1 month dr appointment

Aedan's 1 month check-up was yesterday and overall it was good, but we did have a list of things of things to review with him.

As I mentioned in his 1 month post, he weighs 10lbs 11.5oz and is almost 23 inches.  That's almost 1 pound gained since his 2 week appointment.  He also weighs more than Brody did at a month by 10oz.  My little chunker!

Other items covered:

1. Dairy Allergy - We went over all the symptoms we saw from Aedan once I introduced a little cheese into my diet.  The pediatrician agreed that it sounded like dairy allergy, though he was as surprised as us that Aedan reacted as quickly as he did.  He was sympathetic to how annoying not eating dairy is, but re-iterated that as long as I can hang in there, breastfeeding is the best thing for Aedan right now.  However, when/if we need formula, Nutramigen is our next step.  It's hypoallergenic formula that worked great for Brody, so hopefully it would work just as well for Aedan when the time comes.

2. Reflux - It's pretty typical for babies to have reflux because they're systems are still immature.  I described the reflux-type symptoms I was seeing from Aedan to get his advice if we should do anything.  Aedan arches his back almost everytime he's done eating, he grunts when he lays down after eating and it often sounds like it is bothering him, though he doesn't scream his head off or anything.  I also hear him spitting-up, but it just sits in the back of his throat and he gags on it a little.  This always freaks me out, so while I know he's okay, it worries me.  So he prescibed zantac and we'll give it a try for a month and see how it goes.

3. Other - Second Hepatitis shot (cried for a second and then quickly got over it), next appointment at 2 months (where he'll get a lot more shots), and quick reminder that Brody needs his flu shot.  Overall a good appointment and hoping that the medicine will make Aedan more comfortable. 

2 Week Check-Up

Today we had Aedan's 2 week check-up.  The most important part of the appointment was finding out if he gained his birthweight back.  We struggled with Brody gaining weight, so I've been worried constantly about how often he's eating and if he's growing.  But like the many differences between my two pregnancies, they are obviously different children and will have many differences.

The funny thing is, you'd think we've been through this before and we wouldn't have many questions for the pediatrician...yet, I had a list of them.  I don't think you ever become an expert at this!

First, he's at 9lbs 13oz.  Woohoo!  That's up 1 lb in less than two weeks (he went down to 8lbs 13.5oz at 4 days).  He's 22.5 inches long.  That's the same length as Brody at 2 weeks but more than a pound bigger than he was.  Aedan's going to be my little chunky monkey and I love it.  I don't know if giving up dairy helped him gain weight (he doesn't spit-up nearly what Brody did), but if it has, it's totally worth it.  Next, I plan to phase in small amounts of dairy and see if it affects him.  Also, I can stop waking him up in the middle of the night for feedings.  I'm so sick of hearing my alarm at 1am and then trying to convince a sleeping baby to eat, so I am very excited about that!

Then we went through our list of questions/concerns:
1. Aedan has a cold.  Ick.  2 weeks old.  We've been monitoring his temp and he isn't running a fever.  The doc listened to his lungs and has no concerns.  Just need to keep up what we're doing (clearing his nose, humidifier, etc.), and we're pretty much experts at colds by now having Brody in daycare.  It does freak me out when Aedan starts gasping for air because he's so stuffed up, but we just have to keep doing what we're doing and wait it out.  Jason had a cold last week and managed to infect the whole household.  So aside from Aedan having a cold, Brody & I got it as well.  Not fun. 

2. Aedan's hearing.  Tuesday, we took him to the hospital to repeat the hearing test they do when he's first born.  His left ear failed on day 2, but since a lot of times this is due to fluid from birth, they just re-test to determine if it's an issue.  Happy to report that he passed with flying colors.

3. Aedan's eyes.  His right eye keeps turning inward, making him look cross-eyed at times.  The doc says this is totally normal for 2 weeks, but if it keeps up by 1 month we'll take a closer eye on it.

4. Umbilical cord.  It fell off last week, but still bleeds from time to time.  Again, it's apparently normal and said it actually looks really good.

Overall a good check-up!  We head back at 1 month, when he'll have to get more vaccines, poor guy.

Worn out from the appointment, napping in his carseat

First week down

Aedan's first week was eventful (you know - being born and everything), yet uneventful (sleep, eat, repeat) at the same time.  All in all though, it's going great.

Aedan:
We left the hospital at 27 hours old and he's been doing great ever since. He's a sleeper like his brother, forcing me to wake him at night to eat instead of waking on his own. A couple times he's woken to eat, around 3 1/2 hours after his last feeding. It's a pretty good span of time allowing me to get 2-3 hours of straight sleep at a time.







He dropped to 9lbs by the time we left the hospital (from 9.5) and then was down to 8lbs 13.5oz by 4 days old.  I'm constantly worried about the weight loss, since Brody was a slow gainer.  But the pediatrician didn't seem nearly as worried this time, since Aedan only lost about 7% of his weight, where as Brody lost more like 11% of his birth weight.  So, if doctor isn't worried, I'm trying not to worry.

So far, his interests include: eating, sleeping, peeing on his parents, and pooping on the changing table.  It's a very exciting life around here.

Brody:

Brody is very very excited to be a big brother.  He loves Aedan, which means he loves touching him, getting in his face and wants to hold him constantly.  Unfortunately, he doesn't understand how fragile babies are, so we have to keep close eye on him.  We already had a baseball incident in the house and luckily Aedan was okay. 

He is definitely a little more difficult these days, looking for attention (good and bad), so we're needing to pull out a little more patience than normal.  But it's completely understandable since he's used to having 100% of our attention and now has to share it.

Me:
I can honestly say, I don't feel like I gave birth 7 days ago.  I actually feel pretty good.  Sleep-deprived, but good.  My post-birth experience with Brody was less than stellar.  I had a lot more pain and had a few days I could do nothing but feed Brody.  I feel very very lucky that things are going better this time.  I had no idea how I would handle a two-year old and a baby when I could barely take care of myself.  Thank god I don't need to figure that out.  Jason has been super helpful in allowing me to still take it easy (I'm not up and running quite yet...), but hasn't had to take on all of the burden.  He only got a week off of work this time instead of 2 1/2, so I'm officially on my own anyway.

I also knew that I would need to ease into the transition of two kids, so we've taken it slow.  My first week home, Jason was also home and Brody was in daycare during the day.  For the next 3-4 weeks Brody will continue going to daycare, allowing bonding time with Aedan and Brody to still get his energy out.  I'm hoping by 4-5 weeks old, Aedan will be a little more predictable, allowing the three of us to get out and do more during the day.  I know Brody will miss going to daycare every day, but it will save us money, while hopefully I can keep him entertained at home as well.  (Anyone with suggestions of things to do during the day with little ones - send them my way!)  Luckily we have a good Children's museum and at least for awhile the weather nice enough to go to the zoo.  Keep your fingers crossed that Aedan starts sleeping through the night as early as Brody did!  (I hope I didn't just jinx myself...)

Aedan Andrew's Birth Story

I'll try to keep it from getting too long, but here is the story of Aedan's arrival!  (I'll keep the gory details to a minimum - but for those that don't want to hear the details of labor, may want to skip this one)

Aedan was due to arrive September 20th, but not surprising, he didn't come on time.  At my 40w appointment, we discussed induction and when was the right time.  He said he'd prefer to induce no later than 41 weeks, which would be Sept 27th, but I could pick any day between now and then.  At this point, I'd been having contractions for a week, mostly in the middle of the night, but never enough to progress into labor.  I was this close to having him induce me the next morning.  I was done.  I also knew that Aedan was another big baby (Brody was 8lbs 14oz), so I didn't want to let him get too much bigger!

Instead we settled on 4 days late, Monday morning.  I was positive that Aedan would come over the weekend (I mean it had already been a week of contractions!), so I didn't think we'd need the induction.  I was wrong.  The weekend came and went and no baby. 

Monday, September 24th

Enjoyed our last morning as a family of three, took a few pictures and then took Brody to daycare.  In case things didn't work-out as planned, we didn't want to tell Brody anything, so he went to daycare clueless as to what was going on.

7:45 - Arrived at hospital, got hooked up to monitors and IV.  Contractions were about 8-10 minutes apart, but weren't strong enough to be considered real labor.  But the good news is that my body was at least showing that it was ready for labor.  Took three pokes to get my IV started (lovely!) but finally got it going.

9:15 - Pitocin started flowing (medicine to induce).  Contractions got closer together, but it was a low enough dose that they weren't too painful yet.

9:45 - OB comes to visit & break my water.  Tells me I'm about 1-2 cms dialated, 50% effaced (thinness) and -2 station (+2 is when the baby is ready to go).  I was 1cm dialated at my appointment on Thursday, so I was really annoyed that in 4 days my body didn't do anything.

Then, he breaks my water.  This was awful.  Apparently mine was a little tougher than normal.  There was a point where I think he actually thought he wouldn't be able to do it.  By the end of it, I was in tears.  But I knew that this was nothing compared to contractions, so I just considered it prep.

Lots of discussion at this point about how long it was going to be.  Clearly Jason was worried about whether or not he'd miss the Monday night football game, since the Packers were playing.  Sheesh.  The generally consensus was that I'd probably deliver by kick-off, but not much before that.  Jason was hoping to hear it would be by 4:00, the OB laughed.

OB also said whenever I wanted to get the epidural, that I was fine to go ahead and do so.

11:00 - Heaven.  In other words, epidural.  The contractions started coming 1-2 minutes apart after he broke my water.  Since I had to be monitored to make sure that Aedan didn't react poorly to the lack of fluid, I couldn't walk around much to manage the pain.  I tried a couple different things, but was in enough pain to get the epi.  I always knew I would get it, so it was just a matter of when.

After that, I layed in bed, relaxing, facebooking etc.  I could sometimes feel the contractions, but it just felt like tightness without any pain. 

1:30 - Nurse came in to check my progress.  I was hoping for some good news that things were progressing faster than expected.  (one can hope - right?!?)  I was 4cms, 80% effaced, -1 station.  So, I was progressing right on track.  It looked like the dinner-time prediction by my OB was going to happen.

Nurse told me to turn on my side to get the baby moving down quicker.  I had been staying on my back because with the epi when I layed on my side the numbness went all into one leg.  But I turned on my side anyway.

2:30 - My left leg was numb and I could feel contractions on my right side.  Since I was getting uncomfortable, I turned to my right side.  This is easier said than done with an IV and two monitors with cords.  So flipped and layed there for about 10 minutes or so.

Despite flipping sides I was still very uncomfortable.  I felt a lot of pressure.  Mentioned it to the nurse and she asked if I needed to push?  I was like, well, no, I don't think so?  I never felt the need to push with Brody, so it wasn't something I expected.  Besides, it had only been an hour since I was 4cm.

2:45 - Um, nurse?  Yeah, kind of feels like I need to push...

3:00 - 9.5cms - get ready for baby!  (Seriously...5 1/2 cms in an hour??  I was in shock)

3:15ish- Nurses are all in the room, everything is set up, we're ready to go.  I'm trying everything I can to not push.  One nurse has me do a "practice-push" to see if we can get Aedan a little further down.

Jokes start about whether or not we're going to deliver the baby without the OB.  He still wasn't there yet...

Few minutes later... In runs my OB.  Apparently there was a miss in getting him the message.  His office is attached to the hospital, so there was no reason he shouldn't be there for the birth.  Once he checks that he didn't miss anything, he runs off to change.

3:30 - ready to push.  Started pushing Aedan out.  It was definitely different than with Brody and a lot more uncomfortable.  Let's just say I was motivated to get him out sooner than later.  OB did seem concerned at one point and said a couple of times that "IF he looked good when he came out that they'd put him on my chest right away" I was a little worried that he kept saying, "If..."

3:38 - Aedan Andrew arrives!  4 contractions, 8 minutes of pushing.  He was clearly a big baby.  Luckily he was doing great and came right up by his mommy.  However, his umbilical cord was pretty short.  He wasn't able to put him on top of me before cutting it.  Jay wasn't thrilled about cutting the cord to begin with, so he had no issue letting my OB cut it.

Let the jokes about how big he is begin...Oh, and the bets on the official weight. 

9lbs 8oz.  21 inches long (I'm waiting for the pediatrician to confirm this, I totally thought he was longer than Brody).

My OB also made a comment on how Aedan's APGAR score should be a 10 just because of how pink he was.  He was clearly thriving instantly.

The entire pregnancy has been more stressful and emotional for me.  Turns out the birth was to.  It was very uneventful and successful, but bringing him into the world definitely filled my heart in a different way than Brody.  With Brody, I didn't really know what was in front of us.  With Aedan, I really know what it is like to raise a little boy and love him so much. 

What I didn't know is that it's possible to love two little boys more than anything else in the world.

39 Week Doctor Appointment

Friday I had my 39 week appointment.  I found out sometime back that my OB was going to be on vacation this week, so even though I really want Aedan to join us, I am glad he didn't make his appearance while my OB was out.  So my appointment on Friday was with the OB that was on-call over the weekend, in case I ended up going into labor. 

Weight: Down 3.5lbs - yep, I lost exactly the amount I "gained" the week before.  It looks like I was really just retaining a ton of water.  So officially only up 27 lbs in 39 weeks.  I'm happy with that.

Blood Pressure: 110/60 - also back to a normal amount for me.  I'm a lot less worried about showing signs of pre-eclampsia now!
Heartbeat: Good - 140ish
Fundal Height: Fill-in OB actually measured me, she didn't tell me what it was, just that it was fine.

Labor Progress: I woke up with severe but sporadic contractions Friday morning.  Since I never had any contractions before I was in labor with Brody, I assumed that this was it!  I figured it had to send me into labor within the next 24 hours or so...right?!?  WRONG!  (Anyone ever heard of false labor? ugh.)

So at my appointment I told her about the contractions and she checked progress.  I was lower than last week, but still only about a cm.  Apparently my contractions weren't doing much.  Oh yeah, and it's now Tuesday and I'm still pregnant. 

Questions: I was also worried about how to tell if I'm leaking amniotic fluid or if I am just showing signs of dialation.  She did a quick check to make sure everything was still in tact, and reassured me that it was just my body progressing and nothing else to worry about.  So that was good news!

Then she just told me that if the contractions get closer together or stronger to come in and get checked again that afternoon.  Also reassured me that she's on-call all weekend, but she won't be offended if Aedan decided to hang out and wait for my regular OB.  :)

So obviously nothing happened.  The contractions eventually fizzled out.  Then started up again Friday night continued on and off until Monday night.  But they're pretty much the definitely of "false-labor."  They are all over the board for timing and never get stronger.  Some are pretty strong (wake me from dead-sleep) and then the next one will be weaker. 

So, I am still predicting that Aedan will follow his big brother's lead and keep his Mama waiting...impatiently waiting.

Drumroll please...

It's a BOY!

How we found out:

Overall, this pregnancy has been more stressful on me than the last.  On top of that/because of that, I haven't felt as connected to this baby has with Brody.  One night, during my exhaustion, I decided to start looking up places that do elective ultrasounds.  During my first pregnancy, I thought paying for an extra ultrasound was the dumbest thing ever.  Obviously this time around, I realized the value in doing one...

I did some research and made an appointment at the only place in our area that I could find.  They specifically do a gender determination ultrasound anytime after 16 weeks.  I scheduled ours for 16 weeks, 1 day.  I was really excited to find a way to connect with the baby, and on top of it, bring Brody with to see the baby.

We were lucky to get great pictures at the ultrasound and they were really nice and patient in getting him to the right position.  We even got several 3D pictures.  He was stubborn at first, but we got him in the right position eventually.  Originaly we were worried that we would be told the wrong gender and find out something different at the 20 week anatomy scan.  Then, we got a 3D shot of the "goods."  There is no denying it, it's a boy! 

Brody was very facinated at first, mostly watching what she was doing with the wand.  Kind of like, the "what are you doing to my mommy?"  Then he looked at the baby on the TV screen for a little bit while Jason pointed out his head, hands, etc.  He was mildly interested, but then had more fun running around the room.  This is exactly why we let him come to this ultrasound instead of one at the doctor's office.  These places are set up to accomodate other children and are understanding if he wants to run around the room.  It was a great experience.

Doctor Visits

January 26th

First appointment was with a nurse to confirm pregnancy, take blood and go over any questions / give me the what to do / not to do while pregnant.

All in all pretty eventful. She confirmed that the pregnancy test was positive - but I assumed that their test was pretty consistent with the million I took at home.

February 9th

First appointment with the OB. Sadly, the OB that delivered Brody (who we loved!) died of cancer before Brody turned 1. So, this was only my second appointment with my new doctor from the same office. It was interesting to see how his views were going to be different than my last doctor.

Luckily, I got to skip some of the not-so-fun stuff, since I was just in the office last summer. He wasn't worried about waiting until after birth to do the routine annual exam. All he did was check to make sure everything was growing on schedule

He brought a doppler in to listen to the heartbeat, but said right away, that it will be hard to hear one at 8 weeks. He said he'd probably bring me back in 2 weeks to try again to listen to it. I was instantly dissapointed. I had a bad dream this week that I miscarried the baby, and for some reason have been extrememly more paranoid with this one than with Brody.

Then...he said something like, or we could pop-in for a quick ultrasound to make sure everything is okay. Yes please!! Jason told him that I was being a worry-wart and that an ultrasound would probably make me feel a lot better, commenting that I was having bad dreams about the baby.

Once he realized that my uterus is tipped backwards (happened after Brody was born, doesn't really affect anything), he knew that he'd never hear the heartbeat with a doppler. Obviously the baby is positioned further away, making it harder to hear anything. So he didn't even try. He just said, let's go see if the ultrasound is available. Yay!!

He found the baby very quickly with the wand and we instantly saw a little flicker. That was the heartbeat. He looked around for awhile, showing us the forming umbilical cord, did a 3D image of our little peanut and double checked to make sure there was only 1 in there (whew!).

Apparently I ovulated from my left ovary (I find this interesting for some reason) and there was a weird speck of something near the baby (but not on it). Doc said it was nothing to worry about, just something to note at this point and time. Said it will probably go away, but didn't say much else about it. Luckily, we'll be going back for another one in 4 weeks, so we'll get to make sure everything is still on track.

Introducing, our little peanut...

9 Month Check-Up

Off to the doctor again! This time for Brody's 9 month check-up.


Brody weighed in at 19lbs 1oz - still a little peanut in the 25th percentile. He grew another inch, now at 29 1/4 inches tall (75th percentile) and his head is still in the 25th percentile but grew 1.5cm since last time. At least he's consistently long & skinny with a small noggin!

The main topic of conversaion was around Brody's eating habits. Transitioning to more table foods is the next step and of course we discussed Brody eating dairy. His doctor is recommending waiting until closer to 12 months before starting dairy products (yogurt, cheese etc.) and we'll transition to whole milk at 12 months as well. He recommended easing him into it as much as possible, starting off very slowly with the whole milk. At the very least he validated my approach of holding off on dairy until he's a little older. In the meantime we'll be working on expanding all of Brody's non-dairy table foods and drinking from a sippy cup.

The other big topic of conversation was baby-proofing, especially when I told him Brody could crawl. He's clearly seen too many injuries that could have been prevented, because when I told him that we've already done a lot of baby-proofing (we have pillows in front of the brick fireplace!) -- he brushed it off and kept warning me that there are always more things he can get into. Like I didn't know that!? We do have "Dennis the Menace" on our hands!

Then we wrapped it up with a good 'ol flu shot and vaccination. Brody screamed, I held him, he screamed some more, then he eventually calmed down. Keep your fingers crossed that we really don't end up back at the doctor until his 12 month check-up!

In the last month...

Brody has started eating solids:

Been swimming:

Started sitting unsupported (he cannot pull himself up yet, but will stay sitting for quite awhile!):

Got an exersaucer:

Started playing in a jumper:

He's also had multiple runny noses, fevers, two ear infections, a sinus infection, hives, rounds of antibiotics and passed all sorts of germs around the house! So between the doctor appointments, busy summer activities and my busy work schedule, things have been a bit quiet on here. If not sooner, I'll definitely be back to posting more regularly in the fall!

4 Month Check-Up

At the end of May Brody had his 4 month wellness check-up. I originally scheduled it for the same week he turned 4 months. Then realized we'd be taking him on a road trip the same day, which probably wasn't a good idea since he didn't do so well after his 2 month shots. So, I rescheduled.

My favorite part of the appointment, growth stats: weighed in at 14lbs 6oz (25th-50th%), 26 inches tall (75th%) and a head circumfrence of 42 cm (50th%). So in reference to the charts, his weight is lower, his height is a bit lower and his head is becoming more average. I've never taken too much stock in the growth charts, but it's always nice to see where he fits in. Even though his weight looked on the lower side, he went to the doctor again 3 days later (another post on this later) and he already gained a couple ounces.

