Over the past few days, we’ve noticed that Miranda has been increasingly fussy later in the day and even more so in the early evening.
While it could just be a growth spurt that we have to march through, we’re also wondering if she’s experiencing extra gas that’s causing discomfort; perhaps even colic. She’s kicking her legs more and seems to be suffering some sort of pain. The her facial expressions would break your heart… and the her cries would break your ear drums!
After not being able to give her any relief yesterday afternoon, I went to Lawtons Drugs after supper in hopes of getting some gripe water. The pharmacy was pretty busy, but I waited for my turn. I spoke with a pharmacist and we discussed the different over the counter (OTC) options. I decided to go with Kolik because it has a decent dosage of sodium bicarbonate and it was recommended for babies her age. I’m really glad I spoke with the pharmacist since they have more medical knowledge than I’ll ever have and they can give an honest opinion, but not make me feel pressured to choose a certain product.
For most of my university years, I worked on cash and was later a shift supervisor at a Lawtons Drugs in St. John’s. It was by far my favourite part-time job and I’ve always had a soft spot for Lawtsons’ stores and the employees (especially the younger ones who are probably in college or university). And I’ve always had a great respect for pharmacists. I always enjoyed talking to the ones I worked with and appreciated their advice whenever I had questions or a customer came asking us front store staff about OTCs.
Funny enough, one of our next door neighbours and her daughter were also at Lawtons and we chatted about poor Miranda’s discomfort. I love our neighbourhood and how we’ve gotten to know some of the families on our street and in our subdivision. It’s a great sense of community here. How nice was it of Bonnie to offer to pop over anytime, especially if Matt and I ever need an hour to take a nap.
Back to Miranda…
Before going to Lawtons, I posted on Facebook and Twitter that we were dealing with a very unhappy baby. A number of friends and family suggested getting gripe water and it was also suggested that we swaddle her. Normally, she hasn’t been a huge fan of being swaddled (she loves to have her arms out and always wants to touch her face). But desperate times call for desperate measures! So after giving her the last of a bottle with some Kolik gripe water in it, I put her a sleep sac swaddler that we have. After walking around the living room while watching Coronation Street, she finally started to drift off.
We haven’t really been using her crib much yet because we’re still keeping her in our bedroom in a bassinet. Now and then I’ll use the crib, but it’s a rare occasion; in the next couple of months we’re planning on moving her to the crib permanently (maybe even sooner). Last night I felt differently. I figured if she squirmed or made noises, I might hear them a bit on our video monitor, but they wouldn’t keep us awake like she definitely would in the bedroom.
The video monitor isn’t mounted to the wall yet, so I propped it up in the corner of the crib. I decided to stay up for a couple of hours to do some dishes and to also keep an eye on Miranda (I’m still a paranoid new mom… cut me a break here!).
I’m thrilled to say that the rest of the night was full of win! I don’t know if it was the Kolik, the swaddling, or the fact that poor Miranda was tired from all of the crying, but either way, she slept for almost six hours! I went to bed around 1:30 (and she originally fell asleep around 11:30) and she didn’t make a peep until close to 5:30!
I suspect we’ll be keeping that swaddling sleep sac for night time usage going forward. In prenatal class, we were told they’re no longer swaddling babies because there’s a concern about SIDS. I completely respect the concern from Health Canada that a baby can get too warm, overheated and then possibly smother. Yet I can’t help but notice that so many people have gushed about the benefits and success they’ve had with their children when swaddling. The sleep sac we have is great because it does swaddle, but she’s strong enough that she can wiggle her arms out if she’s determined (which did happen last night). It’s not something we may do all the time, but if it helps my daughter get some comfort and allows her parents to sleep, then we’re going to be pro-swaddle.
In case we run into this again and the above strategies don’t work, what are your suggestions for a fussy baby that may be colic? Please share your suggestions, advice and experience!
I’m loving the blog post BTW!
I think if it’s indeed colic then it will take more time to figure out. Our little girl used that same Kolik gripe water a bit when she was brand new. When she seemed to have gas then the gripe water seemed to help. Of course, we’re all just guessing haha
We also moved her to her own crib from a bassinet in our room much earlier than I’d wanted. We tried it as an experiment one night and it worked like a charm. We all slept better. I was nervous about leaving her alone but we didn’t use a blanket and kept her room temperature at a good level (with the help of a programmable thermostat. We tried two different sleep sacks but she hated them with a screaming passion. Now, our almost-15-month-old loves her crib and we put a blanket over her feet when she goes to bed. She grabs it and pulls it over her head and goes to sleep like that. One of us always creeps back in the room and hauls the blanket off her face after she’s asleep. It’s a funny routine but it works!
I hope Miranda feels better and you’ll find your groove with her in no time :)