And now we are all cranky

Oh colic, colic, joy, joy...

I have just begun week two of a two-week elimination diet to see if something I'm eating is causing poor Ms. Olive pain.

This means I've given up:

Dairy

Alcohol

Coffee

Chocolate

Spicy foods and curries

Garlic and onions

Legumes and beans

Cabbage family vegetables

And I'm not allowed to eat too much fruit.

Fun huh?

What is not on my list but could be is wheat, corn, soy, and peanuts.

Sometime this week I'll get the results back from a blood-test for 195 foods I could be sensitive to and I'm hoping that this list gives me more information and results.

Because just blindly giving up my favorite foods feels like major deprivation; especially when Olive still arches her back, turns red, and screams. Not all the time. But often. Often enough.

And man a milk-chocolate, spicy, spiked coffee drink would sure help to smooth out my frayed edges...

I taught Elias to cover his ears when she's really loud and sometimes he gets confused and covers his eyes-- but his desire to escape the noise is understood. He's grinding his teeth more than ever before and we even received a note home from his school that he hit one of his T.A's with his cane. 

That's right, my sweet little Elias.

The same one who started sobbing yesterday when we left the cart in Lowes instead of taking it to our car to unload. Who walked back inside and pushed the cart himself out the door as he cried, "I want to take the cart to the car."

When I picked him up and carried him across the parking lot he continued to cry: "I pushed the cart outside...now the carts freezing."

I worry about Elias.

Especially if Olive's temperament doesn't improve at the magical three to four month mark. Right now this whole baby sister thing doesn't jive so well with him. A screaming pooping bundle of sobs who stole his place in his mama's arms. Or at least made his hollow more crowded.

But last night he said, "I love you Olive," before going to bed.

I often ask him in the mornings if he dreamed the night before and he has yet to answer yes. Yesterday, he finally did.

"What did you dream about?" I asked.

"Olive," he said.

"Really, what happened in your dream?"

No reply.

We sit next to each other in bed as I nurse his sister and I run my fingers through his whispy blond hair.

"Was it a good dream or a bad dream?"

"Bad," he says.

Sigh.

Comments

[Emily]

Many babies have calmed down and stopped the colic screaming from the mom's elimination of dairy alone. Lactose is so hard to break down.. As someone who has done the Elimination Diet, twice, for migraines I understand how terribly hard it can be to survive without your favorite foods. But just think how sweet it will be to sleep for a few hours in a row during the night!! Those days are coming, one way or another, either she'll get older or you'll find the trigger, and you'll all get some much needed peace and quiet.

[fleming]

I did an elimination diet with Angus when he was scratching his head so violently that his bed was bloody....he wore mittens on his hands at night until he was 6 months old! Miserable. He was allergic to dairy and wheat and trees......basically everything. The up side is that I nursed exclusively for 9 months and never looked better....perhaps a bit tired though. He is newly seven now and hasn't had a skin issue in about a year now and if he does we have the meds and creams to deal with it. Sounds like you are already much more proactive than I was which will serve you well. I hope the tests reveal an allergy to some unimportant food group that you can willingly give up....Lent starts tomorrow anyway if you want to look at it that way!

[bec]

I was about Elias's age when my sister was born, and I vividly remember feeling just bereft that this little squalling, boring interloper had come and turned my whole world upside down. I sat and quietly cried at preschool until my teachers felt they had to talk to my parents about it. It's very, very hard at first to let a new person into your family. Think of how hard it's been for his parents!

You are doing everything right for him right now; reminding him how special and loved he is and always will be. He is learning how to navigate the most complicated relationship he'll ever have. It will also get better and better. I wouldn't trade my sisters and our wonderful, complicated, infuriating and hilarious relationships for anything in the world. They are truly two of the best people I have the honor to know.

[Mary Elizabeth]

Its always seemed ironic and frustrating to me that the dairy in our house (me) has to give up dairy to make things better for the baby!

[Emily]

Maybe Elias would like hearing protectors -- the kind that fit over the whole ear work really well. Peltor is a major brand, and they do make child-size ones. Sometimes they're handy for parents too, just to take the edge off.

[Hairy Farmer Family]

Ah, honey, I'm so sorry you're having the newborn experience that I did. Hell, no-one deserves that, no-one!

[susanna eve]

I avoided all those foods as well as soy when my daughter was an infant, she didn't scream but had horrible gas and almost never slept, as well as spit up/threw up all the time and had terrible diaper rash. Avoiding those foods helped a lot. It turned out that wheat was an issue for her too.
She is still sensitive to lots of foods at age 13. Hang in there, it will get easier.

[Courtney]

This too shall pass.

[Christy]

Bec, thanks for sharing your memories of the expansion of your family and your love for your sisters now... and for reminding me that it is soooooo normal to feel shaken by the change, hell i do.

And Flem I bet the hardest part was giving up trees:)

I hope something works for little Olive or that this passes and soon I'll be the one looking back saying I remember when...

Emily I'll look into hearing protectors if it keeps up thanks for the name

And yes Emily sleep will be nice...

[Katie]

The son of a woman I worked with was alergic to protein - her milk. She had to put him on a special formula. Good luck with the diet. -Katie