did i mention a few weeks ago that i’d given up tomatoes in hopes that it might be causing some of the fussiness?  

well, i did. for about three weeks i’ve been tomato free. no pasta sauces, no pizza, not even a slice on a hamburger. i won’t say it’s been torture, but i’m itching to make something comforting and domestic for dinner and my top 3 (only) favorite recipes are spaghetti sauce, manicotti, and meatloaf. all are heavily tomato sauce/paste based.

we didn’t think that the lack of tomatoes had an impact on the colic after all. it had gotten worse over the weeks, before leveling out with a predictable schedule. it starts one hour after she eats and lasts about 25 minutes. episodes that occur between 3 and 7 pm are usually longer and stronger. if you can get her into a deep sleep before it happens, she’ll usually sleep right through it, especially over night.

two nights ago, we ate some pasta that had bits of tomatoes in it. it came from a frozen package so they weren’t fresh or anything. the next morning (about 3 feedings later), she had a red rash on her bottom that was eerily like what i had when i was a baby and someone fed me anything tomato-y. even with the butt paste it grew worse during the day. merry christmas poor baby. now, every time she poops, even the little mini-smears that are mostly farts, she screams in pain. it’s slowly fading, and should be gone tomorrow, but one thing’s for certain: no more tomatoes for me.

besides that, things are going really well. the colic, while not gone, is at least predictable, which is always helpful. she keeps her neck up most of the time now, when she’s being held upright. it only threatens to flop when she’s sleepy. she still doesn’t seem to understand that tummy time is where she should be learning to keep it up/push up/etc. instead she just lays with her cheek on the pad, looking at something at eye level.

she’s really looking around these days. i didn’t realize how alert she was, since she’s the only baby i know, until so many people commented on it at christmas. she can clearly spot/watch people several feet away, and will gaze up and hold eye contact with most people who hold her. she recognizes me by sight now. yesterday morning while she and ryan were on the couch and she was fussing a bit, i came up behind them and she stopped and started cooing. of course, she went right back to fussing when she realized that i wasn’t immediately picking her up to feed her ;)

she’s smiling a whole lot, too. the first smiles we “counted” happened saturday during the day. before then she’d sort of stare off into the distance and quirk her mouth a bit. saturday was the first day she’d look at you and respond to your voice/actions with a grin. i took copious pictures, of course, but the still shots don’t really do the grin justice. i almost got a giggle out of her while we were playing on sunday, so i don’t think laughing is far off.

i’m amazed at how quickly she’s been changing the past 2 or 3 weeks.