Craft's 2-Month Doctor Visit

Well, folks, we made it back from Charlotte in one piece barely.  We had a fun week and weekend with my family, which I'll post about soon, but we're all pretty happy to be home and are trying to get settled back into our normal routine.  Lilly started telling us she was tired and asking to go to bed at 6:00 pm last night, bless her - we were all pretty worn out.  

Anyway, I realized that Craft's 2-month appointment with Dr. V was last week and I posted his 2-month update but never posted his official stats since his appointment was a little off from his actual 2-month birthday.

Someone was pretty happy to be at the doctor, probably only because he was about to get shots and didn't even know.  :-(

I'll get right to the stats since I know you're all waiting with baited breath to see how big my sweet chunker is.  Drum roll, please...

Height:  23.5 inches, 50th percentile (up from 22 1/4 inches and 75% at one month old)
Weight:  16 lbs 14.5 oz, >97th percentile (up from 13 lbs 8.5 oz and same %)
Head:  16.5 inches, 85th percentile (up from 15 3/4 inches and 85%)

True story:  My little chunk weighs almost 17 lbs at 2 months old.  I was surprised to see that he's only in the 50th percentile for height because he looks long to me as well, but maybe it's all that meat on his little body.  Sweet boy!  To put this in perspective, my nephew Mason is a big boy as well, and at 9 months old weighed 22 lbs.  C is almost as big as Mase!

The doctor confirmed that all is well with our little man.  Most of our conversation revolved around sleep and getting him on a more normal sleep schedule during the day.  Dr. V said that at night, C is doing great and is actually above average - that the average 2-month-old still wakes up at 1, 4 and 7 (he has been all over the place the past week since we were visiting my parents, but the week or so prior to our trip he was up once sometime between 3-4 and up again sometime between 7-8 and then sleeping again until 9 or so).  The daytime naps, though, are cray with a capital "c."  Dr. V said that if C was sleeping in 45-minute intervals she'd be okay with it since that is a full sleep cycle, but the naps that are less than that (which are all of them, most days, except for the random one or two times a week when he'll give me a 3+-hour nap) are not good news and probably mean he's over-tired at night (trust  me doc, I know).  I also asked her why he wants to eat even when I know he isn't hungry, which causes him to spit up.  She said the reason he isn't following is cues is probably partially because he's still learning them but mostly because he's tired and is trying to use that to get to sleep, just as I suspected.  She followed that up by telling me that it's time to start putting Craft down awake and letting him cry a little so he gets the hang of self-soothing, and that she'd like for us to move his bedtime up to around 9:00 pm.  She made sure that I understood that by "cry it out" she doesn't mean she expects him to go from 6p-6a without a feeding, but that we can let him cry for a good 25-30 minutes if we need to.  My goal was to move bedtime up gradually - he's been going to bed between 10-11pm so I was going to try to move it up each night by 20-30 minutes, but he was exhausted tonight so we jumped in cold turkey, eek.  She also suggested that I try to hold him off so that there are at least 1.5 hours (preferably 2) between naps, which she told me will probably be rough for a few days but will hopefully help him to sleep longer when he gets to sleep. 

We did a modified Ferber method somewhere between 4-5 months with Lilly to transition her out of her swaddle, and I remember hating every second of it.  It worked for her, though, and took not quite even two days for her to get the hang of things, so that's where we're starting with C, too.  It may not work for him, I know that every child is different, but it's what I know so that's where we're starting (and it isn't going badly at all so far, knock on wood).  The difference is, with L I waited until a weekend so I could go drink and sob outside on the back porch where I couldn't hear her crying and let Dan deal with it.  This time around, though, I got brave and decided to start with naps today because I really need for C to start sleeping consistently during the day so that he's not a nightmare in the evenings.  Torture, I tell you.  I was contemplating whether it was wrong to pour myself a bottle glass of wine at 10:30 this morning.

Dr. V said that C will start to get on his own schedule/routine around 4 months, and until then to follow his cues.  He is so tired, and I know when he's tired, but this kid fights sleep like no other.  I've never seen anything like it.  I've had several folks recommend the "Moms on Call" program to me, so I asked the doctor about that as well.  She said that she's had several patients swear by it so she looked into it briefly, and from what she could glean from their website she thinks it's a good program, but that she's by no means an expert on it and has not read the book.  She told me that if I want to try it, I should try for a week and see how it goes and then reevaluate whether to continue.  I have done some research on the program on the internet and I'm just on the fence about it.  I am all for a routine, and would like for C to start getting into one because trust me, it would  make my life a lot easier, but the program just seems so...structured.  Those of you who know me, know that if I think it is very structured it has to be hardcore.  If anyone out there knows much about it or has tried it and has any thoughts, I'd love to hear.  