We talked with the pediatrician about his soy formula and he recommends keeping Brody on it. He's been doing pretty well and although he still doesn't digest it as well as nutramigen, there doesn't seem to be any evidence of an allergy.

Next step...solid food! (Well, you know, that pureed baby food that looks nasty but I hear tastes alright)

This will definitely be a new adventure for us. The doctor recommended we start rice cereal for about 2 weeks and then move on to veggies then fruits. He expects that Brody should be eating solids about twice a day by his 6 month appointment. This did surprise me a little since some babies don't start any veggies or fruit until 6 months. However, these are only guidelines and I'll be following Brody's cues as to whether or not he's ready. For the first year of Brody's life, he will continue to get formula, since it includes many important nutrients that he'll need.

I talked to the pedi about how much Brody is eating of formula each day. I've read mixed opinions about formula toxicity, which is when actually having too much formula can be bad (who knew?!?) Apparently it has to do with the amount of vitamins in it. He kind of looked at me like I was crazy and said I don't need to worry about too much formula right now. At Brody's 30ish ounces a day, he has no concern. Also, since he'll be phasing in "solids" soon, he'll end up eating less formula.

On a side note, does anyone else think it's weird they say that he's starting "solids" when it's actually mushy and not very solid. Anyway...

His pediatrician saw pretty quickly how much Brody moves around and made sure to do his safety lecture. This is nothing new, he goes over safety stuff at every appointment (back to sleep, rear facing car seat etc.) But this time he was very clear to say, keep your eye on this guy, he can roll off of something in a second. While I obviously already knew this, I do have to remind myself every once and awhile. I have gotten a little too used to leaving him on his changing table for 2 seconds while I grab a diaper. Now, 2 seconds is all it takes to fling himself over.

End of appointment = vaccines. Same ones as 2 months, same screaming from Brody. I also thought it would be a great day to go shopping with Brody since I was off all day, but that didn't last too long. He ended up getting pretty fussy when we left the mall because I hadn't given him any Tylenol yet. Unfortunately I still had to run to the store to buy generic Tylenol because all we had was the recalled name brand Tylenol (thanks a lot!) Once he had some pain relief and a nap, he was great the rest of the day.

Brody's 2 month check-up

Yesterday Brody had his two month check-up. I was both looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. I was really excited to see how much he had grown and I also wanted to talk to the doctor about his formula switch. I was dreading the appointment because I knew Brody would be getting a few shots.

Brody weighed in at 11lbs 15oz. (I had estimated he was between 11.5-12lbs, not bad!) He is 2 feet long. His height is in the 75th percentile and his weight is still right around 50th percentile. They also measured his head which was in between the 25th & 50th percentile. Bottom line: he's tall, average build with a small head.

Then we talked about his eating habits and how he's handling the hypoallergenic formula. We are all definitely pleased that he seems to be handling the formula well and obviously it was the right choice. However, Jason and I are anxious to switch him back to soy as soon as he's ready. Soy is half the cost and we can buy store-brand instead of name-brand. The doctor said he'd like to try to switch Brody back to soy as early as 3 months. We're to call him in a month to discuss. He also understands the significant cost difference and I think he complains about it more than us! So he gave us about $25 worth of samples! Definitely offsets our $15 co-pay.

Then came the hard part: vaccinations. One vaccine is given orally, so that was easy. Then the nurses came in for the shots. He got two shots, so they did them at the same time, one in each leg. At his one month appointment, he barely flinched at his one shot, however, this time was much different.

He screamed loudly. And he kept screaming. It was awful, though probably worse for me than him. I almost cried. But I held him, gave him a bottle and tried to comfort him. He calmed down in minutes. By the time we were home, he was smiling and wanted to play.

Then it got worse. He woke up from his nap at 6:30 and started screaming bloody murder. Now, Brody barely cries as it is, so screaming is way out of the norm for him. We tried everything, feeding him, cuddling him, swaying him, rocking him. He was inconsolable. I probably waited a little too long to give him Tylenol (about 15 minutes into the screaming). Finally, after Jason spent an hour working to calm him down, he was ready to pass out.

He napped until almost bed-time and then went to sleep easily. He's still asleep after 9 hours. Poor guy!

