Epiphany
(if I had the ability to audioblog, I would place the Hallelujah chourus here)

We have the key to curing fussiness and inducing sleep!

Ok, I read the book "The Happiest Baby on the Block," which was a birthday gift from my mom. The doctor who wrote the book has a theory on colic that has nothing to do with the gastrointestinal system of infants. He theorizes that because of evolution, the human brain gets too big before the baby is really ready to leave the womb. Because of the size of the human head, babies are born about 3 months too early. For this reason, colic usually ends when a baby is around 3 months old. It will usually start in premature babies around their due date, when they "wake up."

His book contains a series of actions you follow in sequence to calm the fussy, colicky baby. They all work to simulate the womb environment, which he claims the babies need and miss since they are born about 3 months to early. My mom saw him on Oprah, and he calmed a screaming baby in 15 seconds.

Now, my boys by no means have colic. BUT they have been progressively more fussy as they approach their actual due date. They slept most of the first week or two they were here. You could attribute some of the fussiness to their diet. Since I've given up breastfeeding, of course, the formula is harder on their systems than breast milk. They don't have as much tummy trouble now that we've made some adjustments to their diet and other feeding issues. But they are still inconsolable at certain times of the day/night -- especially Aidan, Mr. Fireball (his name literally means "little fire").

This afternoon, my mom employed the first technique found in the magic book -- swaddling. Ok, we've been swaddling them since they were born but not the right way. You can't let them have their hands. Essentially, you wrap them like a mummy, with only the head showing. Aidan fought to move ANY part of his body. He would be almost asleep and then move his foot or something to wake himself up. Only 1 month old and already fighting sleep.

So tonight and this morning, I've been wrapping up my little mummies. They hate it at first, but it is amazing to see them go from screaming their heads off while you are wrapping them to sound asleep literally 5 seconds later. Oh, yes, they fight to get their hands out, but I am stronger than they are! (at least right now I am)

I read this book mentioned above, but for some reason, I've not been employing all of the actions correctly, especially the swaddling. My mom says she wishes she had that book when she had us as newborns, especially my middle brother. Apparently he cried all the time.

I wanted to share this with everyone before it left my mind. Hence the reason I am up at 5 am. If you are having trouble with a fussy infant or know someone who does or know someone who is pregnant, Dr. Karp's book is the best gift you could give!