a brief respite

do not let all these photos of a smiling, cherubic baby deceive you. the truth, i must report, is much darker. suddenly, at the beginning of last week, our delightful, easy-going, happy baby transformed into a screaming ball of colic. and i do mean screaming. each day since has been worst than the last, to the point that -- well, let's just say that by this afternoon bebe wasn't the only one in tears.

and have i mentioned that she won't nap?

i do plan to discuss this with her pediatrician at her two-month appointment on friday, since from everything i've read it seems odd, to say the least, for colic to suddenly appear at eight weeks. and in the meantime i am eliminating a whole bunch of stuff from my diet to see if she's got any food allergies or sensitivities. but for now here we are, a screaming baby and an exhausted and frustrated mama, stuck to each other all day long. there is one bright spot in our days, however: the evening bath. no matter how hard she is screaming up until then (tonight her poor little voice was actually hoarse), no matter how purple her face gets while we're undressing her, as soon as her chubby bottom hits that warm water she is all smiles. and just in the past couple days, she has really started playing in the water. look:

(oh, and the washcloth is to keep her warm, not for modesty. if that were the goal it would be a miserable failure...)