I am starting to think my life revolves around my son's immature sphincter. Who am I kidding? It does.
He has been miserable for 2 days. He has not been able to lay flat on his back for more than 15 minutes without shrieking, and, while this is not unusual, for every 5 minutes of tummy time, he spits up some amalgamation of something.
ANYWAY. I realized he has been feeling a little on the larger side lately. And, ha, well, he sure has grown! My husband weighed himself last night and then added Gabriel (in the nude)-- his weight went up 15.8 pounds!
Not yet 3 months old (just around the riverbend, but still) and almost 16 pounds?!
And here's the thing. He's a baby with body to him, but he is not fat-- he is probably around 25 inches, too. He just looks so much bigger than a 3-month-old.
BUT HERE'S THE POINT. I called the doctor and the doctor said my little monkey needed to DOUBLE his dose of Baby Zantac.
Clearly, therein lies the rub... he was uncomfortable because his antacid dose was way too low!
Anyway, a 2 ml dose later, he actually smiled and laughed after 3 p.m.
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In other news, Gabe's Christening is next month, and I have no idea what to dress him in for the event. I know there are lots of traditional outfits, but I just do not like the baby boy Baptism outfits in stores. Christening gowns are beautiful, and especially beautiful on baby girls, but for some reason, most Baptism outfits just do not seem to fit for us. It seems so very formal to wear a gown or a mini-white tuxedo. I LOVE the ones with shorts, but alas, it will be February when Gabe is christened. I found a beautiful knit romper in ivory that I loved on a few websites, and of course, the 6-9 month size is out of stock everywhere (Yes, Gabe fits in 6-9 months right now). Hmmm... pondering and searching... Any suggestions?
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slowercookermania update
It's going really well! It definitely has made all of the difference to prepare meals in the morning when Gabe is happy and/or taking a happy nap. I made an AMAZING low calorie southwestern chicken and sweet potato soup the other night. My husband and I just loved it, and it was nutritious. I will post the recipe next week in an Erin's Edibles.
Showing posts with label weight gain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight gain. Show all posts
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
And a one, a two, a one, two... two.
Two months old and a Two months check-up that is.
It went, er, well? How well can a check-up go when you have to watch your precious baby's thighs be injected with 3 shots/5 vaccines. I was THAT mom who teared up and sniffled while the whole thing went down, and my husband, who luckily is off this week, was there to squeeze my arm back to reality to soothe Gabriel.
The babe is sure gaining well, though-- he is 13 lb. 9 oz. now, up from 10 lb. 15 oz. at one month. This is assuring especially because of his reflux issue.
And the reflux issue is a whole other barrel of monkeys. The doctor we saw for his well check-up was not happy with the doctor who met with us last week and offered Gabe the Baby Zantac as a solution for his 'reflux.' This doctor, who I much prefer, wants Gabe to have a chest x-ray of his upper GI tract to confirm his reflux and to eliminate all other possible stomachish problems. I really am happy this whole investigation is thorough, but I have to give my baby barium in a bottle.
Barium in a bottle. Now, if you have been following this blog at all, you know my baby HATES bottles. Tell me how I am supposed to get my baby to drink liquid chalk out of his most-hated thing in the world.
Well, we'll get through it, right? Of course, right.
Other good things? Gabe is meeting his milestones like a champ. Lots of cooing and smiling and attempting to move forward/roll over. (Yeah, he rolled over at 6 weeks-2 days, but we are yet to see this happen again!)
---
In other news....
Gabe LOVES his rainforest playmat (part 1 of the Evenflo triple fun jungle), and he talks to the koala, butterfly, and whatever else he can attempt to whack with his little arms like a crazy fool. He squirms and wriggles his little butt as he kicks his legs and squeaks out lots of random syllable combos and sounds. It is truly awesome watching him learn and blossom and all that. It's just plain fab.
---
Stay tuned for my first entry of "Erin's Edibles." It'll be a fun one, too... an interesting and strange little sweet treat I made to kick it off.
