Colic It Is Then

The past few weeks, Nathan and I have avoiding facing the inevitable truth: Eliza has colic. Whenever people ask how she is, we always say: "She is such an angel throughout the day, but at night she can be a little peanut!" Well, her refusal to sleep has built up to a persistent scream that cannot be soothed. Nathan has discovered a way to temporarily pacify her by bouncing constantly with her perched on his arms. However, even this method is beginning to fail us. Nothing works and our baby is left with her tiny hands in fist and her face bright red as she cries her little heart out.

Needless to say, this is stressful. Nathan is in school and also working, but somehow managing to stay awake throughout the night with me. Honestly, I haven't been able to do it alone. Yesterday, I was feeling particularly sorry for us. In order to prevent myself from wallowing in absolute self-pity, I tried thinking positively- making a list of all the things I am grateful for. I finally came to the conclusion that even if Eliza cries for two more months, it's just a brief period of time. A verse came to mind, one that I have often referred throughout various trials in my life: " peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment, and if thy endure it well God shall exalt thee on high."

So, instead of just being a victim of this colic, I decided to find out why she might be crying and what we could do about it. Being proactive will save my sanity, I believe. After some googling, Nathan and I discovered Eliza has all the symptoms of lactose overload . I feel so much relief at this diagnosis and hopefully, I can begin to remedy the problem. We're going to try changing her eating patterns and perhaps, she will be a happier (and sleepier) baby.

But...in the meantime...we will continue trying different bouncy seats and swings. Last night, we went to Walmart at 3 AM and bought this in desperation:
It did nothing. Oh well.

Any prayers or words of advice are welcome. We are staying optimistic, but are looking like zombies these days. Parenthood is much more difficult than I anticipated, but I am still loving it, despite the hurdles.

One final thought, it's easy to feel sorry for yourself some days, but really it is just wasted energy. There are so many things in my life that could be different...or worse. A reminder that I am not alone in my mothering woes came just a few hours ago. After being up all night yet again, I was still laying in bed at 1 in the afternoon when Caitlin called. I called her back and her voice was warm and kind (as usual). She then explained she was going to the doctor with mastitis...again. I had a SLIGHT case of that and it was horrible pain. So, to have that again and still be calm and positive- that's a trooper for you! I think Heavenly Father really does not give us more than we can handle and that he also reminds us we are never alone in our trials.
(I'm sorry, Caitlin, that you had to me the "reminder" for me :)...but I love you!)