We didn't really discuss much other than naps.  I did ask when to stop swaddling and she said by 5 months.  We'll see if we make it that long, Craft is pretty strong so I'm wondering if he's going to bust out of the swaddle.  I'm anxious to see how he sleeps when he's not swaddled - whether he sleeps on his belly and sucks his thumb like big sister.  

Future Craft, if you grow up and decide to read this blog, I apologize in advance for the next paragraph because it will probably embarrass you.  

I asked the doc to look at C's pen15 to make sure the circumcision took because it looks kind of different, and she assured me that everything looks great, it's just that Craft is such a chunker that his little friend basically gets pushed inward so it looks inverted.  Not to worry, he'll grow out of it once he thins out.  Hilarious.

Other than that, all is well with little (big) man!  He got three shots (Pentacel, Prevnar and Rotateq) and they were just as horrible as I remember them being with Lilly.  Like his big sister, Craft was so happy and was smiling, cooing and giggling at the nurse when I laid him down on the table but was very pitiful after the shots.  He reacted to them similarly - slept a lot more than usual for the rest of the day but was more crabby than I remember L being when he was awake.  I know the shots are necessary and I'm fully supportive of vaccinating but good gosh it is pitiful. 

That's all for now, I suppose!  Here are a few pics I took of my sweet boy last night.  He is growing up so quickly already, it seems like he's getting bigger and doing fun, new things by the day.  Slow down, time!

Hope your week is off to a great start!  I'm off to finish out my Monday with another glass of wine and the addressing of birth announcements (so late, I know, but worth the wait for sure thanks to Deb Hall/Olive Paper!).

Sarah

6 Months Old - Part Deux

We went to the doctor today for Lilly's 6-month check-up, and I am happy to report that all is well!  


LGB's official stats:  She is 26.5 inches long (90th percentile) and weighs 18 lbs (96th percentile, ha!).  My little chunker is nothing if not healthy!  The doctor does not appear to be worried about L's weight at all - she has already noticeably slimmed down since she's started moving around more, and as she gets more mobile she will thin out a lot.  


All of the ladies and nurses "oohed" and "ahhed" over Lilly and kept saying how beautiful she is and how much they liked her pretty blue dress and matching bow (we lost the bow and the good mood because unfortunately I didn't think to snap pictures until after shots, but you get the idea):

The rest of the visit went well.  When the doctor came in, the first thing she told me was that she tells everyone that comes in who is having problems nursing about how Lilly started nursing at three months.  She said that of course she abides by patient confidentiality and would never name names, and she said she disclaims by telling the mothers, "this situation should be in a glossy print ad with an asterisk that says, this is an anomaly," but she says she uses it to let them know that there is, indeed, hope.  She also said it's the craziest thing she's ever heard.  Ha!


One thing I learned was that we can now give L any food that she won't choke on (except for honey, due to the allergens) - even meat!  Steph told me today that her doctor said if you start babies on solids at 4 months (check) then you can move beyond stage 1 foods at 6 months.  So, now I'm excited for Lilly to start trying some new, fun foods!  Dr. V told Lilly that she should come give her other baby patients lessons on how to be an awesome baby. :-)  Lilly was in a pretty good mood and talked to and giggled at Dr. V the whole time - I was glad, considering her appointment was smack dab in the middle of her morning nap time.  I asked if we should be concerned that Lilly doesn't sit up for very long periods of time on her own yet, because I have several friends with babies around Lilly's age who sit up like pros.  She said that all babies are different and that Lilly has rockstar back muscles (direct quote) and that her tummy muscles are just trying to catch up.  She said this is probably partially due to the fact that L would only roll one way for the longest time, but it's nothing to worry about.  Lilly was rolling all around on the examination table and showing off pushing herself up and getting into her crawling position, to which Dr. V. said that she is going to be crawling SOON and she hopes we've started baby proofing (nope, oops).  She said that she won't be surprised one bit if L crawls before she sits.  Lord help us all!  I asked about her inconsistent poops and the doctor said it was normal, and also asked about giving Lilly water (thanks for the question, Steph!).  She said that at this point we can absolutely give L water if we want to, but it's definitely not required.  She said if we're out and about and it's hot and Lilly is sweating, definitely give her some to help keep her hydrated (2-4 oz. in a bottle), but other than that it wasn't something we have to do unless we want to.  The only other thing the doctor said that we need to be doing is making sure to get Lilly to eat either rice cereal or oatmeal every day - she said that it is important for L to get the iron.  Great, since she HATES both of those - even with fruit.  I'll keep trying, though!


