Sleep and Real Smiles!

I've now read a few of these blogs back now and started to realise that the general feeling of them is negative, filled with drama and obstacles, well... I suppose that's what you should expect from life itself not just having a child, but still I wanted to bring something positive to the table this time round.

I was trying to find something positive that I could say enough about to be able to write this blog, there was many little things here and there, but nothing of massive significance that I could write a few paragraphs about which I haven't already mentioned in other blogs.

This was all up until yesterday. The first smiles were rolled out in force and they haven't stopped since. At first it was cute, but we played it off as just wind as he tends to have a lot which can be quite hilarious at the right times. Accept this time round there was no wind, just smiles, a few playful noises and what seemed for the first time a visually emotional baby.

We've not stopped trying to make Tyler smile since and he loves it! On the outside its sweet, fun and gives a good feeling, but emotionally as a dad it goes a lot deeper than that. It almost feels like were getting recognition for the good things we do, where as before we'd question ourselves at whether we were doing the right things and if the way we were going about it all was right.

Seeing him smile (as cheesy as it sounds) brings a warmth inside I just can't quite explain. I believe its one of those moments you have to experience for yourself to fully understand what I mean. The joy of knowing that what you're doing or saying is making that little being smile, no longer just on the inside, but for the world to see as well, it can get a little overwhelming at points.

Not only have the smiles been out in numbers, but he seems a much more playful baby, I'm not sure whether this is more of an illusion created by the smiles and we just perceive it as more playful or whether he genuinely is just more playful.

Now the colic is finally fully out of his system days and more importantly nights have become a lot easier! We've managed to make it to 4 hours between feeds now, which still doesn't sound like much, but after all these night of patchy sleep it's amazing how much the extra hour at a time helps.

Not only is he sleeping now longer in the night, but he's also becoming less hassle, he seems less interested in screaming the house down during a midnight change of the nappy, he settles a lot better in the moses basket, where-as before getting him to settle whilst lying flat in the moses basket was one of the hardest things to do and for many nights would take us hours!

All-in-all it has been a very positive week or so, with Tyler and with the progression of taking this blog to new heights!

The whole process so far of trying to juggle work, social and family life has been difficult... Very difficult at points, it has been exhausting, it has been extremely emotional and forever draining, but every single second has been worth it, especially to now see that smile on his little chubby face, makes all of it, the screaming, the fighting, the arguing, the lack of sleep, the late nights, all of it worth it. I can proudly say, hand on heart, I would not change any of this for the world.

Thank you for reading and I hope you join me next week.

Colic & Smiles

Just when I thought I was getting to grips with baby screams and realising it doesn't mean they're in pain, Tyler managed to get colic. 


Colic
nounsevere, often fluctuating pain in the abdomen caused by intestinal gas or obstruction in the intestines and suffered esp. by babies.
In other words, baby screams and cries a hell of a lot more than usual, unfortunately there's not much you can do to help them immediately. Once we discovered what was wrong we got hold of some gripe water from the shop as quick as we could. Now you're not meant to use gripe water until the baby is a month old, but he was about 6 days away from being a month old and we were only planning on using drops. Now this helped, but not much.
Each scream seemed to last forever and the cries became unbearably upsetting at points to listen to and would come completely at random. One moment he's sitting there happy and the next its like he's been shot, his back arches, his face screws up and out belts this screech of pain.
You want to react, you want to hold him and make it all better, the worst part is knowing you can't, it becomes much harder at night, now not only trying to wake people up, but being half asleep feeding a screaming baby is extremely difficult to do, physically and mentally.
It has made it all that bit more exhausting, draining and difficult to adjust, But hope was not yet lost! My mum mentioned something I remember reading about on some forums on the internet, it's called 'Infacol'. We've found its not only cheaper than gripe water, but it has worked a load quicker and better too!
All the late nights and lack of sleep has really took its toll on both myself and my partner. We have been arguing more because of it and it has put a strain on the relationship, but at the end of the day we both have to remember, we are both very tired, hormones are still shooting round her body and will be for the first 6 months after birth, I'm am now also back at work and trying to find the balance between work and social which can be stressful. 
We are both to blame, but the key thing I have found that if both of us can do our best to stay calm, just talk and be open about what is bothering us, then 90% of the time we can have a positive outcome. 
Before I dump all over peoples wants for a family and children, it isn't all bad! Tyler is becoming a lot more alert now he can see properly, his reactions are getting better, he's gradually starting to smile more.
Without trying to sound too fruity, I've never felt as much warmth inside as I do when I see Tyler smile. It makes all the hard times and obstacles to overcome worth it just to see his smile.
It makes me determined to do all I can to keep that smile plastered on his face as he grows, and in return there will be a smile always with me too.
Thank you again for joining me on my journey through the 'ever-feared' parenthood.
Please do comment, talk to me, tell me your stories, your experiences, your advice, ask questions and we'll see how we can all help each other.
I'm currently looking at taking this blog to the next level over the coming months, but while I'm developing the idea's I don't want to give too much away and will let you know more as it progresses.
Thank You.