COLIC

Lil' Miss AA is spunky.  Sometimes sassy.  And always dramatic.  But I think she may have some competition.  Baby J has yet to declare his full personality- but from what I am gleaming, I'm in for it.  He is a sweet and content baby during the day- his triple dimples and baby coos really do make my heart melt.  He just adores his big brother and he loves being propped up in the toy room to get in on the action.  Baby J is on a fairly good schedule during the day.  He does well with numerous disruptions to his routine.  He sleeps through the night and he wakes up smiling.  I really do love him.

But then arrives the Witching Hour.  Once the clock strikes 8:00 PM, Baby J screams.  And screams.  And just when I think he couldn't cry louder, he does.  Sometimes he wakes up from a deep sleep at this time; other nights he is just winding down.  Sometimes the screaming lasts for two minutes.  Other times twenty.  He doesn't do this every night- it's actually becoming less and less.  But the cry is still piercing.

At first I panicked- something must be wrong.  His tummy? Hunger?  Gas?  Heat?  I tried everything.  Nursing just made him more mad.  He didn't want to be held.  Or put down.  Or bounced.  Or swung.  The outside air made him more mad and singing was not the answer.  The pacifier was spewed out just as fast as I could shove it in and he has yet to find his thumb.  (A walk or car drive would probably do the trick, but not feasible when I am solo with two other sleeping children). But as the weeks passed, I grew more and more calm.  Nothing is wrong.  If I haven't heard any crying by 8:10, then I know we'll have a good night.

I normally do not read online or books about parenting.  (This was a lesson I learned way back with JP- those books about how to raise a child just made me crazy!)  But I did read just a little about colic.  I hear the term all of the time - "oh, so and so had a colicky baby."  But what really is colic?  Turns out even the experts don't know.  The exact etiology is only hypothesized.  Some sources define colic as the inability to console an infant for more than three hours a day (yikes).  Others say that colic is crying at the same time each day (Bingo).  It normally presents around six weeks and lasts until three to five months (I'm banking on three months).

Whether he meets the true definition of colic or not, I'm not sure.  But one thing is certain: Baby J is forming his own personality.  Drama.

Oh, and don't expect me to answer a call at 8:00 PM!