Cry Baby Cry

Simon has been one tough customer. I am not going to go so far as to say he has colic, but it is close. Technically colic is unexplained crying for 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week for more than 3 weeks a month. In any case, crying babies are really stressful to listen to. It doesn't seem to bother the baby, which is unbelievable when they cry that hard...but it really doesn't seem to bother him. Brett and I might be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but then Simon will smile and coo, as if he was just joking. And his body will go all soft and limp, like he is totally relaxed, just chillin'. Maya and Jonah say they don't mind his crying but they do mind the stressed out parents that seem to materialize whenever he screams for more than a few minutes. He doesn't seem to have tummy issues--I have played with my diet a little and I can't tell at all that it affects him. He never spits up or acts like he has a stomach ache.
He really did well on my trip to Portland--but he screamed at the Haugers, screamed at our dinner out with the book club girls, screamed at the airport when I was trying to check in and Monica was (thankfully) helping me out, screamed in Borders (Kimberly didn't have any trouble locating me in the store)...in short, he screams a lot. I think he did it less on the trip because he likes to be always on the move (which we definitely were) and I think he gets easily overstimulated by the overzealous brother and sister in his life, and they were, well, not there for several days.
We are finding things that work--like being wrapped tight in the Moby Wrap and taking a walk in the evening near the fountain with the Navy jets flying overhead--he might only scream for 10 minutes then falls asleep. Also, the ocean waves crashing make him conk out. And I am discovering the magic nursing trump card that worked anytime, anywhere for Jonah just doesn't work for Simon. He has less of an appetite, and nursing too frequently sometimes makes his screaming worse.
He is otherwise thriving...getting chubby, eating well, growing and almost rolling over and already batting at things with his hands. There are many theories about colic, but the prevailing one at the moment seems to point to simply neurological immaturity--they simply start crying and can't stop, and that over stimulation seems to be a major cause. This is what I am going with, as it seems to make the most sense. It is more common with very alert babies, which he definitely is. It gets worse toward evening time, supposedly due to accumulated over stimulation from the day. White noise helps the most, as does being outside and constant motion, even rocking while nursing. Also, it tends to peak at 6 weeks (only one week to go) and gets better after that. Keeping our fingers crossed.