A nice ending to a rough week

It's been a rough week in the Conti house. The baby we loved to tell people "never cries" started crying ALL the time. And when I say cry, I mean hysterical breakdowns that would last for a couple hours at a time. Painful -- for all of us.

We took him to the doctor and were told that Elliott has colic. I had thought that if he hadn't developed colic in the first couple weeks of life, we were in the clear. But, apparently this is not always the case. So, here we are at eight weeks with colic. Ugh. So, it's basically bad tummy pains that causes the hysterics.

It just breaks your heart to listen to him in such pain. Not to mention the fact that he pretty much stopped sleeping because of the pain. He didn't sleep more than an hour at a time for several days and he only slept if someone was holding him. He's exhausted, we're exhausted, and the pooches are exhausted (they try to hide out as far from the crying as possible).

We're trying everything from baby yoga moves, to Gripe Water (water infused with fennel, ginger and chamomile), to tummy massage. Here, Dana is giving Elliott a tummy massage to ease the pain -- it actually does help!

The doctor also said it's possible that something in my diet is contributing to his discomfort. Many babies have an allergy to cow's milk and this could be part of the problem. I am willing to try anything at this point, so I am (for the time being) cutting out all milk products. Now, those of you who know me well know that I LOVE my cheese, ice cream and bread (yes, most bread has some dairy in it). So, this is a major deal for me. But, like I said, I'll try anything to fix this.

The good news: Elliott seems to be getting better! We still have some short meltdowns each day. But, just in time for my first Mother's Day as a mommy, he slept for four hours straight last night. And he took some good naps today. Yay! So, we're going to hope for a better week ahead. Wish us luck!

Here are some pictures Dana took of me and my little guy this morning to remember our first Mother's Day.