“It was a rough night.”
Well, you know how the day started. Let’s talk about the rest of it. Daddy went off to work with dangerously little sleep. Mommy was left alone with me, the both of us with very little sleep as well. This was not a formula for an easy day.
Mommy did a great job pushing through sleepiness and weariness and got to the afternoon without too much incident. Bathing me was tough, but we managed. Then around three in the afternoon it started. By “it” I mean the first signs of what might be colic.
I cried. By “cried” I mean I nearly screamed my head off. I could not be soothed. It was a different cry than my usual cries of communication. Mommy and Daddy have learned the cries for my needs: sleep, diaper change, nourishment, cuddling. This was something else. All you parents out there who have had a colicky baby know what I am talking about. I have to admit, I freaked myself out with my crying.
Poor Mommy did everything she could to calm me down, but nothing seemed to work. Even when my feeding time came around, she fed me and I ate well, as I usually do, but it did not calm me down. She texted Daddy about the situation at home and he suspected that it was colic. Apparently my aunty was a colicky baby and Grandma had told Daddy about it. He let Mommy know about it and she was able to find more information about it. Apparently it is not commonly found in Japan baby-care literature as much as it is in America. She found a few things that worked a little better, but I was still pretty much screaming until I ran out of juice.
But then I eventually mustered my energy and started all over again. I feel sorry for Mommy. I also feel sorry for me. I don’t know what was happening and I didn’t like it.
I was just so…uncomfortable. I don’t know how else to explain it. I could not be soothed.
And that is how the afternoon went. Frantic fits of crying followed by energy-depleted moments of sleep. There was guilt-filled sighs of relief when I wore myself out and could not cry anymore. Mommy made use of these brief windows of silence to gather her strength and do quick searches about how to deal with a colicky baby. Then she braced herself for the looming storm that would not let up.
Since this was her third week of motherhood, she handled it like a champ. She did everything she could, knowing that sometimes everything is not enough for a baby. I appreciated the fact that she was in this with me, trying to help me find my own way to calm.
When Daddy came home from work he found a very worn out mother and baby. I had worked up the strength to cry again by that time and he quickly held me in his arms, giving Mommy a well-deserved reprieve from Mason duty. Mommy did all the work, but Daddy swooped in to close, and finally found some peace.
Sorry, Mommy, for the rough afternoon. But trust me, it was no picnic for me either. I wish I could say it won’t happen again, but I’m not sure if that is true. One thing that is for sure, is that things are a lot better around the house when all of us are home. I hope we all get a good night’s sleep tonight.
*Update June 1st, 2021, 6:29 a.m.: We did! We all enjoyed a good night’s sleep!