Happy Independence Day

Today we are all celebrating. Not only our country's Independence, but that the baby is sleeping. By himself. In his crib. He hasn't done that in 72 hours.

Wednesday through Thursday was the bad. Really bad. The baby didn't sleep. He just cried and ate every 2 hours. I called the doctor out of a sense of helplessness. Crying all the time isn't normal right? Maybe with our kids it is.

The doctor on call suggested that we 1. either wait for the prevacid to take effect or 2. Stop breastfeeding and give him a special formal. Unfortunately neither option was a guarantee. I asked if I could get the baby into a specialist before I did something as drastic as stopping all breastfeeding. They said that I had to get my doctor to refer on Monday when she got back.

I called the only pediatric GI specialist in Tulsa. They couldn't get me in until November. The receptionist was rude when I asked if I could talk to the nurse. She said that it wasn't my call and that my doctor had to call the specialist if I wanted in any earlier.
I started to get angry at the situation. The helpless feelings increased. The crying wouldn't stop. My mom just held the shrieking baby so I could sleep for an hour at a time.

I called my sister who found some other specialist around the area. With the promise that I could drive 3 hours and get in after the holiday weekend the helplessness subsided to a a dull ache of pity for our poor child.

The husband came home early and we prayed. I fed him at 11 pm and I went to bed while the husband held the crying mess of our over-tired child.

I woke up with a start and a urgent need to feed the baby. It was 2am. I checked on the baby and the husband. They we were both sound asleep on the couch. I decided to wait a few minutes. An hour and a half later the baby woke up VERY hungry. Whew. 5 hours of sleep.

Now he seems to have calmed down a bit. Still crying in the afternoon, but it is better.

I think I'm going to video tape him during the next crying 72 hours and keep it for when he has kids. Just to remind him that he's lucky to be alive.

Now the baby is up and the husband is pacing the yard with him. This too shall pass. I better get the video camera.