Make My Saturday Sweet - Blog Hop #46

It's time again for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop. How can you make someone's Saturday sweet? By linking up your blog and visiting other bloggers who linked up before you! It's easy and fun.

I'm also linking up with two Friday blog hops and answering their writing prompts. Today's Finish the Sentence Friday is "I wasn't really myself when I..."

I wasn't really myself when I fell pregnant with Amanda, my fourth child. It's not that I didn't want more kids, but my three older kids had grown up to a large extent and I was enjoying having my life back. Not only was I emotionally not ready, but I also became physically ill with morning sickness. I lost 8 kilos during my pregnancy. My kids (and Hubby) rallied behind me and gave me lots of support. They were excited to be getting a new brother or sister.

When Amanda was born, she was the center of our family. We drew closer together and the kids learned how to help care for a little one. Their job was usually to take turns playing with her. This was a huge help. However, the first year was the hardest, as Amanda had terrible colic and couldn't sleep at all in the day. She slept at night, but not that well.

All my babies were born with colic. I don't know why I had to go through it four times around. My son's colic lasted till around 4 months, but the girls all had it for longer. Jessica had it the longest. She didn't settle until two weeks after turning two years old.

I always carried my babies around, because I knew they were uncomfortable and not crying for nothing. This put a huge strain on me every time. I suppose that's another reason why I dreaded having another kid, but Amanda has been the biggest blessing. She has thoroughly enriched our lives.

Amanda's foot prints made into a butterfly
Preschool Art 2013

Today's Friendship Friday's theme is "Back to School."

As many of you already know, we live in South Africa and our kids are on a different school system. Their school year begins in January and ends in December. Even their summer break, which is from Dec. - Jan. is not as long as in the States. I think that makes getting back into the swing of things not so hard, as there isn't such a big gap from the year end until the new school year begins.

My kids are now in their third school term. Jeremiah is in the 11th grade, Jessica in the 9th, Samantha in the 7th, and Amanda is in preschool. She will begin grade R (grade K) in January and is now preparing for that. Even though there is no perfect school system, all my kids are happy at their schools. We're really blessed.

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It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to
link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Pinterest 

Twitter 

Facebook 

Leave me a comment with your link and I will follow back!

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow Tina (your host) @ Amanda's Books and More.
• Link up your family friendly blog.
• Please try to add my hop button on your most recent post or on your side-bar.
• Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
• Visit at least the last two blogs before your link and leave a comment.
• Follow any new blogs that you like.

Blog Button Code:

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Living with a Colicky Baby



Living with a colicky baby. This is a photo of baby Amanda.

I wouldn’t consider myself an expert on the topic of colic. I would, however, consider myself a veteran on living with a colicky baby. Out of my four kids, all of them came with colic. I tried different things like changing my diet and over the counter remedies, but nothing really helped. All four of my babies were often unhappy when they were awake, and sometimes even when they slept. I’ve looked at other people’s babies that lie with their eyes open, smiling up at the ceiling and I envy them.

The first step we took with Amanda’s colic was to introduce probiotics (good bacteria) into her stomach. She didn’t get better, so I switched from breast milk to soya milk for two days. When that didn’t make a difference, we took her to see the doctor, hoping that prescription drugs would do the trick. The doctor gave her something for her cramps, but the medicine caused her to stop having bowl movements. That was worse, so we had to stop giving it.

Infants are meant to sleep several times in the day, but Amanda went through several months during her infancy where she battled to sleep at all during the day. If she fell asleep for 10 minutes, that was something.

If you have a colicky baby, find someone who can take him/her for an hour or two so that you can have a much needed break. Make sure that someone will love your baby even if he/she cries a lot. And, by all means, try the safe remedies and see the doctor if you feel it’s necessary. Just remember, when you think it will never end, “this too shall pass.”

I couldn’t beat the colic in my babies’ lives; only their growth over time could do that. I don’t miss their colicky days, but I enjoy all of my kids so much that it was worth it.

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