The Other Shoe Has Dropped

Where did my calm, serene baby go?!  Harrison has developed the fussies.  A case I'm hoping will be relatively short-lived.  They seem to be worse in the evenings, but he's started to transition into days as well.  Its amazing how such an loud, angry noise can come out of something so small!  I'm very thankful Daniel is such a patient husband (both with Harrison and myself) as the crying is beginning to sound like nails on a chalkboard, sending chills right up my spine. 

Leave it to Daddy to take a picture of him crying :)

This past Sunday after trying to soothe him for hours with no luck, we finally broke open The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD my mother gave me for one of my baby shower gifts.  One part of the DVD is an instructional movie where Dr Harvey Karp (the creator) shows his 5 S's for calming a baby:  Swaddling, Shushing, Swinging, Sucking, and Sideline positioning.  It was incredibly helpful to see the examples as opposed to just reading the descriptions-- I never realized how loudly they actually want you to "shush" in your baby's ear!  It was absolutely incredible, the immediate transformation from a blood curdling screamer to a baby as limp as a rag doll.  By immediate, I really do mean immediate.  It was a matter of seconds.  While each attempt since then has not been immediately successful, it still makes a profound difference.  As Daniel put it, this man is a genius and if we could afford it he would be our live-in baby calmer.  The second part of the DVD is a compilation of "soothing sounds" to play either to calm a baby or keep a baby sleeping once they are calm.  I've quickly learned that sounds that calm a baby are NOT sounds that calm adults.  Loud hairdryers and vacuum cleaners seem to work wonders on Harrison, but of course there's no way to relax when you're playing them at volume level 50 on the TV and you can no longer hear your own thoughts.  I'm sure our neighbors are loving us as well...  That being said, I really do recommend this DVD for anyone with a newborn.  I would have lost my sense of reality completely without it!

With no signs of ear infections, or other physical causes for his fussiness, it appears as though he may be going through a growth spurt.  Keeping him pumped full of milk is the only other way to keep this little boy calm! 

Finally passing out the one place I can't leave him...his changing table.