My name is Casey, I have a 10 month old baby. I love having a baby, she’s funny, loveable and makes me feel fulfilled.
However, I can’t deny that since she’s been born my partner and I have faced some trials. I have now experienced giving birth, living with a baby with colic, breast feeding (still going!), sleep deprivation, washable nappies and weaning a baby onto gluten when I can’t eat it myself, amongst other experiences.
My colleagues in NHS Dorset and I would like to share with you some of our stories about being pregnant and about having a baby. We would love to hear from you, and hope that get involved too.
![Casey and Alexa](http://maternitymattersdorset.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Casey-and-Alexa-300x294.jpg)
Looking after a baby with colic is extremely difficult, especially when you factor in sleep deprivation, hormonal changes and physical recovery from the birth.
When my baby was 3 weeks old she suddenly started to cry every evening for at least 2 hours, non-stop. It was horrendous. As soon as the clock said 6pm, she would scream and scream… and scream.
I went over the 8 reasons why a baby might cry to work out why, but there seemed to be no reason. The doctor said nothing was wrong medically; it was colic.
Ah, the elusive colic. Every day, I manically Googled ‘colic’ re-reading the same articles for comfort and advice. However, the cause of colic is unknown; it is guessed to be indigestion or trapped wind. The doctor told me that it was a phase that would pass with time.
So here is my account of what seemed to help us the most:
![Sling](http://maternitymattersdorset.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Caseys-baby-225x300.jpg)
6 weeks later, I made it to the other side. I stopped dreading the evenings and taking compulsory walks, and spilling colic medication all over the bed linen.
I now have a happy baby… ahem…
Good luck!
By Casey Townsend
![Alexa](http://maternitymattersdorset.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Alexa-168x300.jpg)