We took Dean in for his 2 week wellness check up and he's gained a whole pound in 2 weeks! He now weighs 9 lbs. 7 oz! The doctor kept stressing that 1 lb. in that short of a time was a lot. What can I say? My mom said by her children's 6 week check ups they'd almost doubled in weight. We produce eaters I guess.We've been a little concerned about him being slightly tongue tied. His frenulum looks pretty tight (I haven't seen him stick his tongue out beyond his lip), but it obviously hasn't kept him from obtaining proper nutrition from nursing. The on-call doctor we saw in the hospital commented on it and suggested we look into getting it clipped. I think it could be helpful, but the doctor we saw yesterday was pretty opposed to it. He said that Dean isn't being adversely affected by it and that in all his years of practice he's only seen a handful of babies that really were "tongue tied." He said if it's not a problem, don't try and fix it. So, I'm not sure what we should do.
He has totally broken out in baby acne. I hope it doesn't get much worse and clears up fairly quickly. Most of what I've read says it generally clears up on its own by 4 months. I hope it doesn't take that long...
He has allergies. I've never heard anyone (let alone a baby!) sneeze as many times in a row as he does. He sneezes a lot and has been a little congested since we were in the hospital. Poor kid. Hopefully it gets a little better once winter sets in and kills off the pollen allergens.
He's a crier. Since he's doing well feeding, we decided to try and give him a pacifier to help keep him a little happier when he's awake. He sucks on his hand to self soothe, and we'd rather he not. The first couple attempts were failures, but he did take it last night, and it helped him not cry while Matt was holding him while I made dinner. He cries about half of the time he's awake. I'm not too concerned. He'll figure this world out soon enough.His stump is gone. He has an innie. Mostly at least.
18 comments:
hey celia,
my third one is tongue tied and had some trouble eating at first, so we saw our good ol' bishop and he wanted to wait 6 months, so she is having it done friday. he said it would affect her speech later on. her tongue kinda pulls in at the tip of it. i'd check with bishop ragsdale to be sure. wouldn't hurt. good luck.
he's just so precious!!
Whoa! He is a big boy. That's great that he's gaining so well. I remember the baby acne well. It's so sad that they have to start so young with that kind of stuff! :) Ellee's took a while to clear up...she got it pretty bad. I look at old pictures and I don't even recognize her. But, I don't think it took until 4 months. It was probably more like 2 or 2 1/2 months.
My totally unsolicited two bits on the tongue tied business: I was born tongue-tied. I'm not sure if it would have caused eating problems because the doctor went ahead and clipped it shortly after I was born. But apparently he didn't get it all the way, or it grew back, or I don't know what, but I had to get it clipped again when I was 12 so that I could begin my long round of orthodontia. And can I just say: it hurt like the dickens. If there is any hint that it will become a problem later in life, I'd push to get his clipped now. Babies are much more resilient than adolescents.
Also, with the hand sucking. Garrett takes a pacifier AND his fingers. I can't stop the finger-sucking, and to be honest, I don't really want to. If he wants his fingers, he'll find a way to get them. Plus, it makes him happy and now he can self-soothe for those many, many times when the binky falls out of his mouth. From what I've been told, I wouldn't stress too much about him sucking his fingers. It doesn't necessarily mean he'll turn into mouth re-shaping thumb sucker, and if it does head in that direction, it can be dealt with when the time is right.
Cute boy, though! It's good that he's getting big, but bittersweet at the same time. Don't you just want to keep them tiny forever?
Hey Celia!
So Happy for you and the new addition! Hope you are doing well! I bet you are such a fun mom! (This is Amy Stewart BTW)
We just produce cream! Don't worry, he will thin out eventually!
He's so cute Celia! We had a cranky baby-- he's still a little crank. (Ben.) I remember being a new parent, it's exciting and scary all at the same time, you are so unsure-- but it all works out. ALL of the stuff I worried about in the beginning is old news now. And it looks like you are learning that all doctors are different. As the mother, remember you have the last say. You've earned that anyway! ;)
Good luck, can't wait to meet him.
