Baby Soothing Tips

ollie swaddle 3

I think I’ve mentioned some of the struggles we’ve been having with Harper the last few weeks, including her milk/soy protein allergy, reflux, and tongue & lip tie. In a nutshell, she goes through good and bad days, and at times is in what appears to be extreme discomfort. It honestly kills me. She arches her back because the reflux gets so bad, and her voice gets wheezy because it’s literally burning her throat…her tongue tie causes her to suck in air while feeding and gives her a gassy belly that hurts…her milk protein allergy was causing blood in her stool and a prolapsed rectum. AWFUL THINGS. Things that have made me want to sit in a corner and sob, hysterically, and hurt anyone who couldn’t help me make her feel better. It has definitely brought out the mama bear in me.

In the last 4 weeks I have cut ALL milk protein and soy (literally checking every.single.ingredient. in anything I’m eating) as well as reducing my caffeine intake to one cup of coffee daily. We started Harpy on Zantac for her reflux, and on the 12th she’ll be having her tongue and lip ties cut. ;-( All of this is helping, but there are still really bad hours, and sometimes days. My husband and I have tried everything, literally anything, that claims it will soothe and calm a baby – colic calm, gripe water, simethicone, probiotics, bouncing, rocking, shhh’ing – and we’ve found a few things that are really helping, and I thought I’d share for any of you that may be experiencing similar issues with your littles.

ollie swaddle

ollie swaddle 4

Swaddling is without a doubt the most effective way we’ve found for soothing Harper. We swaddled Camryn for the first 6-8 months also, and knew how calming it could be (Camryn LOVED being swaddled), but we were having horrible luck swaddling Harps for the first few weeks and couldn’t figure out why… And then our Ollie Swaddle arrived and changed everything. Our other swaddles weren’t fitted enough, and didn’t tighten the entire length of her body, which she desperately needed to help soothe her upset tummy. The moisture wicking material is so soft, stretchy, and easy to clean (in the provided washing bag). My husband always comments on how sweet Harper looks swaddled like a little pink mermaid. This was a complete game changer for us.

10things2

ollie swaddle 5

The Mama Roo is another favorite around our house. It has 5 different motion settings that mimic real life movements, like “car ride” (Harper’s favorite), as well as sounds that soothe (we like the rolling waves). My husband and I have both downloaded white noise app’s on our phones and blast those when she needs extra sound to soothe her. My favorite feature of the MamaRoo is the reclining chair because Harper needs to be upright for at least 30 minutes after every feeding for her reflux. This (somewhat expensive) machine is worth every penny in my opinion, and I’d honestly buy it 3x’s over if I had to. It works miracles, and allows me to be hands free when Harper is sleeping so I can play with my big lady!

ollie swaddle 2

In conjunction with swaddling and mamaroo’ing, we’ve begun using a pacifier because Harps was constantly wanting to pacify (either on the boob or sucking on my pinky), and that has helped her learn to self-soothe. We’re giving her a probiotic (Gerber brand), and doing bicycle legs constantly to help her get the gas out. I’ve also changed the way I was burping her from the traditional shoulder lay to a sitting position that looks like I’m strangling her…IT WORKS! Mylicon drops before feedings have also helped to break up the gas bubbles.

Since becoming milk/soy free I have discovered TONS of great food alternatives and recipes and will share those with you soon. They are honestly some of my favorite meals ever, and I would request them on a regular basis even if I could eat milk/soy. They are also 100% paleo.

If any of you have tips/tricks for the baby lady, or yummy paleo recipes to share with me, leave comments below please!!

XO – Samantha

Comments

  1. Poor little Harper – she’s so darn sweet in those pictures!! Breaks my heart to hear she goes through so much pain trying to eat!!! xo, Biana

  2. i’m loving that sweet pink mermaid. BIG TIME. she’s seriously the sweetest looking thing ever. And i’m sure the 12th cant come soon enough :)

  3. Paula says:

    Oh Sam, she is beautiful … I am glad to hear you are on the right road seeing some relief for her.

  4. You are such a good momma :) I hate that you guys are going through all that. You’ve definitely got it covered though. Once she gets her tongue clipped it will make a HUGE difference. Both Izzy and Sam had to and the difference was night and day. It sounds so much worse than it is. As soon as they do it they’ll bring her right over to you to nurse and she’ll be so into eating that she’ll forget about it. It’s a gut wrencher on us though :(

  5. She is soo sweet! I hope things continue to get easier for you guys! xo

  6. Kelsea Givens says:

    You may have just sold me on the mamaroo we also have a reflux-y colic-y babe and it’s been so hard! Those dang November babes

  7. Courtney says:

    Congrats on your sweet little girl! My now 10 month old had colic the first 6 months of his life and just like you we tried everything we could think of and anything that would provide any ounce of relief. A couple things I found to help….1. I highly recommend baby wearing :) I have an ergo which is pricey but worth every penny but they also have wraps as well but the ergo was comfortable for me and baby. 2. A sound machine! We have the munchkin brand which is relatively inexpensive but comes with six different settings (including white noise), a nightlight, and a projector with 3 slides. 3. Little remedies gas drops….we have also tried hylands colic tablets, colic calm those didn’t provide as much relief as the little remedies. I’d usually give it before a feeding/after depending on how he responded. I did lots of bouncing,shhing, etc. my little guy liked swaddling for a very short time and then hated it so that never really worked for us! I have no advice just well wishes for your sweet girl’s surgery. I’m a first time mom and totally understand the mama bear attitude you can’t help it!

  8. tiffany says:

    All 4 of my kids, 5 and under, are allergic to dairy and soy. It’s super hard but you become accustomed. ..my newest, 2 months old, is still having lots of gas problems. I’m wondering if she’s also gluten intolerant. …oh I don’t want to cut it out but I’m going to do my best to see if it helps her little belly. Anyway, if you need ideas or anything with the dairy and soy cut please feel free to email me tiffanyhileman@hotmail.com

Speak Your Mind

*

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers: