Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Ariella's First Word! (Well, maybe not)
This morning, Tyree was cutting Ariella's fingernails. She was squirming around as usual. He was telling her "stay still". To our surprise, she said something that sounded like "ok"! We both paused and looked at each other. And, I think Tyree asked me "Did she just say ok?" Lol! I'm sure it was just a coincidence and probably doesn't really count as her first word, but it was super cute.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Baby Exercises!
Aside from walking at lunchtime at work and swimming with Ariella, I've been doing "baby exercises" for the past couple of weeks!
This consists of 3 different exercises:
Pliates Planks - I hold Ariella sitting on my lower belly while I do Pilates planks (where you push your pelvis up to form a bridge - it's to exercise the thighs and butt). I've been doing do 2 sets of 10 - counting out loud.
Crunches - Ariella remains sitting low on my belly while I crunch up. I do 2 sets of 10, again counting out loud.
Baby Lifts - I do 10 baby lifts where I lift her up into the air (essentially a shoulder press straight up).
I count each time out loud, and she just looks at me kind of strangely through a lot of it, but then sometimes she smiles and squeals. It's fun to watch her reactions. And, maybe she'll learn how to count from 1-10. I do it maybe 3 times a week. But, I like it because it's something interactive with her (so, it's not like I have to find alone time to do it). I also tried doing baby curls (to exercise the biceps), but it didn't really work very well. It was hard to hold her - although in retrospect, I think maybe I was doing it wrong. I was holding her horizontally across my arms. Maybe I should have held her upright like with the baby presses. I'd just have to stand up to do the baby curls. I might have to try that again.
This consists of 3 different exercises:
Pliates Planks - I hold Ariella sitting on my lower belly while I do Pilates planks (where you push your pelvis up to form a bridge - it's to exercise the thighs and butt). I've been doing do 2 sets of 10 - counting out loud.
Crunches - Ariella remains sitting low on my belly while I crunch up. I do 2 sets of 10, again counting out loud.
Baby Lifts - I do 10 baby lifts where I lift her up into the air (essentially a shoulder press straight up).
I count each time out loud, and she just looks at me kind of strangely through a lot of it, but then sometimes she smiles and squeals. It's fun to watch her reactions. And, maybe she'll learn how to count from 1-10. I do it maybe 3 times a week. But, I like it because it's something interactive with her (so, it's not like I have to find alone time to do it). I also tried doing baby curls (to exercise the biceps), but it didn't really work very well. It was hard to hold her - although in retrospect, I think maybe I was doing it wrong. I was holding her horizontally across my arms. Maybe I should have held her upright like with the baby presses. I'd just have to stand up to do the baby curls. I might have to try that again.
Long time since my last post - lots of updates
Wow, I haven't posted in a long time! Work has been crazy for the past several weeks, but it is settling back down. Ariella has continued sleeping through the night, so it appears to have stuck. Our air conditioner went out a few weeks ago, and I was afraid that was going to mess her up, since we had to go sleep over at Tyree's mom's house. But, she did great! She's going to bed between 7:30 and 9:30pm, and she stirs around 4am (which is my sign to get up and pump). And, then she eats between 5 and 5:30am.
This past week, though, she's started waking up more (although she doesn't eat when she wakes up - I just give her the pacifier). I'm wondering if it's because her bassinet is getting pretty small for her. We're going to wait to do the transition to her crib until the Fall (when it's a little cooler - our air conditioner is "fixed", but it's under powered). If she wakes up more than once at night, I move her from her bassinet into her boppy pillow in bed with us. She usually does fine after that.
Ariella's been progressing with a LOT of things! She's sitting up unassisted for longer periods of time (maybe 4 seconds rather than 2 - lol). She's really working on mastering that. She likes to be upright. She's started laughing a lot. She had laughed a couple of times previously, but yesterday she laughed so much! She was on my lap in a chair in the study, and she apparently found our dog Merlin to be extremely hilarious! Tyree had his iPhone right on the desk, so we were able to get lots of video of her laughing.
She's continued to enjoy her swimming. A couple of times she didn't really enjoy it, but I figured out why. Her little tummy is too big for the swim diaper to come over it! The weight for the swim diaper is 16 - like 28lbs. She's under 17 lbs. So, there's no way we can go to the next size. So, what I'm doing now is folding the diaper down so that it sits below her belly. That worked well the last two times. She was back to smiling and squealing with delight in the water. She's also progressing with her underwater swims. I'm actually letting go for several seconds, and she kicks herself up to the surface!
Also, this weekend I tried the "baby ice cream". I got the idea from a mom on a newsgroup of Feb 2010 moms on a thread regarding ideas for using frozen BM. Essentially, you blend up frozen BM and serve. It was fun overall. I wound up wasting a LOT of milk, though, so I wouldn't advise anyone do this unless you have a big frozen surplus that you want to use. I essentially ruined an entire 5oz bag because I should have let it thaw more. I let it thaw just enough to be able to get it out of the bag and into my Power Chopper (like a Magic Bullet). Shortly after I started to blend it, I smelled a burning smell. The motor could not handle it. So, then I tried moving it to the regular blender. It did chop it up, but when I was taking it out, it smelled horrible! I guess it still had the burned smell from the chopper.
So, I dumped that out, washed the blender, and then took out another 5oz bag to let thaw longer. After like 30 minutes, I put that in the big blender. It worked with no burning this time. So, we got her in her high chair and Tyree had the video camera (this was a big deal since it's the first time she's eaten anything with a spoon - waiting on solids until 6 months). She ate several baby spoons of it! She didn't spit anything out. A little bit did run out of her mouth, though. It seemed to me, though, that she started to get frustrated that she couldn't eat it faster, but Tyree was worried that she was getting brain freeze. So, we stopped the baby ice cream, and I nursed her. Fun experiment, but she ate maybe .25 - .5oz, so that was a lot of wasted milk.
Ariella had her 3rd photo shoot on Sunday. We did lots of family pictures, too, with it. I had been hesitant to do yet another picture session so soon, but she really changed between the 3 1/2 month pictures and now (5 months 1 week). Here's the link to the pictures:
http://gallery.joannajackson.com/v/baby_jackson_i/sears_photos_july_25__2010/
There's one where she's sitting up with her legs crossed. She looks like such a dainty little lady!
After the photo shoot, we went out to lunch at Houlihan's. This was Ariella's first time at a restaurant! We've been nervous about taking her to restaurants. Granted, she's not really a fussy baby normally, but I would hate to spoil other people's meal if she were to start screaming. But, she did great! We were hoping she'd just sleep the whole time - nope! She was awake the entire time. I did bring a bottle of breast milk for her, though, and I fed her throughout our meals. There was another table close by, and a little boy (maybe 2-3 years old) was crying quite a lot. Even with that, though, Ariella didn't cry at all. We were so proud of her.
This past week, though, she's started waking up more (although she doesn't eat when she wakes up - I just give her the pacifier). I'm wondering if it's because her bassinet is getting pretty small for her. We're going to wait to do the transition to her crib until the Fall (when it's a little cooler - our air conditioner is "fixed", but it's under powered). If she wakes up more than once at night, I move her from her bassinet into her boppy pillow in bed with us. She usually does fine after that.
Ariella's been progressing with a LOT of things! She's sitting up unassisted for longer periods of time (maybe 4 seconds rather than 2 - lol). She's really working on mastering that. She likes to be upright. She's started laughing a lot. She had laughed a couple of times previously, but yesterday she laughed so much! She was on my lap in a chair in the study, and she apparently found our dog Merlin to be extremely hilarious! Tyree had his iPhone right on the desk, so we were able to get lots of video of her laughing.
She's continued to enjoy her swimming. A couple of times she didn't really enjoy it, but I figured out why. Her little tummy is too big for the swim diaper to come over it! The weight for the swim diaper is 16 - like 28lbs. She's under 17 lbs. So, there's no way we can go to the next size. So, what I'm doing now is folding the diaper down so that it sits below her belly. That worked well the last two times. She was back to smiling and squealing with delight in the water. She's also progressing with her underwater swims. I'm actually letting go for several seconds, and she kicks herself up to the surface!