The only other thing to note was a small incident that happened this morning which literally scared me to death.  Lilly woke up early today, around 6:15 (teething), but it ended up being okay because she got a super short morning nap in before I had to wake her up to head to the doctor.  Anyway, so I was nursing her before I put her down, and she wasn't asleep yet, and all of a sudden she started convulsing.  The only way I can think to describe it is that it reminded me of what a seizure would look like.  Dan asked if she just got a chill, but it wasn't that because it lasted somewhere between 20-25 seconds.  I looked down at my leg to make sure I wasn't inadvertently bouncing it up and down, and I wasn't.  I couldn't see her eyes - they were closed - so I couldn't tell whether they were rolled back in her head or anything crazy like that.  I pulled her off the breast and she was still laying on the nursing pillow convulsing, so I called her name several times, keeping my hand on her.  After probably 5-7 seconds of this and me calling her name a few times, she finally stopped convulsing and opened her eyes and looked at me and just looked really confused.  She then ate some more and went right to sleep.  She never did get upset or anything like that, but I am telling you it scared. me. to. DEATH.  I double checked with Carney to make sure she hadn't ever noticed this happening (she hadn't), but I was SO GLAD we were going to the doctor anyway so that I could ask about it.  Dr. V. said that since this was the first time we'd noticed it, she was hoping that it was just neurological development and that L was in that "in between" stage between awake and asleep - sort of like when you have a falling dream.  She told us to definitely keep an eye on it and if it happened two more times to bring her in immediately.  I watched her on the monitor tonight when she was falling asleep and didn't notice anything, but good gosh it scared me!  Dr. V. also told me how to tell whether it was a seizure.  I talked to my Mom about it tonight, because the doctor asked if there was any family history of anything like this, and come to find out, my Mom did this when she was a baby.  She said that it normally corresponded with running a high fever, but it's definitely something to note and tell the doctor if it happens again (which hopefully it won't).


Last but not least, there were the dreaded shots.  Lilly did fine - she took the oral medication no problem, which surprised me since she is normally funny about those things.  She doesn't even like the liquid vitamin D we give her - I have to sneak it into bottles - and that stuff tastes good.  She didn't cry at all for the first shot, but she cried for the second one.  Luckily, the crying only lasted for about 10 seconds and after some Mommy snuggles and kisses she was OK.  Carney said that L  literally slept from the time she left the doctor until she woke her up at 4, which is not unusual after shots.


All in all, a good report!  Of course we are biased and think Lilly is perfect, but it's always nice to have confirmation that we're doing okay.  Since this got long (shocker), I'll wrap it up with our 6-month photo shoot as promised - she was much more cooperative this morning when she woke up than she was last night.  I swear, the many expressions of Lilly get me every single time!!!

Happy Hump Day!


Sarah

Four Months Old and 4-Month Check Up

Well, here we are again...time for another monthly update!  I can hardly believe it myself.  This one is four days late, worst Mom ever (sorry L!).  On Thursday evening, we traveled to Charlotte to spend the long weekend with my parents and we were swamped the entire time we were there, so time just got away from me.  I'm so sleepy, so without further ado, onto Miss Lillian Grace's four month stats!  This may be a long one since I'm combining the update with the check-up, but I don't want to forget anything!


Weight/Length: 25 inches long...homegirl is getting SO BIG (stop it!)!  She is in the 95th percentile for height.  She also, as of Thursday, weighs 16 lbs, 3.5 oz.  Still 97th percentile for weight.  The doctor said she's not worried about L being malnourished!  ;-)

