Lets rewind to the first week after Cataleya was born…
I spoke too soon when I said I was lucky to have a good sleeper and happy baby, way too soon. The first week of her life was a breeze, all she did was sleep, and so did I. Suddenly one night everything changed, my perfectly happy baby started waking up every hour, crying hysterically and vomiting projectile every time I laid her down. I had NO IDEA what was going on. I thought it was something I was eating since I was exclusively breastfeeding. Things kept getting worse. I took her with her pediatrician and he said she might suffer from acid reflux, he made me change my diet. Pretty much everything I ate upset her stomach: dairy, soy, broccoli, cabbage, beans, cauliflower, kale, tomatoes, vinegar, the list goes on…but the worse was CAFFEINE!! How could I survive during the day without caffeine when I wasn’t getting any sleep???
Changing my diet helped a little but not much. She threw up and spit up ALL DAY LONG. You know those moms who carry around a burping rag? I had to carry multiple blankets, I was always covered in vomit. Her stomach was extremely sensitive to everything. She would cry hysterically, sometimes for hours. Her cry was so loud and intense. All Dennis could do was try to comfort her, even though nothing really calmed her down, and this was every day. It was honestly extremely exhausting but at the same time it was heartbreaking to see her like that. One night my mom asked to let her spend the night so we could get some rest. We went the movies right after we dropped her off and in the middle the movie my mom called saying she could not figure out what Cataleya had, she was in tears out of desperation. My mom who loves her grandchildren more than anything in this world, was afraid to watch her.
Nothing had ever tested my patience and physical strength like the first months of her life. How can moms run without sleep or rest? who knows, but we DO IT. Along the rocky ride we found amazing products that made it easier for us and for the baby.
- Fisher Price Rock ‘n Play- after finding out she had acid reflux the doctor recommended to keep her head elevated at all times. Instead of a bassinet we used this awesome napper. It’s super compact and it fit perfectly next to our bed, we also carried it everywhere we went.
- Gripe Water- I cannot tell you how many of these bottles we have used!
- Ruby Naturally Derived Soothing Tablets with Chamomile- Someone on Instagram recommended these and I seriously cannot thank them enough. These helped so much especially at night.
- Nat Phos 6x – These homeopathic tablets worked great to control her reflux, she started spitting up less about two weeks after we started using them. I gave her one tablet at night and one in the morning.
- Merlin Magic Sleeper- This right here is a MUST HAVE! This suit is great for transitioning from swaddling or for babies who don’t like to be swaddled. It makes them feel cozy and hugged. I actually bought this for Sofia but I only tied to use it once with her when she was like 6 months but I think it was to late to use it and she hated it. The first night Cataleya wore it she slept 8 hours straight! (insert angelic celebratory music ha!)
- Baby Stay Asleep- This is an awesome system that allows you to elevate the crib and it has a harness that keeps them from sliding down. This invention is genius! When we were ready to transition her to her crib the Baby Stay Asleep was the best we found to still keep her elevated without worrying about her sliding down or rolling over.
Just to clarify I was not sponsored or payed by any of these products. We tried many other things but these worked the best for us. I simply wanted to share from our experience because I know many babies suffer from acid reflux and colics and there are many parents out there who are also struggling like we did.
If you are going through the same process, I feel ya! It’s not easy. Please make sure you ask for help, reach out to friends and family for support. Most importantly be patient, the days might seem very long but it all goes by in the blink of an eye! I cannot believe Cataleya is 6 months already. It gets easier with time, she still throws up and spits up a lot but her stomach is much stronger and not as sensitive as the beginning. She’s as happy and healthy as she can be.
Hopefully this blog can help other parents out there!
Thanks for reading!
Xo,
Karla