PURPLE

Most new moms have told me that after the first 6 weeks, it gets easier. I feel like it started easier, has gotten harder and will only be tougher in coming weeks.

Natalie likes to cry. Not just a little fuss, like screaming until she sounds like she's gonna die. For a really long time. For at least the past 2 weeks she has had crying fits over an hour long in the evening. Then, this week, she started also crying for at least an hour in the late morning. When she cries, no amount of rocking, shushing, diaper changing, feeding or holding seems to help. Singing to her or putting on really loud white noise helps a little, but only after she has already been crying for a long time. My mom said that babies cry to release energy, so I thought it ould just be that. When Darlene suggested "purple crying", we looked it up and think it fits.

PURPLE is an acronym:



There is a PEAK to the crying. The baby cries more and more each week, until it reaches a peak at around 2 months of age, and then it decreases over the following months.
The crying is UNEXPECTED. You don’t know when or where it will start or stop.
The child tends to RESIST soothing. No matter what you do, the baby doesn’t stop crying.
The child may have a PAIN-LIKE face while crying. The baby may look like it is in pain, although it is not.
The crying may be very LONG LASTING. It can last as much as five hours a day or more
The crying increases in the EVENING or late afternoon.


It is perfectly normal and healthy. This does not mean that it isn't frustrating and irritating.

Micah and I plan to go out to eat tomorrow for Valentine's Day, so we might have to wait until 8 or so when she has alrady cried for a while and passed out. Having her cry this much at a restaurant would make me feel really bad for the other guests. Also, I want to attend Releif Society Temple night on Tuesday and Enrichment on Thursday but I feel sorry for Micah having to deal with her alone. Her crying periods are pretty tough to handle.

Let us hope we make it through the week with minimal trauma!