It went, er, well? How well can a check-up go when you have to watch your precious baby's thighs be injected with 3 shots/5 vaccines. I was THAT mom who teared up and sniffled while the whole thing went down, and my husband, who luckily is off this week, was there to squeeze my arm back to reality to soothe Gabriel.
The babe is sure gaining well, though-- he is 13 lb. 9 oz. now, up from 10 lb. 15 oz. at one month. This is assuring especially because of his reflux issue.
And the reflux issue is a whole other barrel of monkeys. The doctor we saw for his well check-up was not happy with the doctor who met with us last week and offered Gabe the Baby Zantac as a solution for his 'reflux.' This doctor, who I much prefer, wants Gabe to have a chest x-ray of his upper GI tract to confirm his reflux and to eliminate all other possible stomachish problems. I really am happy this whole investigation is thorough, but I have to give my baby barium in a bottle.
Barium in a bottle. Now, if you have been following this blog at all, you know my baby HATES bottles. Tell me how I am supposed to get my baby to drink liquid chalk out of his most-hated thing in the world.
Well, we'll get through it, right? Of course, right.
Other good things? Gabe is meeting his milestones like a champ. Lots of cooing and smiling and attempting to move forward/roll over. (Yeah, he rolled over at 6 weeks-2 days, but we are yet to see this happen again!)
---
In other news....
Gabe LOVES his rainforest playmat (part 1 of the Evenflo triple fun jungle), and he talks to the koala, butterfly, and whatever else he can attempt to whack with his little arms like a crazy fool. He squirms and wriggles his little butt as he kicks his legs and squeaks out lots of random syllable combos and sounds. It is truly awesome watching him learn and blossom and all that. It's just plain fab.
---
Stay tuned for my first entry of "Erin's Edibles." It'll be a fun one, too... an interesting and strange little sweet treat I made to kick it off.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Finally 6 Weeks Postpartum: The Beautiful and the Not So Beautiful...
So I have made it-- 6 weeks of mommyhood. Sorry for the hiatus in writing... things have been busy in new mom life.
The baby gained 3 lb. 7 oz. from his lowest weight by one month, reaching 10 lb. 15 oz. It was AWESOME to see how successful breastfeeding is going.
Gabriel goes between sleeping like an almost-angel in the night, sleeping from 10:00 p.m. until somewhere in the 12 o'clock hour, going down again by 1:30 until somewhere in the 4:00 hour, going down again by 5:00, and then waking up again sometime after 7:00 a.m. If I was a better sleeper, this schedule would not be too bad.
However, sometimes, Gabriel likes to stay up all night as if it were the middle of day. This is fun, like a middle school sleepover stay-up-all-night-playing-mash evening, for about... 5 minutes. I'm tired. My husband is comatose once he falls asleep. Gabe is cooing and smiling with nobody to enjoy it.
And then there are the nights when Gabriel cries. He cries the cry of the gas. It makes my heart fall every time I hear that whimper grow into a baby shriek. These nights are exhausting, and the only solace I take is that Gabe is bound to fall asleep in his swing sometime after the Today show starts, and then I get to pump, chomp down some oatmeal, and fall asleep on the futon in the living room, lulled to sleep by the mechanical music of the fisher price lamb swing and the voices of Matt Lauer and Ann Curry.
What has been clearly the most rewarding moment of the past six weeks? SMILES! All the sleep deprivation, over-sized (to the point of possibly disturbing) breasts, senseless arguments with my husband resulting from our new-found responsibilities, and general dirtiness, etc. is totally worth his little lips curling like a Christmas elf's into a bright-eyed, sunny, sweet smile. Seeing him smile is heaven on earth, and possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced.
What has been the worst moment? Well, we're in the middle of it right now...
Our condo flooded due to a unit above flooding. The carpet in the master bedroom, the bathroom floor, and the walls in my closet all have to be completely replaced and redone. At least we are renting and we are not financially responsible for it. But my husband had to get home from work asap yesterday to move all of our furniture and clothing and yadayadyada out of harm's way. Our condo is a disaster, and right now it is legally deemed uninhabitable. Our poor cat is stashed in my parents' upstairs bathroom right now because we can't take her to a pet hotel yet (she is 1 month overdue for her rabies vaccine)-- she is NOT dog friendly, and my parents have a dog. This is definitely not a fun situation AT ALL.