Also, this weekend I tried the "baby ice cream". I got the idea from a mom on a newsgroup of Feb 2010 moms on a thread regarding ideas for using frozen BM. Essentially, you blend up frozen BM and serve. It was fun overall. I wound up wasting a LOT of milk, though, so I wouldn't advise anyone do this unless you have a big frozen surplus that you want to use. I essentially ruined an entire 5oz bag because I should have let it thaw more. I let it thaw just enough to be able to get it out of the bag and into my Power Chopper (like a Magic Bullet). Shortly after I started to blend it, I smelled a burning smell. The motor could not handle it. So, then I tried moving it to the regular blender. It did chop it up, but when I was taking it out, it smelled horrible! I guess it still had the burned smell from the chopper.
So, I dumped that out, washed the blender, and then took out another 5oz bag to let thaw longer. After like 30 minutes, I put that in the big blender. It worked with no burning this time. So, we got her in her high chair and Tyree had the video camera (this was a big deal since it's the first time she's eaten anything with a spoon - waiting on solids until 6 months). She ate several baby spoons of it! She didn't spit anything out. A little bit did run out of her mouth, though. It seemed to me, though, that she started to get frustrated that she couldn't eat it faster, but Tyree was worried that she was getting brain freeze. So, we stopped the baby ice cream, and I nursed her. Fun experiment, but she ate maybe .25 - .5oz, so that was a lot of wasted milk.
Ariella had her 3rd photo shoot on Sunday. We did lots of family pictures, too, with it. I had been hesitant to do yet another picture session so soon, but she really changed between the 3 1/2 month pictures and now (5 months 1 week). Here's the link to the pictures:
http://gallery.joannajackson.com/v/baby_jackson_i/sears_photos_july_25__2010/
There's one where she's sitting up with her legs crossed. She looks like such a dainty little lady!
After the photo shoot, we went out to lunch at Houlihan's. This was Ariella's first time at a restaurant! We've been nervous about taking her to restaurants. Granted, she's not really a fussy baby normally, but I would hate to spoil other people's meal if she were to start screaming. But, she did great! We were hoping she'd just sleep the whole time - nope! She was awake the entire time. I did bring a bottle of breast milk for her, though, and I fed her throughout our meals. There was another table close by, and a little boy (maybe 2-3 years old) was crying quite a lot. Even with that, though, Ariella didn't cry at all. We were so proud of her.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Sleeping Through the Night! Yay!
Ariella has been sleeping through the night for the past 5 nights! It's been super nice with the 4th of July holiday. I've been able to nurse rather than pumping (although I've been pumping once early each morning when she stirs (around 4:30am)). But, I stick the pacifier back in her mouth to keep her sleeping until around 5:15-5:30am. She has been having her last feeding between 8 - 9pm. Sometimes she is even sleeping before that, but I make sure to get her up to feed her one last time before she's asleep for the night.
I don't think it's anything that I did specifically. I think she just became ready on her own. I am doing one thing differently, though. I'm making sure she eats more during the day. Maybe the crazy night after she had slept through the night twice in a row was because she was hungry after two days of not eating enough! So, while I've been home, I make sure to nurse her on both sides at all feedings. Even if she falls asleep on the boob, I make sure to take her off, burp her (which wakes her up), and then I offer the other side (which she almost always takes). Then, a lot of times she'll fall asleep on that side as well after actively eating for a while.
Now that I'm back at work, I've increased the amounts that I leave her for during the day. I had been leaving 3 bottles (5oz, 4.5oz, 4.5oz). I had upped that to 3 bottles (5oz each). Now, I'm leaving between 5.5-6oz per bottle. So, between those 3 bottles, 2 nursing sessions in the morning (5:30am and 7:30am), and 2-3 nursing sessions after work, I'm hoping that will be enough. It was a lot easier when I was home all day. I made sure to feed her every 2-3 hours if she was interested, and I tried to feed her when she first started acting hungry (not waiting until she would cry). I'm hoping she'll have enough to eat while I'm away at work, though. I don't really want to have to try to leave an extra bottle (and my bottles only hold 6oz when they're filled almost to the brim, so I can't go any more than that without buying bigger bottles). Plus, it would be a lot of pressure on me to be able to pump an entire extra bottle for the 4 workdays away from home. At least she'll be starting solid foods at 6 months. That can hopefully add a few calories for her during the day.
But, I'm very excited! What a milestone! Keep your fingers crossed for me that she can keep it up!