Sleep: I am so grateful that we were blessed with a wonderful sleeper.  I am starting to realize that I cannot count on any routine, because just when I think we're in one Lilly changes it up on me (this is totally normal, I hear), but sleep has been pretty predictable as of late (except for the nights when she breaks out of the swaddle!).  We typically start our bed time routine with a bath around 7:00.  If she had a super long afternoon nap or took it later than usual, I'll let her play for a little while after bath time, but most nights we head upstairs to read a book, eat, and go to sleep.  She is normally in bed (still awake) by 7:30 or 8:00.  I have made it a point to put her down while she's still awake to help her learn to self-soothe.  So far, thankfully, this has not been a problem. Some nights, she will lay in there talking and giggling to herself - other nights she goes straight to sleep.  On a "normal" night, Lilly sleeps until 7:00 or 7:30 a.m., wakes up to eat, and then goes back to sleep until 9:00 or 9:30.  She takes a short nap in the morning, normally between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. and normally only lasting 45 minutes to an hour, and then she takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon, normally sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m.  On the mornings when she goes to stay with the nanny, we keep her up instead of letting her go back to sleep, so sometimes the morning nap is a little earlier and lasts a little longer on those days.  Lilly so far has demonstrated that she'll sleep anywhere and through just about anything (angels singing).  She is still waking up sometimes having broken out of her swaddle, but it is not very consistent, so we're still trying to decide what to do.  I talked to her doctor about this issue, and asked about whether we should work on sleep training and breaking her of the swaddling habit.  The doctor basically told us that Lilly is such a good sleeper, if it were her, she wouldn't fix what isn't broken and she'd just order a bigger swaddle.  She tended to agree with us that the fact that Lilly wakes herself up when she's not swaddled probably means she's not quite ready to come out of it yet, and said that she may even wean herself off of it.  She assured us that nothing about swaddling is harmful for Lilly's development - she said her own children slept swaddled until they were 8 or 9 months old.  She reiterated that we for sure need to stop swaddling once Lilly can roll over in the swaddle because then it becomes dangerous.  I don't see that being an issue as I have been trying to get the child to roll over again ever since she did it for the first time last week, but she won't.  So, we decided we will order a bigger swaddle and give it a week to see how it goes.  If the little escape artist still wiggles her way out of the next size up, we'll sleep train without the swaddle.  Side Note: Why am I always worried that writing about how good she is at eating, sleeping, being happy, etc. will jinx me?

Feeding: Clearly there are no problems here.  She is eating around every three hours during the day still.  Sometimes she'll go four hours, but it's only if she's napping when the three-hour mark hits.  I asked the doctor if this was normal, and she said absolutely.  She told us that since Lilly is sleeping for a minimum of 10 hours/night, it makes total sense for her to eat every three hours during the day - really, if you think about it, if she wakes up at 7:30 and eats every three hours, she's eating 5 times in a day.  Lilly is still nursing like a champ.  Over the past few days, she's fought me on it a couple of times.  I'm hoping this is just due to the fact that her tummy was really upset (as evidenced by complete and utter blowouts both times, ugh).  Other than that, I'm thankful that she is OK switching back and forth between bottle and b00b so easily.  In other news, the doctor gave us the OK to start on solids, so we're going to try rice cereal this week.  She told us, which I found interesting, not to put the rice cereal in Lilly's bottle - she said if it doesn't come from the breast, it shouldn't go in the bottle.  She said to try the rice cereal mixed with breast milk and to feed Lilly with a spoon.  If she can't quite get the hang of it, she told us to give it a week and try again, that Lilly will let us know when she's ready.  If all goes well with rice cereal, we can introduce a few other things - avocados, sweet potatoes, bananas - shortly after.  I mentioned that I'd like to make Lilly's baby food (I am not saying I will never feed her baby food out of a jar, just that I have a food processor and some empty jars and a freezer and figured, why not?), so she gave me some good resources for that which I'll blog about in a later post.

Firsts This Month: First bachelorette party!  She also rolled over for the first time - I know, I still need to post that video.  She sat up in a seat for the first time without help (she's had good head control and has been able to sit propped up against something for a while, but this month marked the first time we tried out her seats and she does really well in them!).  First time staying with a nanny.  She was also baptized, which I guess can be considered a first.  First time swimming, which she LOVED.  I know I say it every month, but I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot.