I discovered a plan with Lily that worked SO WELL for her for the first 3 or 4 months. I have told a few people about it, and it hasn't seemed to work as well for them, but seriously, Lily took right to it (I started in the hospital) and slept between 18 and 20 hours per day and hardly ever cried.
It is from Baby Wise, and I have also heard it labeled the "EASY" baby plan.
E-"Eat" Feed him as soon as he wakes up, and try to give a good feeding for as long as possible.
A-"Awake" try to keep him awake during feeding and for at least 30 minutes afterwards by playing with him, tickling his feet etc.
S--"Sleep" at the first sign of fussiness put him down for a nap. I used to swaddle Lily up and give her a pacifier, and she used to fall asleep right away. The main thing is to not nurse to sleep so he will wake up hungry and get a good feeding.
y--"You" time. Enjoy it while you just have 1.
If it doesn't work for you or Dean doesn't take to it, or you don't want to try it, no big deal. Every baby is different. Every mom is different. But I always feel like I should at least pass it on since it made life with Lily so easy and enjoyable.
Celia,
Hi, Lily was tongue tied when she was born. They clipped it in the hospital because our pediatrician told us that it would affect her speech later as well. She was really bad though she could not even nurse. I am glad they did it when they did. No big deal, she cried for a minute then she was over it. If he could handle the circumsicion (who knows if I spelled that right) then this will be no big deal. Like other people have said, better now than when he is a teenager! I agree with the person about the book baby wise. We swear by it at our house. Lily is on a perfect schedule and when we started the schedule she turned into a completley different baby. She was sleeping 12 hours every night by 8 weeks! But you guys will figure out what works for you and Dean. Happy day.
Lesley
He is so cute. Not everyone likes giving their babies pacifiers but I think pacifiers are life savers. Kyla took one and it was so great. Caden doesn't and it's a strungle to calm him down sometimes. Don't worry about the acne. Caden had it and it clears up fairly quickly.
Both my kids took pacifiers, but I managed to take them away by 5 months for S-Boogie and 1 year for Little Dude. S-Boogie still turned into a thumbsucker, but when we visited the dentist recently they said not to worry about it until she has permanent teeth. Most kids do outgrow it, and I rarely see her doing it except at night when she's going to sleep. I also agree with starting to ease them into some kind of routine. I'm a bit more flexible for the first few months, but I liked offering food right after they woke up, having some awake time, and then a nap. I realized with my first kid that babies really can't handle being awake for very long--for most newborns it's less than an hour. If you keep an eye on the clock and the baby, you can usually get them back to sleep before they get overtired and cranky. Swaddling and shushing with a pacifier can really help the crying/crankiness. Some babies just are more fussy than others. Little Dude was a lot more temperamental than S-Boogie was.
Oh, and he probably actually doesn't have allergies. Newborns are just stuffy and sneezy because their nasal passages are so short.
What a sweetie! Baby acne stink, stinks, stinks. My kids had it for about three months and it totally dominated the pictures. About the stuffy nose - I don't know if you are into this, but a little breast milk in the nose clears it up pretty well. Yeah, I wouldn't worry about the tongue. If you clip it he may end up like the guy from KISS and then you'd be sorry!
Becki, I'm glad to hear your situation. I'd planned on getting the Bishop's opinion as an ENT specialist on Sunday.
And Lindsay, sorry to hear you had to have more done at 12!
Brooke, Holly, and Hollywood, I'm glad to know that it clears up eventually. It's really a sad little sight. I hope that by Christmas it will have cleared up. If not, oh well I guess.
Amy, I'm glad you found my blog!
Amanda and Lesley, I'll try that routine, but already today it doesn't seem like it will be super great for his fussiness. I already feed him immediately after he wakes up. And today he was still pretty cranky/cry-y after I fed him, changed him, rocked him, sang to him, read to him, walked with him, etc. (That was all in the immediate 1/2 hour following the feeding). Finally I glided him to sleep. When you put Lily down with her pacifier, do you swaddle her arms tight in beside her? and do you lay her down while she's awake and she ends up falling asleep on her own? When I put him down when he's fussy he just cries more.