I don't think it's anything that I did specifically. I think she just became ready on her own. I am doing one thing differently, though. I'm making sure she eats more during the day. Maybe the crazy night after she had slept through the night twice in a row was because she was hungry after two days of not eating enough! So, while I've been home, I make sure to nurse her on both sides at all feedings. Even if she falls asleep on the boob, I make sure to take her off, burp her (which wakes her up), and then I offer the other side (which she almost always takes). Then, a lot of times she'll fall asleep on that side as well after actively eating for a while.
Now that I'm back at work, I've increased the amounts that I leave her for during the day. I had been leaving 3 bottles (5oz, 4.5oz, 4.5oz). I had upped that to 3 bottles (5oz each). Now, I'm leaving between 5.5-6oz per bottle. So, between those 3 bottles, 2 nursing sessions in the morning (5:30am and 7:30am), and 2-3 nursing sessions after work, I'm hoping that will be enough. It was a lot easier when I was home all day. I made sure to feed her every 2-3 hours if she was interested, and I tried to feed her when she first started acting hungry (not waiting until she would cry). I'm hoping she'll have enough to eat while I'm away at work, though. I don't really want to have to try to leave an extra bottle (and my bottles only hold 6oz when they're filled almost to the brim, so I can't go any more than that without buying bigger bottles). Plus, it would be a lot of pressure on me to be able to pump an entire extra bottle for the 4 workdays away from home. At least she'll be starting solid foods at 6 months. That can hopefully add a few calories for her during the day.
But, I'm very excited! What a milestone! Keep your fingers crossed for me that she can keep it up!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Better Sleep Night Last Night
Ariella did better than a normal night last night regarding sleep, although the early evening was strange from the time we got home from work (6:30pm - we were a bit late, normally we're home by 6pm). So, I fed her straight away. She ate from both sides for a decent amount of time - but periodically she would unlatch and scream! So, it was a non-peaceful nursing session. Maybe she was too hungry? Or upset that we were late?
She slept for about 15 minutes after nodding off while nursing. Then she woke up and started screaming again. (And, by that I mean not constant screaming for minutes or anything, but several screams until we could distract her, but then back to screaming when what we tried didn't work anymore.) So, I did different things with her - playing, carrying, rocking, even infant tylenol. I couldn't tell if she was sad, mad, or in pain. Finally I fed her again around 8pm. She ate quite well from both sides. Then, she started screaming again, so we took her for a car ride while we went to pick up dinner. She was asleep by the time we got home. We kept her in her carrier, and put her right outside our bedroom as we started to eat. She woke up maybe 10 minutes later, so we put her in her boppy pillow on our bed next to us. That didn't work - more screaming. So, I picked her up and took her on a walk around the house. Then, I got the idea to put her in her swing! She fell asleep within 10 minutes - no fussing at all. Tyree got her an hour or so later (when we were going to sleep) and put her in her bassinet. She slept until 3:30am! Yay! Then, I fed her (one side) and pumped the other. Then, she slept until 6:00am (fed her again). And then she was up at 7:30am, when I fed her for her last feed before I left for work.
So, it was strange about the screaming, but the night-time was quite peaceful. And, she skipped her 1:30am wake-up time, so yay me! I might have soothed her back to sleep a couple of times, but nothing major. We'll have to see when it's a good time to move her to her crib - definitely not when we have to go to work the next day. Lol! But, I consider last night definitely one of my better sleep days.
She slept for about 15 minutes after nodding off while nursing. Then she woke up and started screaming again. (And, by that I mean not constant screaming for minutes or anything, but several screams until we could distract her, but then back to screaming when what we tried didn't work anymore.) So, I did different things with her - playing, carrying, rocking, even infant tylenol. I couldn't tell if she was sad, mad, or in pain. Finally I fed her again around 8pm. She ate quite well from both sides. Then, she started screaming again, so we took her for a car ride while we went to pick up dinner. She was asleep by the time we got home. We kept her in her carrier, and put her right outside our bedroom as we started to eat. She woke up maybe 10 minutes later, so we put her in her boppy pillow on our bed next to us. That didn't work - more screaming. So, I picked her up and took her on a walk around the house. Then, I got the idea to put her in her swing! She fell asleep within 10 minutes - no fussing at all. Tyree got her an hour or so later (when we were going to sleep) and put her in her bassinet. She slept until 3:30am! Yay! Then, I fed her (one side) and pumped the other. Then, she slept until 6:00am (fed her again). And then she was up at 7:30am, when I fed her for her last feed before I left for work.
