The Last Cry

We thought, "This isn't so bad!" HA. But thankfully we figured it out with a little help.

The Honeymoon Stage

About two weeks into being home with our first newborn, my husband and I didn't think it was so bad. "What on earth are all these other parents complaining about?" Our daughter cried but she was so tiny and beautiful and precious and ours. She could do no wrong!

Colic & Teething

With the blink of an eye, colic crept in...and then the teething. By 3.5 months old she had two teeth fully out and two teeth just about poking through the skin. Nights were really rough.

We had to learn our baby and find what soothes her quickly. We pretty much tried everything! This poor baby would just cry and cry and cry. We weren't sleeping. She wasn't sleeping. She cried so much my sister made up a song about it. "All she does is cry! Cry! Cry! Cry!" It was actually pretty funny.

Bringing it back a little... Before we realized it was mostly her teething and colic, we tried everything under the sun to figure out how to soothe her. Of course we did the usual checks: Diaper? Hunger? Pacifier? (She spit out the pacifier every. Single. Time.) Etc.

The Routine & the One "Ah-Ha" that Saved Us All

1. Warm bath with dim lighting

2. Pajamas (dim lighting in bedroom)

3. Brush hair (to get rid of cradle cap as mentioned in my previous post)

4. Bottle or breast

5. Read a small book (right after this is when she would start to get really fussy)

6. Put a really thick warm blanket over her while holding her and walking around the room (Colicky babies like constant movement)

7. Play Mozart for Baby Sleeping (view here)

8. Sing the ABCs in a low voice

Well? What's the One "Ah-ha?

At this time, we were living in Austin and my mom and godmother came to stay with us to take some nightshifts*. We did our new routine and at some point, the baby changed cries. I starred at my mom with a look of desperation and she was totally calm and said, "Oh good. She will be asleep any moment now." My husband and I looked at her like she was crazy. My mom simply said, "Yea, that's the last cry. She is fighting it. She is fighting going to sleep but you hear that cry? That's the last cry. She'll be out any second now." And just like she said, the baby fell asleep.

That moment was a game changer for us. My husband and I were able to deal with the crying a little bit better knowing what the signal was when she was about to fall asleep.

*Nightshifts

We have the best family and friends. We had so many visitors that came to visit and help. The nightshift offer and coverage was one of the biggest takeaways. It allowed my husband and me to catch up on sleep. Although I was still waking up to pump, I was able to go right back to sleep afterwards. Thanks to COVID-19, I couldn't make that offer to any of my friends who just had babies. But I was able to do it for my sister. If you know expecting parents out there, make the nightshift offer. They will never forget that you did and will be forever grateful. ♡