Brody's 1 month "birthday" & 1 month doctor appt

Brody turned one month over the weekend, and I didn't do a good job blogging about it, so I am going to combine it with a post about his 1 month pediatrician appointment.

I can't believe he's 1 month already. He's growing extremely fast (already more than 10lbs) and changing everyday. He's a lot more alert and awake more often. We play together everyday usually just by playing on his playmat, talking to him and making funny faces. He's still taking in the world around him so he's always looking around facinated with everything. He loves bright lights and will often stare out a window or up at the ceiling lights. He's growing out of some of his 0-3 month clothes (Gerber brand sizes run very small) and is already into size 1 diapers. Below is a picture of J holding him up to his growth chart which starts at 2 feet. He's not quite there yet, but getting close!

Today was Brody's one month check-up. He's now 10lbs 1oz and 23inches long! He's in the 90th percentile for his length and 50th percentile for his weight. So if it's any indicator of what's to come, he'll be a tall guy. While the nurse was measuring him, she kept mentioning how alert and active he was. He was so well behaved and just kept looking around and observing everything.

The doctor examined him and said everything looked good. We talked through the many questions I had so I left feeling great about his health.

First, we talked about the blood in his diaper. It lingered for a couple days after his appointment last week but appears to be gone. Since I'm now planning to start formula feeding more frequently, we talked about whether or not I should stick with the soy version that we started last week. He said that we should stick with the same formula for at least a month and make sure that the blood doesn't reappear. Then down the road if we want to try a milk-based formula again, we'll talk about it.

The other big item I was worried about is his fussiness after he eats. I am not sure if it is typical gassiness or if he has something else wrong (reflux can occur in babies). He said though it could be reflux, before he prescribes medicine he thinks we should give it some time and see if it gets better. He said that as his muscles become stronger it may just resolve itself. He recommended gas drops and to just call if it gets worse.

Also, since he seems to have trouble falling asleep at night when we lay him flat on his back, I asked about a sleep positioner which will prop him up a bit on an incline. Our doc said to definitely go ahead and use one if it works. He used one with his daughter and loved it. So maybe that will help get Brody back to sleep better at night.

Then Brody needed to get his second round of the hepatitis B shot. He handled it like a pro! The nurse gave him the shot and he didn't even flinch. Then after she was done, all of a sudden he got this look on his face like, "what the heck just happened?!?" and cried for about 10 seconds. Then he was calm and happy again. Let's hope he handles the 2 month shots just as well!

Brody's first unscheduled doctor appointment

As a new mom, I've already called the pediatrician a few times in Brody's short 4 weeks of life. However, my concerns this week resulted in a trip to the doctor to get him checked out. Best part of the visit is that we learned that he's now up to 9lbs 10oz!! He's definitely gaining a good amount of weight.

(You can stop reading now if you're not interested in hearing about baby poop)

Over the weekend I noticed a couple of Brody's diapers had blood in them. Now of course this worried me a bit. But I decided to at least wait until he had another bloody diaper on Monday to call the doc. When he didn't poop all day Monday, I decided to call anyway (he normally poops 5-6 times a day). They told me that it probably wasn't anything to worry too much about and just call back if he has another one. Well when he finally pooped again, there was a tiny bit of red in it, so I decided to call back. The nurse told me to come in on Tuesday. I had done some research (courtesy of google) and found that blood in his stools can be a sign of a dairy protein allergy.

A dairy allergy has been something I've been worried about, since I was allergic to milk protein as a baby. We gave Brody formula a couple times over the weekend (a story for another day, but the formula was because I haven't been keeping up with Brody's demand with pumped breast milk). Both breastfed babies and formula fed babies can have milk protein allergies, but since non-fat milk is the first ingredient in formula, I was worried that it was causing him problems.

So today we went in to see our really great pediatrician. He looked Brody over and showed us some small tears on his butt that was probably causing the blood. He did say that another reason there could be blood is a dairy protein allergy, but it likely wasn't the cause in his case. Even though he doesn't think that Brody has an allergy, he gave us a sample of soy formula so that when we do supplement, we can use soy instead of milk based formula.

We have his one month appointment next week, so we'll check on his progress then. If the blood doesn't get worse, it's likely just the tears and not an allergy.

40 Week Dr Appointment

It was the appointment I hoped I'd never have to go to. 3 days past my due date, I had both a non-stress test (NST) & regular OB appointment.

