His appointment, although it is sort of a blur, went fine. I talked about Lily too much and came home feeling really guilty for giving off the impression that Ben is a second class citizen around here. He isn't of course, my day revolves around him just as much as it does my busy toddler. The pediatrician didn't say anything and it is entirely possible that I am making something out of nothing, but man that mommy guilt is no joke. In any case the pediatrician said that overall Ben looks great. Her only comment was that he had dropped a little in his weigh percentile. Like I said I don't have the sheet but she mentioned that he had dropped from something like the 70th percentile to the 50th. She emphasized that she was not concerned but wanted to make sure Ben was still nursing well. Of course the control freak in me wants to nurse him every five minutes to try and fatten him up. Matt reminded me no less than 5 times last night that he isn't too small or skinny he just didn't gain as much weight between appointments this time. Deep breaths.
Is it too late to change the tone of this post?
Ben is tipping the scale at 14lbs 10oz and the nurse measured him at 25in long, but I think he was a little diagonal on the table so he may actually be a little longer.
Feeding: Little man LOVES to eat. He gets a 4-5oz bottle in the morning from Dad around 7am. As soon as I arrive on the scene he is ready to nurse again, even if it has only been an hour and half. He nurses a third time for good measure before his morning nap at 10. In the afternoon he is content to nurse a little less frequently and usually nurses only when he gets up from his nap and then again before his afternoon nap at 3. He had been having a small snack at 5 but for the past week or so I have been trying to cut out that feeding because I felt like he didn't need it (hmmm, maybe he does?). At 7pm he takes another bottle from dad, this time is it 7oz! This holds him over for quite awhile and he usually nurses once at some point during the night. In summary that is 2 bottles and 5-6 nursing sessions in a given day. My best estimation is that he eats 26-28oz a day. For now I am still holding off on solids. Like I said, the pediatrician was not worried and little dude still has his tongue thrust reflex which says to me he is not ready.
Sleeping: Getting Ben in a sleeping schedule has been by far the hardest part of the past few months. Before heading home to Maine for a week in August I decided that Ben was ready for a little cry it out sleep training. The result - a whole new baby! The first few days were really rough but as soon as he started soothing himself to sleep at nap time it was like someone flipped a switch. As of now Ben takes two great naps during the day. The first nap in the morning is usually a marathon (which is exactly what Lily used to do) some days he sleeps for 3 hours. The afternoon nap is usually shorter, an hour and a half or so...I wake him up by 5 at the latest so that he will go to bed on time. Matt and I have the double trouble bed time routine pretty much nailed down and both kids are snuggled in their beds by 7:30. Right now Ben is sleeping in the pack and play in the guestroom though the pediatrician said I should think about putting the kids together sooner rather than later. It is just that Ben is such a light sleeper! Before Matt and I go to bed we always go in and check on the kids. When Lily was this age not only was she sleeping through the night but we would do a diaper change around 11pm so that she wouldn't wake up soaked. If we even attempted more than a quick kiss on the head Ben would wake up like a cannon had gone off and be ready to rock and roll. Needless to say we are very careful not to wake him. Most nights he sleeps until 2:30 at which point I go in and give him a kiss, readjust the swaddle and reinsert the pacifier, and assure him that I am still on the planet... this buys me 2 more hours of sleep. At 4:30 he nurses and usually goes back down quietly until 7ish. The pediatrician really urged me to stop getting up with him at 2:30, which went over like a lead balloon last night. He fussed off and on from 1:45 to 3:30 at which point I could take it anymore, tried to nurse him, but he kept falling asleep, only to have him wake up again at 4:45 and cry/fuss until 5:30. I nursed him again and he slept until 7:30. It was a long night. I might try nursing him at the 2:30 wake up and see if that will hold him over until 7. I have a feeling we are a long way away from the blissful days of having two children who sleep through the night.
Likes: Lily, nursing for hours, the playmat, Lily, the yellow and black crinkle block, getting licked by the dog, Lily, the "escape proof swaddle" (youtube it), being surprised, and most of all...Lily.
Dislikes: Getting too tired while laying on tummy, being put down in or on something that doesn't move, that "flailing" feeling.
Ben is a super smiley baby and when he isn't overtired he doesn't hesitate to spend most of his waking hours knocking me over with that big gummy grin. Whats more - he is SO ticklish! It is a riot to give him a bath or change his clothes. He laughs and squirms so much that you can tell it is almost too much for him to take.
He is meeting all of his "developmental milestones" and sometimes I can't believe how strong he is. He has full head control most of the time, he can roll both ways, and can prop himself up on his little chicken wings. In the last few days we have also observed him dropping his paci, looking for it, grabbing it out of my hand, and then the big finish...getting it back in his mouth!
There are a million more things I want to write down so that I never forget them but they will have to wait. I did well to write this much with one hand while Ben napped and I played mommy doll with my "free" hand.
Next stop, the start of fall. I can hardly believe it.
Do NOT stress about him dropping in percentiles---totally normal and expected at the 4 month mark for breastfed babies. This is the time when BF babies level off and formula fed babies don't always---so the growth charts aren't always a clear indication of 'average' growth when used on BF babes. My Ped says as long as they don't drop from 70th to 5th or something, it's totally normal and fine. Keep on doing what you are doing!!
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