Once again, we are becoming quite familiar with babydance. It was such a regular part of life years ago that we find we are able to fall right back into step now after several rather mellow babies. Abigeál is such a joy to us, but she is not mellow by any stretch. From the start she has been distressed by the whole gamut of bodily functions, all of which were uncomfortable and overwhelming for her. She has made her peace with eating, but digestion is not without its challenges. She still cries at the prospect of each burp and simple things like falling asleep are not always simple. Actually being awake isn't always peachy either. <g>
While pacing and patting one afternoon I remembered this passage from an old book by Femmy DeLyser, a Dutch midwife, which gave such a nice word picture of what babies go through and how to relate to and comfort them:
When your baby cries and neither food nor diaper or position change ease the distress, assume that its bowels are giving it painful contractions. Now recollect what you learned about pain during labor. Fear made it worse. Yet every time a strong contraction came on fear did rise. When you looked at a trusted face and that face showed calm caring, your fear lessened and you could let your body work. It was still painful but not quite as frightening and lonely. If a hand touched you in the right spot that too made it better. And while kisses were nice when a contraction was over, in the middle of one they would have been quite out of place. Apply these insights to helping your baby. With one major difference: your baby perceives the feeling of others more directly than you did during labor. Therefore you have to overcome your responses of fear and panic when your baby cries so desperately because they will intensify its innate response to pain – tension and irregular breathing. Your baby is little, vulnerable, and sensitive. You are big and strong. You say, "Oh my little baby, I know you are hurting but nothing is seriously wrong. It is just your bowels from all your eating and growing. Let me try to help you with it. We will work on it together."
And so we do. We work on it together. In fact it is a family affair. It is not unusual for an older sibling to casually walk by and take Abbie for a spin on the Babydance-floor. They are especially adept at dancing without getting tied in knots over the crying. Asher in particular has the touch. He will tune into one of his documentaries on tv and waltz her all over the family room, totally oblivious to the decibel level. His theory is that she can sense your tension so he distracts himself and keeps walking. It nearly always works!
Starry Sky Journal 
Oh my. I do remember colic. Many wishes that it is short-lived.
What is the name of that book that you quoted, and is it possible to find it? I think that’s probably the best thing I’ve ever read about colic.
I am sorry your baby has colic. My daughter was screaming from 3pm to 2am with colic. Her pediatrician told me to get gripe water. I got it at Walgreens, but they have it at any drug store. Once I gave it to her, within 10 minutes she was not crying anymore! I gave it to her every night and never had the colic any more. The bottle says it works within 30 minutes. I highly recommend it and it is very safe and natural.
It is called Baby Bliss.
http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100099&navAction=jump&navCount=0&nug=VPD&skuid=sku3459486&id=prod3460643
Oh, the poor baby. You always have the best resources and your calm inspires me. My prayers are with you and the family.
Ummm… if that last comment came through with no name attached, it was me! Sorry! (The activity level behind me is a little high right now. LOL)
oh my, do I remember the colic days. Poor Jacob was the worse. Had to believe we spent an entire year walking the floors nightly. Camomile homeopathics under his tongue helped occasionally. Age is what helped the most. 🙂 sorry Kim.
Ah, the colic. I remember it well. Our fourth had it (along with a nasty case of reflux), and nothing we did could ease his pain. I think we wore him (both my husband and I) in the Mei Tai wrap for at least the first year on a daily basis. I love that sling in the picture! What kind is it? Many prayers for you that digestion is better for your little one. 🙂
a small sachet of dill near her helps! I make tiny, wool stuffed pillows with fresh dill and have it near their tiny sleeping nooks. See if that helps, if not, prayer has been known to save souls:)
BTDT
Oh yeah, colic! Out of 7 only my third had it bad enough to actually label it so. She would wake up between 3 and 4 and cry till about 6-ish. We were sooo tired. But…. it wasn’t long ago we were actually thinking, “which one of the girls kept us up every morning?”. We figured it out which one and she got a big laugh at the idea of being such a fussy baby! At 8, she is all smiles now! Hope it doesn’t last long for you!! 🙂
What a beautiful and loving post! I love that image you painted of Asher soothing her. I had criers — my heart goes out to you.
LOVE the perspective there! My heart goes out to you, though ~ We’ve been-there-done-that, too. Got a drawer-full of t-shirts. &:o) Do you notice that the colicky babies always end up being extra-ordinary in some way? Either extra smart or extra energetic/athletic or extra-something? It’s been true for our guys. The mellows are their own special treat, but the “challenging” babies are full of promise!
Oh poor baby…:(
My oldest had this, and the next to a much lesser extent did to. My current baby has been spared, what a blessing for us both!
I too remember those days, and NIGHTS!! Our first two boys were colicky, especially the second. What really helped us was The Happiest Baby On The Block by Harvey Karp, especially the tight swaddeling. I like the Sears and have read their material, but the Happiest Baby really seemed to do the trick. I would recommend getting the video as well as the book. It’s a short watch and helps kick start the reading. Hope you and baby find relief. Remember, the Lord is your shepherd and He leads you beside quiet waters and He restores your soul (Psalm 23:1-3). Also, He promises to always be with you, to never to leave you or abandon you (Deut. 31:8). Take heart during this time and I pray you find comfort in the Lord. You are the apple of His eye and check out Deut 32:10-12 and see how the Lord preciously cares for you and your baby and your famly.
Blessings,
Courtney