Colic—infantile colic to be precise—is basically episodes of crying for hours on end every day for more than three weeks in a healthy infant between the ages two weeks to four months.
That was what Michelle Lalberte’s daughter was diagnosed with, and for some weeks now her daughter has been crying almost nonstop.
“Every time my daughter would cry, I assumed I had eaten something that didn’t agree with her, except this time was different,” she said in her Scary Mommy story.
In fact, it seemed as if her day was going to be pretty peaceful at first; her daughter had not cried for two days.
Her husband even commented on it, saying how beautiful life was when it was quiet at home, but no sooner had he said it that their daughter began to fuss.
“This escalated into screams of pain. In fact, this continued for 48 hours, with 10 minute breaks in between,” she said. “Unfortunately, it was the weekend, so I would have to wait until Monday to call the doctor.”
She called the doctor first thing the following Monday and scheduled an appointment.
The doctor proceeded to do a routine check up on her daughter, but he didn’t find anything out of the ordinary—just plain old colic.
“Oh, you’ll survive the colic. It’s almost over,” he said. “Just hang in there.”
While the doctor said his pep talk, Michelle spaced out, her eyes drifting down to her baby’s feet.
That’s when she caught sight of it.
On the baby’s left foot, all but one toe looked normal; the rest were swollen and red. She pointed it out to her doctor, and when he wiggled the toes, the baby started wailing.
Suddenly the root of the problem was revealed.
“One of my long blonde hairs had entwined itself around the base of her four toes and the middle of her baby toe,” Michelle said. “It was so hard to see, but it was so tightly wound, it cut off circulation, causing the swelling and discoloration. It also dug into her skin, leaving a mark where the hair resided.”
Thankfully her baby is fine now not having sustained any lasting damage, but there could have been had they been late in noticing that one stray blond hair.
Michelle walked away from the ordeal having learned an important lesson, a lesson she wants all parents to know:
“Always examine your child, literally from head to toe!”
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