Tag Archives: newborns

Cooper’s one month birthday was rapidly approaching as we started the fourth week of life with him.  Our family was really enjoying getting to know its newest member.  His sisters continued to want to hold him several times a day and to help care for him.  Our middle child (almost three years old) liked to use the breast pump and offered to nurse him for me.  Our older daughter would rush to his side whenever he cried and try to poke his pacifier in his mouth–he looked like a baby bird frantically waiting open-mouthed for a worm.

Everyday we would see a little more of Cooper’s personality. He continued to act as if wakefulness, if not accompanied by eating, was highly overrated.  He was not fond of riding in the car and merely being strapped in his car-seat would cause him to protest.  I would joke “Do you suffer from … Read More

The third week meant my parents’ departure and my first shot at being a stay-at-home mother of three (with no help!). I would have to get my oldest ready for preschool, get her on the bus, drag all three kids to a couple of appointments, not to mention cooking cleaning and breaking up the occasional fight.  Actually, my cooking burden had been greatly lessened thanks to the many meals brought over by friends.

By the middle of his third week, we began to notice that Cooper was beginning to get a little crabby around dinnertime.  Many babies, who get through the busiest part of the day just fine–sleeping through the chaos of noisy siblings, trips to the grocery store or doctor’s office and even the roar of the vacuum cleaner, suddenly begin to protest in the only way they know how when things begin to quiet down–by screaming at the … Read More

Last night my husband and I spent at the better part of two hours trying to soothe our screaming newborn son, Cooper. Usually nursing does the trick for any little bout of fussiness but this time he would start to nurse, seem to calm down for a few moments–but inevitably his little face would scrunch up, his mouth would open and…he would start to scream.

Cooper is our third child, so while after almost three years we’re a bit rusty, we do have experience with newborns.  And what did this night of terror remind us of?  Dealing with our colicky first-born.  Colic is defined as inconsolable crying and fussiness for no apparent reason.  It has to occur at least three hours a day, for three days a week, at least three weeks out of a month.   This was only one night–will we be doing it again tonight? Fingers crossed that … Read More