So, it was strange about the screaming, but the night-time was quite peaceful. And, she skipped her 1:30am wake-up time, so yay me! I might have soothed her back to sleep a couple of times, but nothing major. We'll have to see when it's a good time to move her to her crib - definitely not when we have to go to work the next day. Lol! But, I consider last night definitely one of my better sleep days.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Crazy Night-time Issues!
My poor boobies! This week has really been ridiculously inconsistent regarding night feedings and pumping sessions.
Ariella had her 5 vaccinations at her 4 month check-up on Saturday morning. Since then, it's been very crazy at night. Normally, I feed her around 9-10pm (after a nap starting around 7:30-8:30pm). And, then she wakes up to eat around 1:30am, 3:30am, and 5:30am. And, then she eats between 7:30-8am before I go to work.
Well, both Saturday and Sunday nights she slept through the night! I'm talking 9-10pm to 5:30am! This was great for me for sleep. Early Sunday morning I didn't pump over-night (since I was sleeping!), but early Monday morning overnight I wound up pumping twice because of feeling uncomfortable. I got 10 oz, though! And, my milk pumping Monday continued to be freakishly high for me. I got 25.75oz total! The most I had ever gotten before in one day was 20.75oz.
But, then Monday night came...
It was HORRIBLE! She kept waking up in her bassinet every 45-60 minutes. I tried to sooth her in her crib most of the times, but I wound up feeding her overnight 3 times! And, then in the morning, she ate at 5:30am, 7am, AND 8am! Crazy stuff.
I was practically crying before work when Abuela (Spanish for Grandmother) arrived to take care of Ariella during the day. She felt sorry for me and offered to stay the night to take care of Ariella so that I could get some sleep. Maybe not so well-thought-out, but I happily accepted. It actually turned out pretty well for me. I went to sleep around 10pm (although Tyree wanted to watch tv, so that kept me up longer than it would have taken me to fall asleep even though I wasn't watching the show). Ariella was crying/fussing quite a bit (that also kept me up). Abuela was tending to her, so it wasn't a cry-it-out situation, but she was still loud and not asleep.
This was the first time Ariella slept somewhere other than in our room at night, so I'm sure it was a big change for her. We had the baby monitor on, with one receiver in our room and one for his mom in the guest room. Plus, there were fireworks going off for a while, too. Around 11pm, I asked Tyree how long we were going to let it go on before rescuing his mom. In my head I was thinking midnight. But, things either got quiet before that or I fell asleep, or who knows.
Around 2am, Ariella woke up crying. Tyree ran upstairs to help with the diaper change, and his mom warmed a bottle of my breast milk (I told her she could give 1 5oz bottle, but if Ariella needed to eat more, that I would need to nurse her.) So, she ate around 2am. I stayed in bed! It was such a strange concept for me, since I've done all the night-time feedings/soothings up until last night.
Tyree's mom said that she went back to sleep in her crib (don't know the details of that) and woke up around 5:30am. At that time, she got Ariella and brought her into the guest bedroom with her. She slept there until around 6:30am, when I came and got her to nurse.
I pumped a bit over 5oz from one side around 6am, and just 1.5oz from the other side (could have gotten way more, but I wanted to leave some for Ariella since I knew I would be feeding her soon). But, I had leaked like crazy over night! Leaked through the breast pad, bra, and shirt. So, that wasn't super fun. I fed Ariella at 6am and then at 7:45am before leaving for work.
Tyree's mom said that she thinks Ariella is still too little to sleep through the night and to sleep by herself in the crib! I think that's hilarious! But, it makes me feel good, like she approves of how we've been dealing with nights. It's been a crazy ride.
I'm worried about messing up my supply. My pumping numbers the day after the horrible sleep night were low. And, then I allowed an extra bottle the very next night after not having pumped well that day! Today's numbers are better. I'm not sure if I'll "make up" for the extra 5oz, but it should be close. I have plenty of milk, since I pump in the early morning on the weekends and usually don't use it. Plus, I pumped the crazy 25+ oz day on Monday. But, I don't want to tank my supply. I always like to pump as much as she drinks from bottles that same day.
It will be interesting to see what happens with her sleep tonight!