Developments: Lilly has been smiling at us for a while now, but I feel like in the past month she's really given smiles a lot more freely.  The same goes for giggles - we're starting to hear belly laughs pretty often now, and it's the best sound in the whole world.  She has excellent head control now, and wants to be sitting up looking around and taking everything in (nosey girl!) instead of laying down when she's being held.  She is starting to "stand" some when being held, but not a whole lot - I'm not sure whether it's because her legs can't hold up that buddha belly or what.  :-)  She is really exploring her hands and figuring out how they work, and testing her depth perception.  She's gone from "batting" at her toys to actually reaching for them and picking them up - she immediately tries to put everything in her mouth, of course.  Sometimes she is surprised when she pulls her hand back and the toy is in it - it's pretty cute.  I am also still wondering if we're going to have a thumb sucker - more and more I catch her putting her thumb - not her whole fist, which she also sometimes does - but specifically her thumb, into her mouth:

Speaking of whole fist, she is doing this thing where she sticks her whole hand in her mouth and gags herself.  Doc said this is completely normal - she's just testing herself and learning.  She is also drooling a TON, which I took to be teething.  The doc said that it very well could be, but that every parent of every 4-month old says the same thing when they come for their check-up, and that tons of drool is totally normal.

Likes: Bath time, eating, cuddling, stroller rides, being worn in the baby k'tan, singing and music, dancing, talking, cooing, giggling, her swing, her piano gym play mat, tummy time on the boppy, being outside, toys, books, the sunshine (unless it's shining in her face in the car seat), Layla, watching the ceiling fan, people watching, bumbo seat, swimming.

Dislikes: Being cold or hungry. Or overtired/over-stimulated. Oh and getting dressed - specifically anything that has to go over her head. Being lotioned up after bath time - same goes for putting on sunscreen.  HATES it.  Also being bored.

What I'm Thankful For: My sweet little family!  I am so overwhelmed with love for Dan, Layla and Lilly every day.  Who knew my heart had room for even MORE love?  I also don't think I say enough how thankful I am to have a wonderful and very hands-on husband.  He never hesitates to help out around the house  and with Lilly.  He cooks, he cleans, he does yard work, he takes care of Layla, and he is SO good with Lilly - even with her dirty diapers!  

What I'm Looking Forward To: My little sister is getting MARRIED next month!  Lord, I feel old.

Next Pediatrician Appointment: Lilly's 6-month check-up on July 24 (I think).  

How Mommy's Doing: Wonderful.  I am still trying to find a good morning routine, but something tells me it will never be perfect.  I am still struggling again with my new body and the way it looks.  Something tells me I will never be fully comfortable with it, but I need to get a move on into getting back into shape - I don't know where I'll find the time but I know it will only get harder!


I've just realized that I never blogged about Lilly's baptism, so I'll add that to the list of posts for this week along with a picture post for the weekend (would take too long to upload all of them tonight), the rolling over video, and the "making your own baby food" post.  Lots to do!  For now, I shall leave you with a few shots from Lilly's "I'm 4 months old and SUPER cute" photo shoot.  I love how chunky expressive she is!

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend.  I am thankful for those who have fought and continue to fight for my freedoms!


Sarah


PS - Don't forget to vote!  :-)

2-Month Check Up

Today was an eventful day for Lilly bean, as we went to the pediatrician for her 2-month check up.  I have been dreading this appointment because I knew she would get shots - frankly, I was more worried about myself than her, she is such a trooper! 

Hopefully I am not jinxing myself by putting it on the internet for all of the world to see, but Lilly has been sleeping through the night for 4 or 5 nights in a row now!  I am one proud (and well-rested) Mommy.  I have been hesitant to write about it in case it was a fluke, but I am hoping that this is the beginning of a beautiful pattern.  :-)  She's been sleeping for around 8 consecutive hours after her dream feed, which is fabulous.  She woke up at 7:00 this morning, ate, and when right back to sleep - her appointment was at 9:55, so I had to wake her up to get her ready to go.  She pretty much slept through the entire appointment except when she was being measured, weighed, checked out by the doctor and given shots. 

Naked Lilly wrapped in blankets to keep warm while we were waiting on the pediatrician to come in.

The nurse came in and measured and weighed our little one and checked her vitals.  Here are our chunky girl's 2-month stats:
Height: 22 1/4 inches, 75th percentile (up from 20 1/4 inches at her 1-month appointment)
Weight: 12 lbs, 97th (lol) percentile (up from 9 lbs 1oz)
Head: 15 1/4 inches, 75th percentile (up from 14 inches)
When the pediatrician came in, the first words out of her mouth were, "Well hello, chunky baby, I find it hard to believe that we were ever worried about your weight!"

