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At The Hospital
Even at the hospital, I had an incling that it was going to be tough. My newborn cried quite a bit more than my first son, now 2. All babies are different, so you can't make a judgement call right out of the womb.
As with all newborns, it was constant care from the moment we got home. But, it was still different than I had experienced before. Conner cried ALL THE TIME. He cried all day and slept for about 4 hours at night.
We went through all the newborn stages, but all at once. I made excuses for his constant crying to visitors and to myself. First he cluster fed, then he peed through his diaper 3 times a night, then he had his days and nights mixed up, so on and so on. You name it, he did it. This couldn't be how things were going to be! You're suppose to cuddle your baby and rock him to sleep.
What I Did
I bought all the gear and all the books. I had a sling to carry him around during the day to try and sooth him. I have every type of swing ever made. I propped his bassenett, I hung blinds in his room, I exposed him to light during the day. I laid him down while groggy, but not asleep, I carried him on my fore arm on his belly, I did everything the books told me to do. He would not quite crying!
Then one morning at my 2 year old's play group, one mother asked me if I had considered a chiropractor. A chirpractor? That's crazy. I brushed it off and didn't give it another thought. I went to the dentist the next day and my hygenist asked me how the boys were doing and I told her about the constant crying. She, too, asked if I had considered a chiropractor. Well, I thought, at this point, I'll try anything.
That was on a Thursday. I called and got an appointment for Friday morning for my 3 month old son. I felt weird about it and I told no one. I was embarrassed and thought it was strange, but at the same time, desparate.
Chiropractor for a 3 month old?
Conner went to a local chiropractor on Friday and twice on Saturday. On Sunday HE QUIT CRYING! I didn't say anything or get too excited because I didn't want to be dissapointed if it didn't work out. So, I gave it a week to see what happened, and low and behold. He was normal. My baby finally acted like a normal baby. He cried when he was hungry, tired, wet, cold and other normal things. He slept at night and napped great during the day. He laughed and cooed and did all the great things babies are supposed to do.
Coincidence?
Now, here's the clincher. Was it a coincidence, or did the chiropractor really work? See, I read all about colic and fussy babies during this gruelling 3 months and what I learned is that typically, fussy or collicy babies will out grow their condition between 3 and 4 months. So, I ask again. Was it a coincidence, or did the chiropractor really work? To be honest, I'll probably never know. What I do know is that I made it through this very hard time and reading, investigating and trying every suggestion ever made made things easier on me. If nothing else, it made me feel like I wasn't so powerless.
The Bottom Line
There may be nothing you can do to cure your fussy baby, but getting support and trying different things does help. Time will pass and you will make it through. There will come a day when you will hold your baby with a sigh of relief and his fussy days will be a thing of the past. Good Luck.
In no way is this article meant to treat or suggest treatment for fussy or colic babies. This is just a story of my situation and what I did to make it through.
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