Ariella had her 5 vaccinations at her 4 month check-up on Saturday morning. Since then, it's been very crazy at night. Normally, I feed her around 9-10pm (after a nap starting around 7:30-8:30pm). And, then she wakes up to eat around 1:30am, 3:30am, and 5:30am. And, then she eats between 7:30-8am before I go to work.
Well, both Saturday and Sunday nights she slept through the night! I'm talking 9-10pm to 5:30am! This was great for me for sleep. Early Sunday morning I didn't pump over-night (since I was sleeping!), but early Monday morning overnight I wound up pumping twice because of feeling uncomfortable. I got 10 oz, though! And, my milk pumping Monday continued to be freakishly high for me. I got 25.75oz total! The most I had ever gotten before in one day was 20.75oz.
But, then Monday night came...
It was HORRIBLE! She kept waking up in her bassinet every 45-60 minutes. I tried to sooth her in her crib most of the times, but I wound up feeding her overnight 3 times! And, then in the morning, she ate at 5:30am, 7am, AND 8am! Crazy stuff.
I was practically crying before work when Abuela (Spanish for Grandmother) arrived to take care of Ariella during the day. She felt sorry for me and offered to stay the night to take care of Ariella so that I could get some sleep. Maybe not so well-thought-out, but I happily accepted. It actually turned out pretty well for me. I went to sleep around 10pm (although Tyree wanted to watch tv, so that kept me up longer than it would have taken me to fall asleep even though I wasn't watching the show). Ariella was crying/fussing quite a bit (that also kept me up). Abuela was tending to her, so it wasn't a cry-it-out situation, but she was still loud and not asleep.
This was the first time Ariella slept somewhere other than in our room at night, so I'm sure it was a big change for her. We had the baby monitor on, with one receiver in our room and one for his mom in the guest room. Plus, there were fireworks going off for a while, too. Around 11pm, I asked Tyree how long we were going to let it go on before rescuing his mom. In my head I was thinking midnight. But, things either got quiet before that or I fell asleep, or who knows.
Around 2am, Ariella woke up crying. Tyree ran upstairs to help with the diaper change, and his mom warmed a bottle of my breast milk (I told her she could give 1 5oz bottle, but if Ariella needed to eat more, that I would need to nurse her.) So, she ate around 2am. I stayed in bed! It was such a strange concept for me, since I've done all the night-time feedings/soothings up until last night.
Tyree's mom said that she went back to sleep in her crib (don't know the details of that) and woke up around 5:30am. At that time, she got Ariella and brought her into the guest bedroom with her. She slept there until around 6:30am, when I came and got her to nurse.
I pumped a bit over 5oz from one side around 6am, and just 1.5oz from the other side (could have gotten way more, but I wanted to leave some for Ariella since I knew I would be feeding her soon). But, I had leaked like crazy over night! Leaked through the breast pad, bra, and shirt. So, that wasn't super fun. I fed Ariella at 6am and then at 7:45am before leaving for work.
Tyree's mom said that she thinks Ariella is still too little to sleep through the night and to sleep by herself in the crib! I think that's hilarious! But, it makes me feel good, like she approves of how we've been dealing with nights. It's been a crazy ride.
I'm worried about messing up my supply. My pumping numbers the day after the horrible sleep night were low. And, then I allowed an extra bottle the very next night after not having pumped well that day! Today's numbers are better. I'm not sure if I'll "make up" for the extra 5oz, but it should be close. I have plenty of milk, since I pump in the early morning on the weekends and usually don't use it. Plus, I pumped the crazy 25+ oz day on Monday. But, I don't want to tank my supply. I always like to pump as much as she drinks from bottles that same day.
It will be interesting to see what happens with her sleep tonight!
4 Month Doctor's Appointment
We had Ariella's 4 month appointment this past weekend (a little over a week after her 4 month birthday).
Here are her stats:
Weight: 15 lbs, 12 oz (75th percentile)
Height: 24 3/4 inches (50-75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 16 3/4 inches (50-75th percentile)
The doctor said that she's very proportional and is growing great!
She asked us if we had started Ariella on solids yet, and I said we were planning on waiting until 6 months, as is recommended. And, the pediatrician said that was fine, so no issues there. She asked if Ariella was sleeping through the night yet, and we said no - that she wakes up 1-3 times a night. She said that Ariella should be starting to sleep through the night soon. I asked her what she meant by "sleeping through the night", and she said 7:30pm - 7:00am!