The doctor told us that Lilly is fantastic.  She said that she is a great eater (clearly) and a great sleeper.  I asked her about scheduling for sleeping and eating, and she said, "Why is it that the mothers of wonderful eaters and sleepers are never satisfied?!"  I was really asking more if I should be trying to get her in a routine, like sleeping at night and then 2 naps/day (morning and afternoon).  Currently, she goes down between 10-11 (some nights she snoozes for a few hours beforehand and we wake her up for a dream feed, other nights she is just awake after her bath until it's time to eat again and then goes to sleep after) and sleeps until 7 or 8 am.  She wakes up and eats and then goes back to sleep until around 11 but doesn't really take another "nap" - more like 30-minute snoozes here and there until after bath time (normally between 7 - 8 pm).  To that question, the doctor told me that she saw a mother yesterday of two 9-month old twins who are still waking up every 2.5 hours at night to eat.  AT 9 MONTHS OLD.  I am 100% sure we would not ever consider more children, EVER if that happened to us, because I'm not sure how we'd be surviving!  Anyway her point was, Lilly is doing wonderfully, don't change a thing.  She assured me that I am not over-feeding her and told me to continue to feed her when she's hungry.  She also said that Lilly's bed time will gradually start to get earlier on its own over the next few weeks, and predicted that by 4 months old at the latest Lilly will be sleeping from 7pm - 7am.  I also asked when we should cut out the dream feed, and she said whenever we're brave enough to try it and see what happens.  I took this to mean we should probably try before I go back to work in case it goes badly so that we can work it out while I can still nap during the day if I get a chance.  :-)

Fun fact: we discussed my milk production, and apparently I am actually above average in terms of the amount that I produce.  I was DEFINITELY in major over-production mode when Lilly was born, but I noticed a pretty big decrease when I started exclusively pumping.  Since I started using the pump correctly and using the Fenugreek (see my pumping tips), I have indeed noticed a big difference and an increase in my supply (although not back to what it was before, but I think I'm okay with it because stuffing a sports bra with 2 super plus maxi pads and still leaking every night was not pleasant).  She said that based on what I am producing, I should be consuming an extra 1,000 calories/day because you burn 20 calories per each ounce of milk.  NUTS, yes?  Who knew?!  Lilly's peak milk intake will be around 4 months, per the pediatrician, and she predicted that Lilly will be at the top of the range (the range for a 2-4 month old is 20-40 oz/day, so that would mean Lilly will take around 40 oz/day at her peak).  Wonder whatever gave her that impression.  :-)  I also asked her about when to stop swaddling, and she told us most people stop by around 5 months, but really whenever we are ready.  She said that when Lilly gets to the point where she can roll over while swaddled, we for sure need to stop.

I also asked about our diaper/poop leaking out of the legs issue to see if she had any suggestions other than "try a different brand or cloth diapers."  She said that she thinks we will not have that problem for much longer (see shots picture below).  :-)

I think that was about it in terms of the check up.  She reiterated that we're doing a great job, told us that Lilly is a great baby and we are very lucky, and told us not to start her on solids until after her 4-month check-up.  Lilly then had to get some shots - she got Pentacel (combination of DTaP, IPV, HIB), Prevnar and Rotateq today.  :-( 

This was more terrible than anything we have experienced yet.  She was SO good during the whole appointment, and was so happy and giggly when I laid her on the table, which  made me feel terribly guilty about what was about to happen.  When she got that shot, she let out the most pitiful, heart-wrenching cry I have ever heard in my life!  I cried, too, because I couldn't stand it.  I guess the shots made her sleepy (which I've been told is normal), because I fed her after the shots - around 11 - and she slept until 3:30, woke up to eat and has been asleep ever since.

When she's been awake, she's been a little fussy, but I think it's probably because she doesn't feel great due to the shots.  Also, I think they may have constipated her, because she seems to be working really hard and not getting a lot.  Does anyone know if that's normal?

Since Lilly is so sleepy, I have used the opportunity try to catch up on my thank you notes, because I will not let myself mail out Lilly's birth announcements (which have been here for approximately 3 weeks) until all thank you notes have ALL been mailed.  I got through all of the shower thank you notes today, and am horribly embarrassed that it's taken me so long to write them!  I just have not had a lot of free time, and when I have had free time I've either been napping with Lilly or trying to get my house in order.  So far, I've written about 100 total.  I have 50 more to go.  SIGH.

