a hypoallergenic formula made by similac...hopefully the soy will work for you. I also held him faceing down with my hand supporting his tummy--this seemed to help alot. Mylicon also worked well for us. I wish you all the best with you beautiful children and am sorry about your loss. You are doing great and do not let anyone tell you how to gieve-this is your personal journey and only you can decide how to follow it. I hope the New Year brings much happiness, good health and peace to you and your family.

Anonymous said...

if you can't say something "nice" then don't say anything at all.
ANONYMOUS #1, do you think that your comment made my friend feel better?. Wake up. K

Sukey said...

It's hard to let a baby cry, but good to hear that from the doctor. Love the sweater!

Christy said...

Love, love, love the sweet baby picture!

Secondarymom said...

My DD did the same thing, it is so hard to hear them cry. Once we figured out that she was lactose intolerant things got much easier. I'm hoping that the gripe water is all you need to soothe your little one. Hang in there, you are doing a great job!

Becky said...

gorgeous. Funny story about the gripe water. At like 2 to 3 weeks Nick woul scream at night for hours and we couldn't figure out why. We tried gripe water didn't work. He was 9 to 9 1/2 lbs and since he was under 1 month old we gave him the dose for his age, and it didn't work. Then we though, since he's a bigger baby and almost 4 weeks old we went for the 4T weeks dose, worked like a charm!!!!

Sohard when stuff is by the age and weight becuase he's a bigger baby. dR said to go by weight usually.

Lucia said...

When my kids were fussy, there being afaik no Gripe Water then, I walked them up and down and sang them the Anne Boleyn song. (With 'er 'ead tooked oonderneath 'er arm, she waaaaalks the bloody Tower...) It didn't seem to warp them unduly, but they have such weird parents anyway it's hard to tell. We thought Miss B was a fussy baby, but a friend told me Taz had been so easy -- and he had, really, slept through the night at six weeks and, like Hulk, almost never cried for the hell of it -- we were just plain spoiled. Of course he took care of that later on.

I hadn't caught up with you for a while, but I do think of you all and hope you're doing OK.

MissNoAngel (find me on Twitter) said...

I did the same thing with the gripe water - its a HUGE dose!! Glad to hear it's working though.

Love the pic! She is SO stinkin cute!!

Lynne said...

She is perfectly beautiful. Try massage too. Rub her belly clockwise firmly and use a little baby oil or lotion. Worked great for my daughter. Wishing you a happy new year.

Katie said...

I'm late on this, but if you check on posts for new comments, you might catch it. . .

Will was very colicky/gassy for the first 10 weeks of life. Warm baths with a washcloth over his tummy seemed to help, as did the bicylce motion and "frog" where I would push his legs up and into his belly (firmly, but not too hard). If I did that in the bathtub, it seemed to get the most gas out. We also had to switch to soy formula and that took over two weeks to show complete results.

The good news? He is now a champion sleeper and eater with no residual ill effects or allergies. By around 10 weeks, it seemed to work itself for the most part and by 4 months, people were saying I had the happiest baby they had ever seen. So, there is hope!

MyLifeMyWorld said...

Horray for a month! Takes awhile but you do get them figured out and find your groove. Sounds like your getting there.