Going down to my parents was the best thing we could have done. Four days of being fed, a little more rested and calmed down by people who've done it all before really helped re-instill some confidence in me, and tackle Charlotte's colic.
It also helped to catch up with some of my oldest and best friends - all of who have young children - and talk through our issues, their similar experiences, and what they tried to tackle them. It's really helped to stop me going mad. Where we live we don't really have much of a support network of family and friends with kids, and we really needed that for a few days.
I was a bit wobbly when we returned home and it was just the three of us again, Charlotte seemed to go through yet another period of wanting nothing but feeding. But I'm starting to learn a bit more that sometimes it's not the breast for food she's after, but for suckling and comfort. So we've turned to using the dummy - having first made sure she's not uncomfortable with wind, or simply over-tired and needs relaxing.
Much of the tips we're trying have come from the much heralded (certainly among my friends) Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. I can sometimes drive myself a bit mad by reading too much in books and online, but it's helping to take a little bit from various sources to find what works for us.
The biggest breakthrough in the last few days has definitely been Charlotte's sleeping. She's managed two nights in her crib (at my parents) and Moses basket (at home). It meant we went to bed with her at around 9pm, I fed her everytime she woke (about three times last night), and she managed to settle herself each time we put her back down - albeit with the help of a dummy, but I see that as massive progress.
She's only three weeks old. If the dummy works to sooth her to sleep and ease her windy tummy, then she can have it.
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