I guess that's all I have to report about our 2-month check-up.  It was again nice to hear that we're doing a great job, and even more wonderful to have confirmation that Lilly is indeed every bit as perfect as we think she is!  :-)

Sarah

Operation 6-Week Violation: Success

Time for a Mommy update!  You thought you were done with these, huh?  ;-)  I went to the doctor for my 6-week post-partum violation check-up, and I'm happy to report that it went fine.  I will spare you all of the gory details (for once), but the doctor said that everything has healed nicely and that I can return to all normal activity.  Which means operation starvation/go to the gym all of the time will have to commence shortly, and I am dreading it.

A few minor details: he asked me if we planned a quick turnaround for our second pregnancy, and when I asked him to define "quick," he asked if we were planning another pregnancy in the next 6-9 months.  To which I responded, H*LL no.  I mean, do people really do that?  I guess they do or the doctor wouldn't have asked, and more power to them, but I literally cannot imagine being pregnant with #2 and having a 6-month old.  How about I get the hang of one baby before even considering number two?  And let's not even go there re: letting my lady parts recover from the first one before even considering a second.  Oy.

I also asked him about the likelihood of me having to deal with preeclampsia for any future pregnancies.  He said that since mine was mild in nature, he hoped I would skate right past it next pregnancy - that is close to being a direct quote.  I had several problems with this statement.  First, mild?  I was on bed rest for the last 7 weeks of my pregnancy, for goodness' sake.  I would hate to see what severe is.  Secondly, I "hope" I will skate right past it too, doc.  When I mentioned these two things to him, he told me that what he meant was, we just won't know until we get there, but he thinks my chances for a healthy pregnancy next time around, whenever that may be (not any time soon, sorry Mom!), are good.  Hooray!  I won't get my hopes up, but I like my odds.

I guess the only other important thing we talked about was breast feeding.  He said that since I am exclusively pumping, I likely won't be able to breast feed much longer once Lilly starts eating more.  I was under the impression that people continue to pump and feed for a while, so this discouraged me somewhat and, I'm sure it will come as a shock to you all, but I've been worrying about it ever since.  My original goal was to breast feed for one year.  Since L had other plans and we've had to tweak a little (I'm convinced she is God's way of teaching me that I can't control everything), my new goal is to (hopefully) make it to 6 months, or at least until we start introducing solid foods, and then re-visit depending on how it's going.  Since pumping imitates breast feeding but is not exact, I had the bright idea that maybe I could still breast feed during the day, if not all day at least one or two times.  I have been solely pumping out of sheer convenience, as it is typically much faster, but since for the time being I'm home during the day, we have the time.  Why not?  So, I tried Lilly on the boob (with the shield, of course) after I got home this afternoon, and it did NOT go well.  She nursed for an hour, but after a burp break when she was still hungry and I tried to put her back on she would not have it and pitched the biggest fit I have ever seen from her to date.  So after nursing for a full hour, I still had to give her a bottle and then pump.  I guess I can't blame her, the bottle gives her what she wants a LOT quicker.  Perhaps we'll try again tomorrow?

In the long run, I am not sure how I should go about trying to increase my supply when the time comes.  As it is, I pump every 3-4 hours during the day, and then just after I've fed her when she's woken up once at night, and I seem to be producing exactly what she's eating.  I guess I could keep the vigilant 3-hour schedule even during the night for a few days and see how it goes.  I've also started myself on fenugreek just as an added measure. I have had a few girlfriends agree with what the lactation consultant said, that my body will just know to produce more when the time comes, but others have not had that same experience.  And with all of these weddings coming up, what about when I have to travel?  How do I pump enough so that she can eat my breast milk when I'm not around?  Will I just have to give her strictly formula in those cases?  We had a big supply of breast milk in our freezer from when I was way overproducing at the beginning, but it is already dwindling due to several battles with clogged ducts reducing my flow.  Any advice from all of you Mom friends who pumped?  This reminds me, I need to do an update post on pumping with all of the greast tips & tricks I've learned from readers, friends, doctors, etc.  Don't let me forget!

Re: when I can expect my period to return, he obviously could not predict that - said it could be weeks or months, and to be careful so as to avoid an aforementioned "quick turnaround" pregnancy.  Eek.

As for yesterday's post, thank you all SO MUCH for your sweet words of encouragement and kind thoughts.  It was days like yesterday that I am even more grateful than ever that I've kept up with this blog, because I REALLY needed the reassurance.  It was a long day.  As for Lilly, she is sleeping much better so far tonight (knock on wood that it continues), and in her own crib and not on Mommy or in the swing (so far):

Thank the Lord, because of course the only nap she took today was while Dan was on baby duty so I could go to the doctor, so I did not get to nap along with her and I am struggling!  The night is young, I know, but at least we're off to a better start than yesterday.  I'll take whatever I can get.

