Moms, have you heard of this "period of PURPLE crying"? Astrid just started night before last, out of nowhere. I thought she was in total pain until I talked to a girlfriend who told me about this phenomenon. I'd never heard about it. You'd think they'd tell you about this at the doctor's office! Anyway, it's something I can totally deal with. I don't mind holding her while she cries and trying to console her (even if it is to no avail), I just wish someone had told me about it so that I wasn't so alarmed.
Also, if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions about how to deal with this (is there really anything you can do?), please let me know.
For those of you who've never heard of it, here is a site that provides some information:
Period of PURPLE crying
Saturday, February 9, 2008
P.U.R.P.L.E
Posted by Jasmine at 11:53 AM
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6 comments:
Hey girl. Oliver had this but he couldn't breastfeed from the beginning so we thought this fussy grumpiness was his formula. We changed to a different formula and it helped a ton but he still had this evening fussiness. We tried and succeeded with "gripe water". We think his condition was like mild "colic". Talk to your doc whether they recommend it or not. You can get gripe water at Wild Oats or a pharmacy (some make their own) Good luck. Let us know if you need any additional support. Love you guys,
Susan, Bryce and Oliver Cash
Hm. I would have warned you about it if I had ever even heard about it. That sucks. It kind of sounds like what in all the baby books is referred to as unexplained bouts of crying. Almost everything i read said "babies cry because of this, or this, or this, and then sometimes, they just cry for no reason whatsoever." I hope it doesn't last too long for you. We used gripe water too sometimes, and we found it and ALL stores (smiths, walmart, ect.)
Bummer. I am sorry you are dealing with this right now. Trace and I dealt with this with Emma, but not with Sophie. Sometimes Trace was the only one to get Emma to calm down. I never used medications, but sounds like that is a possibility for a solution. I will send an email of some creative tricks that occasionally worked for us.
Dang. Everyone told me that four weeks was a turning point and then things get better. And then I hear that 4-8 weeks is a "fussy" time. And now I hear about PURPLE? And once that is over they start teething right? No wonder they're cute.
sorry in advance for a long comment!
but i do have a piece of information to share. i have a good friend whose birth was traumatic and efforts to breastfeed were unsuccessful, due to no lack of effort, only information. the baby developed severe colic (which is the old fashioned term for what is being described here as PURPLE crying, i think) and was generally unsoothable. my friend read that babies need to cry when they're upset or need an outlet for some emotion, and that their crying does not necessarily represent a problem that a parent would be able to ameliorate. she further learned that stress hormones were significantly less in babies that were held while they were crying than with babies that were left to "cry it out". when i am deeply upset, it is comforting to be held and genuinely loved and understood by someone i trust; i presume i have always felt that way, even as an infant. i also presume most people feel that way. so, of course, if crying is driving you mad, which it does to lots of loving parents, it may be best to take five and let her cry. but when you are able to hold her and love her while she expresses whatever she needs to express, some evidence suggests she will feel safer and less stressed. and it sure can't hurt. i mention this not because i am under the impression that astrid spends much time out of your arms (or cute cute sling), but only to let you know that your holding her, while not mitigating her observable symptoms, may be relieving her from internal stress about which you would not otherwise be aware.
it is sad how little people know about all the complexity of being a parent-from the moment of conception, even before. i am glad you got some good information, jasmine, because a crying baby can be so challenging for a parent. it is a shame that the female relationships that have historically characterized birth and early parenting socializing and instruction are not sanctioned, or even really permitted, in our culture. i would love to get together sometime and hang out with you and astrid and hear all about how your experience has been so far. good luck with the crying- i will be thinking of you all!
Well, I never knew about this, but I do know Ave cried a lot until about 6 weeks (from about 2-6) and then all of a sudden she became really happy.
Anyway, the Bjorn worked wonders for us.
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