i have to admit, it’s getting better

And I know at least one person (Scott) who will be surprised to hear me say that, since last night was our most colossal crying fit EVER, and for the first time since we brought him home, Jonah did not go to sleep at midnight but rather at 3 a.m. or so — in the car seat, which Scott retrieved from the car when we hit the “we’ll try anything” point.

We’re pretty sure Jonah is crying from some kind of intestinal distress, he’s been hiccuping, spitting up, gassy, screaming while his bowels growl, and sleeping at an upright angle was one solution we’d read about.

Just feeding him when he cries is not really working anymore so now we’re trying more soothing. I’m trusting our post partum doula (and my own intuition which similarly whispered to me) who suggested that feeding him when he has gas is not really a solution.

And so, today, we don’t let him “cry it out” per se, but we are trying more bouncing, rocking, swaddling, singing, shooshing, jiggling, mobying walking, and thus feeding less excessively. Although we’re still kind of trying to figure out what the right amount is. The pediatrician suggested 10-20 minutes (per boob? can’t remember) every two hours during the day with longer breaks between at night. As opposed to the 1 to 1-1/2 hour long feeds plus he’s currently been enjoying.

And I’ll be changing my diet to avoid gas producing foods (I never really do enjoy broccoli anyway).

And we’re administering “Gripe Water” per the ped’s suggestion.

And trying to believe that we’re doing the right thing.

It’s the having faith in ourselves that is the hard part. When the faith wavers, the crying seems so much louder.

Right now, Scott is singing to the swaddled boy while bouncing on the ball, and the shrieking has suddenly subsided.

Maybe later tonight, we’ll even get some sleep?

In other news, he’s three weeks old today and definitely seems to be noticing us more, and has longer periods during the day where he is awake and just content to hang out with us. We like that.