Happy Thursday!

Sarah

1 Month Check-up

Today was Miss Lilly's one month check-up with her pediatrician.  I have been so excited about this appointment to see how much she's truly grown!  We can tell she's growing and changing every day, but today we got her official stats.

Backing up for a moment, I should tell you that getting to the pediatrician was quite an adventure.  I must have eaten something Lilly didn't like yesterday, because she was extra gassy last night - to the point where I was up for two hours at the 2:30 a.m. feeding because she was too gassy and fussy to go back to sleep easily.  I was planning to skip that pumping session - if I'm sleeping I can't feel my boobs hurting and letting me know it's time to pump - but since I was up with her for so long, I ended up needing to pump before I was able to go back to sleep.  So, she was extra tired this morning and slept until 7:30, when she woke up and we fed her.  Her appointment was at 10:30, and she's been eating every 3-4 hours during the day, so I just knew she was going to be hungry as soon as we got there and I didn't want her to be fussy.  I was trying to figure out whether to wake her up and feed her before we left, or what.  In the end, I let her sleep and just arrived at the pediatrician at 10:00.  I left the car on so we would be nice and toasty in the heat, took her out of her carseat, and prepared to change her.  I had a brief internal debate over whether to get the changing pad out because we were working with limited space since the carseat takes up half of the back seat and I was taking up the other half - praise the good Lord I did.  She was just wet, but the moment I started unfastening her diaper was the moment she choose to have a huge blowout.  I left the diaper on for a few minutes until I thought she was done, and it was a nasty one.  I started preparing to change her again, and then she decides she has to pee...three times.  It was a nightmare.  There was pee and poop everywhere.  The doctor doesn't like for you to throw away poop diapers in the office, so luckily I'd planned ahead and brought a plastic bag to store any poop diapers in until we could get home (it never fails that she poops at the doctor).  Even more lucky for me was the fact that I took several changes of clothes.  I ended up putting her clothes, the gross diaper, and the changing pad in the plastic bag to deal with when we got home.  After that was smooth sailing - we fed her in the car and by the time we went back to see the doctor she was happy as a lark:

Anyway, so the appointment was pretty standard.  They started out by taking her measurements, temperature and weight.  We have one chunky monkey on our hands!  She is up almost two pounds from her birth weight (7 lbs 6 oz), weighing in at 9 lbs 1.5 oz, which puts her in the 75th percentile.  The doctor said they expect a 2 lb gain in the first month, so that's perfectly normal.  Piggy!  Her height is 20 1/4 inches (up from 19 3/4 inches at birth), which is perfectly average - 50th percentile.  Her head is 14 inches.  I'm not sure what it was at birth, but she is in the 45th percentile (if you were to ask my lady parts whether her head was below average, I feel sure they would beg to differ, ha!).  I didn't think we were due for any shots until her 2-month check-up, but it turned out she was due for round 2 of Hepatitis B, so she got that.  She was laying on the table with her usual serious face on, behaving like an angel and taking it all in, even when they stuck her - for a second we thought she wasn't going to cry.  Then she let out the most heart-wrenching, pitiful cry you have ever heard.  It broke our hearts!  But the second I picked her up to love on her for a minute, she stopped.  Whew, crisis averted.  Here's her battle wound (and fat belly):

I had quite a few questions for the doctor, and then that was it.  They said that Lilly is "perfect" and that we're doing a "great job."  It's always so nice to get reassurance that we're doing okay, especially after I asked 23984723847 questions.

I will note that the doctor said (in response to my question) that it is for sure too early for her to be confused about day/night or to be in any kind of a routine.  When I followed up by asking why Lilly will sometimes sleep for 4-5 hours during the day but closer to 3 at night, she suggested that I not let Lilly sleep for more than 3 hours at a time during the day.  Wake her up after 3 hours and see how she does.  So, we'll try that tonight.  She also commended us for having Lilly in the crib already, and suggested that we also have her sleep in her crib for one nap per day - preferably the afternoon nap - so that when she is old enough to start recognizing routines she will know that's where she's supposed to sleep.

She has been a little fussier than normal this evening - not sure whether it's the after effects of the shot or she's just over-tired because she napped less than normal.  Probably it's a combination of both.  Anyway, all is well and our girl is perfect - but we already knew that.  ;-)

Hope everyone had a great Monday!

Sarah