But enough complaining. It is time to focus on the beautiful... Christmas is almost here, and I have a darling, smiling, little man to share it with me and my husband.
(Stay tuned for my 6 week appointment update later this week.)
The baby gained 3 lb. 7 oz. from his lowest weight by one month, reaching 10 lb. 15 oz. It was AWESOME to see how successful breastfeeding is going.
Gabriel goes between sleeping like an almost-angel in the night, sleeping from 10:00 p.m. until somewhere in the 12 o'clock hour, going down again by 1:30 until somewhere in the 4:00 hour, going down again by 5:00, and then waking up again sometime after 7:00 a.m. If I was a better sleeper, this schedule would not be too bad.
However, sometimes, Gabriel likes to stay up all night as if it were the middle of day. This is fun, like a middle school sleepover stay-up-all-night-playing-mash evening, for about... 5 minutes. I'm tired. My husband is comatose once he falls asleep. Gabe is cooing and smiling with nobody to enjoy it.
And then there are the nights when Gabriel cries. He cries the cry of the gas. It makes my heart fall every time I hear that whimper grow into a baby shriek. These nights are exhausting, and the only solace I take is that Gabe is bound to fall asleep in his swing sometime after the Today show starts, and then I get to pump, chomp down some oatmeal, and fall asleep on the futon in the living room, lulled to sleep by the mechanical music of the fisher price lamb swing and the voices of Matt Lauer and Ann Curry.
What has been clearly the most rewarding moment of the past six weeks? SMILES! All the sleep deprivation, over-sized (to the point of possibly disturbing) breasts, senseless arguments with my husband resulting from our new-found responsibilities, and general dirtiness, etc. is totally worth his little lips curling like a Christmas elf's into a bright-eyed, sunny, sweet smile. Seeing him smile is heaven on earth, and possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced.
What has been the worst moment? Well, we're in the middle of it right now...
Our condo flooded due to a unit above flooding. The carpet in the master bedroom, the bathroom floor, and the walls in my closet all have to be completely replaced and redone. At least we are renting and we are not financially responsible for it. But my husband had to get home from work asap yesterday to move all of our furniture and clothing and yadayadyada out of harm's way. Our condo is a disaster, and right now it is legally deemed uninhabitable. Our poor cat is stashed in my parents' upstairs bathroom right now because we can't take her to a pet hotel yet (she is 1 month overdue for her rabies vaccine)-- she is NOT dog friendly, and my parents have a dog. This is definitely not a fun situation AT ALL.
But enough complaining. It is time to focus on the beautiful... Christmas is almost here, and I have a darling, smiling, little man to share it with me and my husband.
(Stay tuned for my 6 week appointment update later this week.)
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
A Moment of Triumph
I am sharing this to give hope to other new breastfeeding moms:
Among the many worries I have had since Gabriel was born, my biggest has been my concern for his weight gain, weight loss, food intake, etc. He was born 8 lb. 7 oz., and when we were sent home from the hospital he weighed 8 lb. By Friday of last week, he weighed 7 lb. 8 oz., and I became somewhat internally frantic. I have wanted to breastfeed my whole life, and I knew that looking in the face of his weight loss (just over 10%), I was coming to that place where the pediatrician says it is time to supplement.
What was somewhat comforting on Friday was his sudden increase in stools and wet diapers (rising from 0 to 3 stools, and from 3 to 6 wet), and I was happy to say I was heading into engorgement. Just let me say being engorged really is definitively unpleasant... your breasts are hard, leaking perfusely and filling breast pads like crazy, you are super duper sore, your nipples become smaller as they are stretched by the great increase in milk-- making it hard for your little one to latch on, and oh, on top of that, I was already wearing a very plus size bra size... I don't even want to know what cup size I would have been that day if measured. I would HONESTLY guess it would be somewhere around J or K, if those sizes even exist.