I figure it'll just take a little practice and consistency.
Celia, sooo cute! I love it. Hey, don't worry about the sneezing. All newborns sneeze a ton. It'll pass. As far as the EASY schedule (from another comment) it's from the Baby Whisperer and it is my favorite book! Really, read it, do it, and you'll love it. I mean, do what works for you out of the book, but both my babies slept through the night faithfully by about 3 months (even before, but that's when most of the gassiness goes away). Good luck, mommy!
This is from the same person as "c & a". I commented through my husband's account last time.
Yes, Celia, I swaddled her arms really tightly. Those receiving blankets that are a little stretchy work wonders. No other kind of blanket ever worked for swaddling really well. I used to put her in her crib if she was happy with her pacifier, or if she just fussed for a few seconds. If that didn't work I did try a little more soothing with rocking or standing up and swaying, etc. The baby wise book says that you should just put them in their crib and let them fuss until they fall asleep right from the start, but I never quite had the heart. Luckily the pacifier/swaddling worked really well for me. I have never read the Baby Whisperer, but I want to, now that I know it an "EASY" baby book. Baby Wise seemed a little extreme to me, so I just took from it what I wanted to. If I could give one piece of advice about motherhood, it would be to read a whole lot of books by a lot of different authors, and you will probably find something that clicks with you. The books all contradict each other, so you just have to go into it with the notion that you will find what is right for you, and it will probably not be the same as all your friends or sisters or your mom.
Silly, a lot of stuff I have read has said that at this age trying to put them on a schedule is pointless. It's all about on demand feeding. You should just be holding, feeding and loving your baby. Eating, sleeping, pooping and crying is all he can do. I always try to remember this bit of wisdom given to me by my pediatrician, "A baby has no way of expressing himself except through crying. It is also the only way they can burn energy to make themselves tired for sleeping. Crying is normal. Don't worry too much about it." Best advice ever. It made me so much less stressed. After I had checked to make sure he was fine (clean diaper, not too warm or too cold, fed, burped, nothing poking him) even though he was still crying I could tell myself, "He's OK, he just needs to cry." (note: yes I know about colic. My babies never cried so much that I thought that was an issue.)
Personally, I think it's mean to start trying to put a two week old on a sleep schedule. He's two weeks old! It's all new and a shock to the system. He just wants you to hold him and help him feel safe. All that holding, rocking and swaddling will also help him form that important bond with you.
With Large S we thought we had a sleep schedule all worked out at two months--nope. He changed it. I asked the pediatrician about this and she said that is normal, and that trying to get a baby on a regular sleep schedule before three months is kind if pointless since it will change every two weeks or so. I think people that say their babies slept through the night regularly before three months are just lucky and have easy babies. And are maybe fibbing a little bit.
Plus, 'through the night' is an ambiguous phrase. It could mean any number of awake/sleep patterns.
Have you tried skin to skin contact? Both of mine loved that and it always seemed to calm them down.
Also, hand sucking is no big deal, that's what he did in the womb. Personally, I would much prefer hand sucking to a pacifier. I think self soothing is preferable to being soothed by an object.I heartily agree with what lindsay already said on this topic.
Large S prefers his middle and ring finger. O sucked his fingers too when he was a baby. I do not recall when he stopped, but it didn't go past one year.
Hope I didn't offend you--these are just two topics I have strong opinions on. I know you will figure out what works best for Dean and you. I can't wait to see him!
Good luck!
I guess I'll join this riotous commenting! Just consider that every sentence of mine should start with "In my opinion...". :)
Obviously, there are lots of opinions out there, some much stronger than others. However, with that said, I've had 4 kids and swear by The Baby Whisperer. It really helps you clue into your babies cries--as they are different for "I'm poopy," "I'm tired," I'm overstimulated," etc. Putting them on a rigorous schedule is not kind, but we are ALL on a type of schedule. To not put a baby on some sort of a schedule is worse in my opinion. Think about it--they eat every 2 2/3-3 hours. That in itself is a schedule. If you pop a boob in his mouth every time he "seems" hungry(feeding on demand), he will likely be gassy and overfed, and therefore more unhappy. Don't think of "schedule" as a bad word, it's not.