Boy, that's a far cry from where we are. She said "you might need to let her fuss a little to get her to go to sleep". I'm definitely not a fan of "Cry It Out", so we'll have to see how it goes. I had bought Ariella a new crib mobile with a projector on it (that several moms recommended on my What To Expect messageboard). And, we have the baby monitors. So, we'll have to see when we want to do the transition to the crib.
Back to the appointment - The doctor checked her hip mobility, which was great. We mentioned that it seemed like her tear duct was still clogged. She said that it clears up for the majority of babies with that by 6 months. After that, a smaller percentage will clear up by 12 months. But, then she would probably need to have it un-clogged. So, hopefully hers will clear up very soon.
And, we asked her about Ariella's eyes crossing occasionally still. (As some background, my dad had 1 lazy eye and had to have surgery to correct it. And, Eileen (a cousin) had an eye problem that could have been corrected if it had been caught in infancy, but because it went undetected until age 5, it could not be fixed. She said it was a problem as a result of steroids that her mom had to take for her while pregnant. Well, at week 19, they gave me steroids to boost her lung development during the pre-term labor scare. So, I want to stay on top of potential eye problems.) Dr. Panasci said that when she shined the light in Ariella's eyes, that her pupils responded appropriately and in line, but that if we were still noticing a problem (I can't remember if she said at 6 months or at 1 year), that we could schedule a specialist eye appointment. I think I'm going to push for that regardless of whether or not we notice her eyes crossing, just to be on the safe side.
And, then came the vaccines - the second dose of the same 5 she got at her 2 month visit. She was a champ, just like last time. She did cry, and her right leg bled more than it should have (the nurse had to check it an extra time), but it was ok. I nursed her afterwards, and she was asleep after a few minutes when we were in the car.
Overall, an excellent visit!
Here are her stats:
Weight: 15 lbs, 12 oz (75th percentile)
Height: 24 3/4 inches (50-75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 16 3/4 inches (50-75th percentile)
The doctor said that she's very proportional and is growing great!
She asked us if we had started Ariella on solids yet, and I said we were planning on waiting until 6 months, as is recommended. And, the pediatrician said that was fine, so no issues there. She asked if Ariella was sleeping through the night yet, and we said no - that she wakes up 1-3 times a night. She said that Ariella should be starting to sleep through the night soon. I asked her what she meant by "sleeping through the night", and she said 7:30pm - 7:00am!
Boy, that's a far cry from where we are. She said "you might need to let her fuss a little to get her to go to sleep". I'm definitely not a fan of "Cry It Out", so we'll have to see how it goes. I had bought Ariella a new crib mobile with a projector on it (that several moms recommended on my What To Expect messageboard). And, we have the baby monitors. So, we'll have to see when we want to do the transition to the crib.
Back to the appointment - The doctor checked her hip mobility, which was great. We mentioned that it seemed like her tear duct was still clogged. She said that it clears up for the majority of babies with that by 6 months. After that, a smaller percentage will clear up by 12 months. But, then she would probably need to have it un-clogged. So, hopefully hers will clear up very soon.
And, we asked her about Ariella's eyes crossing occasionally still. (As some background, my dad had 1 lazy eye and had to have surgery to correct it. And, Eileen (a cousin) had an eye problem that could have been corrected if it had been caught in infancy, but because it went undetected until age 5, it could not be fixed. She said it was a problem as a result of steroids that her mom had to take for her while pregnant. Well, at week 19, they gave me steroids to boost her lung development during the pre-term labor scare. So, I want to stay on top of potential eye problems.) Dr. Panasci said that when she shined the light in Ariella's eyes, that her pupils responded appropriately and in line, but that if we were still noticing a problem (I can't remember if she said at 6 months or at 1 year), that we could schedule a specialist eye appointment. I think I'm going to push for that regardless of whether or not we notice her eyes crossing, just to be on the safe side.
And, then came the vaccines - the second dose of the same 5 she got at her 2 month visit. She was a champ, just like last time. She did cry, and her right leg bled more than it should have (the nurse had to check it an extra time), but it was ok. I nursed her afterwards, and she was asleep after a few minutes when we were in the car.
Overall, an excellent visit!
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