Life As We Know It ....: A Hard Lesson to Learn ... Twice

Babies need to come with manuals. Period.

Read what you need to read and skip what you need to skip but right before you leave the hospital after you have that love-filled butterball, the staff needs to do give you one so you won't go insane by assuming all that can happen and then some.

I know, I know, parenting is a learning experience but please, I have learned and I don't like making mistakes twice which I did this past weekend.

Back in April, Easter weekend, we took Andrew to a luncheon at Clay's step-sisters house. On the way there Andrew hadn't quite finished the bottle he had started so since he was in the sitting position in his carrier, I just assumed that it would be alright to let him finish the bottle that he had started, which he did. Of course I was not able to get him out of the carrier to burp him as the vehicle was in motion so I just made myself a mental note to burp him once we get there. After about 20 min. we arrived and with everything going on, saying our hellos, getting his stuff all set up etc. etc. I forgot to burp him. He was doing really well, napping and just being Andrew when all of a sudden he started wailing! I mean WAILING! This was not any "I am wet" cry or " I am not being paid attention to" cry. This was "THIS IS HURTING ME! WHAT IS IN MY BELLY" cry. We knew all too well what that cry meant, with him just going from one formula to another for his milk allergy. It was not easy to hear him cry like that and it makes you powerless to know that you can do nothing for him but just be there, cuddle him and pat him so that he can burp out that gas. After about an hour of crying (the longest hour ever!) he finally did burp out the gas and began to feel better. He was 3 months then.

Fast forward to this past Saturday. All was going well, we were on our way to the 1st birthday party of Andrew's cousin, Bella, and he didn't finish his bottle while we were at home so I brought it with us. We had just gotten onto the highway when he started to act hungry. Against my better judgement and recollection of what we went through at 3 months, I fed him in his carrier. It think it was me trying to convince myself that he was older now, he turns 5 months on Sunday, and can handle the gas because sometimes he burps on his own. WRONG! He drank the rest of the bottle and fell asleep until we arrived at the party. It was deja vu all over again. Everthing was great for the first 30 min when we got there then all of a sudden the wailing started. We had to leave the party early because he was soo miserable. We got maybe 5 min into the drive back home when I asked Clay to pull over so we could assess the problem and see if he needed to burp. Mind you the whole 5 min we were driving, Andrew is letting out this blood curdling painful cry. I have had gas bubbles in my belly and they are not fun nor is it a pleasant view. The only way I know how to get rid of them is to lie down on the bed or couch with my butt in the air. I told you the view is not pleasant. I tried that with Andrew and nothing. We tried to give him Colic Calm, gripe water drops, to see if that would help subside the gas but when we gave it to him he started to cry and almost CHOKED on the drops!! It freaked me the blank out!!! (Insert whichever word you choose). Oh Lord, we are trying to help our child and all we are doing is choking him!! He finally swallowed a bit of the drops and it was starting to help. We put him back into the carrier and got back on the road. About 10 min after we left, we had to pull over again because during one of his crying spells he threw up and was starting to burp out the gas. I pulled him out of the seat, sat him on my knee and patted him. He burped about 5 times in between cries and felt better. A little throwup on mom and the truck but who cares, he is better!

The rest of the way home he was all laughs and coo's like nothing ever happened. He got extra playtime in the tub and slept like a champ that night. I think I got more grey hair during that experience! Hopefully they are just buried where I/noone can't see them.

Lesson #452, NO MORE FEEDING IN THE CARRIER IF YOU CAN'T GET HIM OUT TO BURP!!!!

You got it! Lesson learned the hard way for both Andrew and myself.