Baby Wise seemed insane to me because, while it "schedulized" the baby, it also left out the holding, snuggling, rocking, etc. Those are the absolute joys of motherhood! I love The Baby Whisperer because of the EASY plan, and because it really teaches you to step back and assess the situation, instead of just diving in there and "fixing" it (it's hard not to do that with your first!). For instance, I realized that I was rushing to "rescue" my baby when she fussed a little while sleeping. The book points out if you step back and pause, you might find she was just doing a minute or two of fussing in her SLEEP, and didn't need to be picked up. I tried it, it was true in a lot of cases, and both my babes and I were happier! (I didn't needlessly wake them up.)
And others (Mandy) are right about not taking advice from one source as "the" source of all wisdom. My Eliza hates being swaddled up tightly. She likes to have her arms free. She also hates things by her face (blanket). This was opposite my Olivia. But I took the time to observe that in my baby, rather than swaddle the heck out of her because a book says so, (then bounce her up and down and rock her and do all that) while she was just hating the blanket.
So, anyway, blah, blah, blah...I could go on forever. Couldn't every mom? I will just suggest you read the book. I think you will really like it. It's middle of the road, loving and kind, fulfilling on your end and the baby's, and it really helps you figure out a baby's language. And they DO have a language. (Some more than others. Olivia's was "I'm MAD at the world a LOT!" ;) )
LS, no offense taken. Like my sister said, there are tons of books and everyone has a theory and they all contradict each other. I think it's because no two children are the same. What works for one won't necessarily work for another.
I don't think it's mean to put a baby on a schedule if it works for them. If it obviously isn't working and they are very resistant, maybe it's not right for that baby. But if it works and the baby seems happy, excellent.
As for the hand sucking, I don't mind so much. My one big problem with it is that you can take away a pacifier, but you can't take away their hand. I have a 9 year old piano student who's still trying to break herself of her finger sucking habit. I don't want that. But, I'll probably not stop Dean from sucking his hand anyway.
I really appreciated what you said about the crying. It makes sense and I think it will help me stress a little less. It's frustrating when they're wailing away and I've done everything I can think of. But, maybe he just needs to wail away and I need to get over it (after I've made sure nothing is wrong).
I know what you mean about wailing away. That's when you just hold them; then you, yourself, go into a zone so the crying doesn't drive you crazy. I zoned out by gliding in the glider and singing songs, usually "How Firm a Foundation."
Let me share one more piece of wisdom from our first pediatrician (man I miss that guy, he made it hard to leave Utah). He really encouraged us, especially during the first and second months, to hold and snuggle the baby as much as possible. Now, I thought this was kind of obvious advice--who doesn't hold their baby as much as possible?
The American Academy of Pediatrics says: "During these early months, don't worry about spoiling him with too much attention. Observe your baby closely and respond promptly when he needs you. You may not be able to calm him down every time, but it never hurts to show him that you care. In fact, the more promptly and consistently you comfort your baby's fussing in the first six months, the less demanding he's likely to be when he's older. At this age, he needs frequent reassurance in order to feel secure about himself and about you. By helping him establish this sense of security now, you're laying a foundation for the confidence and trust that will allow him gradually to separate from you and become a strong, independent person." (The Complete and Authoritative Guide: Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5)
This was what our pediatrician was trying to tell us, and why he always asked if we were holding Big O as much as possible when he was new.
Also, what I said about scheduling: I just don't think the parent should dictate the schedule. My kids built their own schedules and I figured out what it was by following their lead. When they got older (around three months), then I molded them to our schedule. We're moving Large S onto our schedule now and it's going great.
I guess the thing that gets me is that they are only newborns for a very very short period of time--once they grow up a little, they've grown up a lot, and it will be too late to enjoy their newness. It's a simple time and so fleeting. Enjoy it!
Yes, the first two, three months are hard, but they are also special and wonderful and irreplaceable.
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