In any case, my pediatrician was very nonchalant about his weight loss, saying he would be fine as long as his stools increase and his wet diapers number at least 6 per day. Well, then this weekend, on Sunday, he had 12 wet diapers and 5 stools, and yesterday he had 12 wet diapers with 4 stools. He was weighed again yesterday at our home nursing visit (one very awesome perk of my husband's insurance plan), and he had gained a WHOPPING 14 ounces! He is now 8 lb. 5 oz., and I was given the go ahead to sleep up to 5 hours straight without waking him in the middle of the night because he is thriving.
I was nearly devastated and terrified on Friday that he was not going to hit his markers in creating 'waste,' and then suddenly everything came together for us. Seeing him on the nurse's scale yesterday with the number 8-5 was a moment of triumph for me as a first time Mom, and I had to share it. Am I still worried about weight gain? Yes! I count his diapers like a nutcase, and I sit anticipating his next bowel movement. I feel comforted and a bit more confident, but I still feel like this is a critical time to be cautious and meticulous in making sure Gabriel is hydrated and well-fed. I finally got him to sleep for 4 hours straight after his 5:30 feeding today (I had hopes of this happening earlier in the night, but he wanted some food!), and now I feel nervous about him making enough diapers today because of a 4.5 hour break between feedings instead of his 'usual' 2-3. And I guess that is why they say Moms worry, no matter what.
BUT my point is in all of this...
If breastfeeding seems not to be working at first, and you really want it to work, please keep fighting!!
Among the many worries I have had since Gabriel was born, my biggest has been my concern for his weight gain, weight loss, food intake, etc. He was born 8 lb. 7 oz., and when we were sent home from the hospital he weighed 8 lb. By Friday of last week, he weighed 7 lb. 8 oz., and I became somewhat internally frantic. I have wanted to breastfeed my whole life, and I knew that looking in the face of his weight loss (just over 10%), I was coming to that place where the pediatrician says it is time to supplement.
What was somewhat comforting on Friday was his sudden increase in stools and wet diapers (rising from 0 to 3 stools, and from 3 to 6 wet), and I was happy to say I was heading into engorgement. Just let me say being engorged really is definitively unpleasant... your breasts are hard, leaking perfusely and filling breast pads like crazy, you are super duper sore, your nipples become smaller as they are stretched by the great increase in milk-- making it hard for your little one to latch on, and oh, on top of that, I was already wearing a very plus size bra size... I don't even want to know what cup size I would have been that day if measured. I would HONESTLY guess it would be somewhere around J or K, if those sizes even exist.
In any case, my pediatrician was very nonchalant about his weight loss, saying he would be fine as long as his stools increase and his wet diapers number at least 6 per day. Well, then this weekend, on Sunday, he had 12 wet diapers and 5 stools, and yesterday he had 12 wet diapers with 4 stools. He was weighed again yesterday at our home nursing visit (one very awesome perk of my husband's insurance plan), and he had gained a WHOPPING 14 ounces! He is now 8 lb. 5 oz., and I was given the go ahead to sleep up to 5 hours straight without waking him in the middle of the night because he is thriving.
I was nearly devastated and terrified on Friday that he was not going to hit his markers in creating 'waste,' and then suddenly everything came together for us. Seeing him on the nurse's scale yesterday with the number 8-5 was a moment of triumph for me as a first time Mom, and I had to share it. Am I still worried about weight gain? Yes! I count his diapers like a nutcase, and I sit anticipating his next bowel movement. I feel comforted and a bit more confident, but I still feel like this is a critical time to be cautious and meticulous in making sure Gabriel is hydrated and well-fed. I finally got him to sleep for 4 hours straight after his 5:30 feeding today (I had hopes of this happening earlier in the night, but he wanted some food!), and now I feel nervous about him making enough diapers today because of a 4.5 hour break between feedings instead of his 'usual' 2-3. And I guess that is why they say Moms worry, no matter what.
BUT my point is in all of this...
If breastfeeding seems not to be working at first, and you really want it to work, please keep fighting!!
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