Kari's Blog

Yep..that’s right. Abby has colic. And boy does she make it obvious every night around 7.

When Abby was about 2 weeks old she started getting really fussy. I mean..not just a little whimper here and there. It was like blood-curling screams. In fact, we were so worried about her we took her to the doctor. After describing what she was doing the doctor sadly gave us the news that it was colic. He recommended the book “The Happiest Baby on the Block” and we immediately went out and bought it.

I read the book as fast as I could and discovered some different techniques to calm her down. If your baby is fussy or has colic I would HIGHLY recommend getting that book.

One of the things that really helps her calm down is the swaddle. It’s incredible how she can go from screaming at the top of her lungs to quiet once we swaddle her.

We have recently discovered another trick that Abby has no power over…..an exercise ball! Recently, I visited a friend that just had a baby as well. She was telling me that she uses her exercise ball to quiet her baby down. I got to thinking about it and realized that this could really be good for Abby. She LOVES to be bounced, but it was exhausting for Andrew and me. Just the other day I headed to Wal-Mart and bought an exercise ball and let me tell you….AWESOME! She just can’t fight it while we are bouncing her on that ball.

With our different techniques in hand colic doesn’t stand a chance (most nights). We love Abby to pieces, but are praying for this season of her life to end soon.

Here is one Abby that we see:

crying Abby

But then we get a lot of this too:

Calm Abby

And this:

Smiling Abby

When we see that smile, or hear her coo, we magically forget about the nights of fussing.

Here recently when I finally get to crawl into bed at night my mind goes CRAZY. I am so tired, but it just won’t stop. All these random thoughts start buzzing through my brain and it isn’t until complete exhaustion takes me over that I can finally fall asleep. Last night as I was laying there desperately wanting to sleep I decided to take all my random thoughts and turn them into a blog post. Of course, there will be some editing, you don’t need to know ALL my crazy thoughts.

First of all, I can’t stand that I still haven’t posted about Abby’s first month of life. It’s really starting to get to me. I blame the delay on the lack of picture. You have to have a first month picture to put on a first month blog. It’s like an unwritten rule. Secondly, I blame it on my lack of time. I tell you what, an infant takes up more time that I could ever imagine! That post will come soon…I’m just waiting on the pictures (hint, hint Andrew).

Second….I’m plagued with thoughts of dressing Abby up. Ha. I know. That is completely silly….but I am. I have all these cute ideas for outfits for her, but I’m faced with dilemmas once again. First, clothes are expensive and I was just recently given a budget for Abby’s clothes. Let’s just say I’m going to have to really search for great deals for her. Second, she will grow out of them before you know it. So I think in my head, do I really want to spend all this money on clothes that she will only wear a couple of times? The answer is yes of course! Ha! To cut back on how much money I spend I’ve decided to learn how to make bows. It can’t be that hard right? Millions of people do it, and sell them at boutiques and Etsy for way more than they are worth. There are lots of tutorials on YouTube for making bows so I will begin that process this weekend hopefully! I am way excited about it! Think of all the bow possibilities! Now, if Abby would only keep them on her head!

Third….I can’t wait to lose the rest of my baby weight. It has also been driving me nuts that I can’t hit the gym hard like I used to. It’s really hard to work out when you are EXHAUSTED. The couple of times that I have worked out I kept thinking, “Ok, save some energy for tonight..you are going to need it!” Once it cools off Abby and I are going to go on lots of walks together, and today I think I’m going to try and bring Miss Abby to the work out place at our apartment and see how she does. I’ve got to do something people..I can’t wear maternity pants forever!

Fourth…I am in desperate need of a haircut and highlight. My roots are WAY too long and my hair just needs a trim. I had a wonderful stylist in Houston that I loved. I’ve been so nervous to try someone new because I’ve had lots of bad experiences with haircuts. It’s like no one knows how to cut and handle curly hair. Very frustrating. Plus, not knowing many people in town makes it hard to get good recommendations. Andrew has asked some women in his office but they get their hair cut at the mall! Ghastly! I’m pretty sure this is the biggest dilemma of all!

There are other thoughts as well, but I think that’s enough for now!

Enjoy some pictures of Abby..she is a cutie!

Abby all ready for her first trip to the mall!

Abby's first experience of college....walking around the Baylor campus

pajama day with mommy!

playing (laying) under her play mat

she hasn't quite figured out what to do with the toys

chillin' in her lounger

sitting like a big girl in the rocker!