NST
They set me up in a chair, hooked up two monitors to my belly and gave me juice to keep the baby moving. One monitor was to measure his heartbeat and the other was to measure contractions.

The goal was to measure his heartbeat during movement. If his heartbeat increases during movement, it is a good sign. Within a minute he was already moving and his heartbeat spiked accordingly. Within the first 10 minutes his heartrate spiked appropriately 3 or 4 times. They kept me on the machine for another 20 minutes but he ended up sleeping by the end of it.

The second monitor that measures contractions? It recorded a flat line...my uterus is doing nothing.

Appointment
Weight: down a pound, yay!
Blood Pressure: 120/70
Heartbeat: 150 range
Fundal Height: 40 (he hasn't stopped growing!)
Labor Progress: NONE!!
Next Appointment: Thursday for another NST and to check for any progress

Next we discussed induction. He said we could go ahead & schedule for 10 days past my due date (next Monday) or we could wait until after my appointment on Thursday. My appointment on Thursday is currently scheduled with another OB because mine is not in the office. So I opted to just schedule it right away today since I wouldn't be seeing him on Thursday.

Induction: Scheduled to start Sunday the 24th. They will start by trying to dialate me overnight & then start pitocin (to stimulate contactions) on Monday morning. If all goes well, Brody will be born on January 25th.

I'm still holding out hope that Brody will come before Monday. Inductions are not always the easiest and often can lead to C-Sections. I've heard about many successful inductions and many that didn't go very well. Ideally, i'd like my body to do what it needs to do on it's own.

However, based on my progress so far, I am not holding my breath. And at the very least, I know I will only be pregnant for one more week.

39 Week Appointment

Still no progress but at least this time I was mentally prepared for it. Nothing really seemed to change in the last week, so I was pretty sure that is what he would say.

Weight: + 2.5lbs (I really should be eating better but at this point, I just don't care - thus I'm gaining weight)
Blood Pressure: 114/68
Heartbeat: 145
Fundal Height: 38
Labor Progress: Nada
Questions: What do we do next?

Starting next Monday (3 days past my due date), I'll start doing a "Non-Stress Test" where they'll monitor how the baby's heartbeat reacts as he's moving. If he is still reacting well inside, then they won't try to induce sooner. Then we'll do one again on Thursday and if he's still not here & I am still not dialated, then the night of the 24th I will go in to start my induction process.

He did try reassuring me that the majority of women that go overdue end up delivering in the first week after the due date. I'm still hoping Brody understands that Mommy likes to be on time, and he'll show up by Friday! :)

38 Week Appointment -- Unsucessful

Yesterday was our 38 week appointment. I was truly hoping for good news that I was at least somewhat progressing towards labor. But no luck! We may be ready for him, but he's not ready.

Weight: + 1/2lb
Blood Pressure: 115/70
Heartbeat: 150ish? It was up to 175 at one point and then lowered down. Doc called it a "spike" which apparently is very healthy.
Fundal Height: This is where it gets interesting...last week it was 38.5, this week it was 37! He shrunk!?! So obviously we asked about it. He officially dropped. So now that he's lower in my pelvis, my stomach doesn't measure as big. Dropping is typical 2-4 weeks prior to labor for first time moms.
Labor Progress: None...zip...zero. Still effaced (he didn't give me a number) but not dialated at all.
Questions:
I've started having pelvic pain that feels like my bone is going to break in half and every step I take hurts. The only relief is sitting down, but the longer I sit, the more it hurts when I get up. So obviously I asked him about it. His reponse, "yep, that's normal!" He then explained that as my hips are expanding my pelvic bones are seperating & it can even feel like the pubic bone is split in half.

Unfortunately, hearing "it's normal and no there isn't really anything you can do about it" when you're in pain & miserable, isn't very helpful. But I guess it goes with the territory.

37 Week Doctor Appointment

Weight: +3 lbs (ick!)
Blood Pressure: 116/68
Heartbeat: 135
Fundal Height: 38.5 (up 2.5 in a week -- he had a growth spurt!)
Labor Progress: No change from last week, 50% effaced & 0 cm dialated. Doctor said he's definitely expecting him to hold out until January.

Can't say I'm not a little dissapointed...

36 Week Doctor Appointment

We've offically started our weekly doctor appointments, which means we're nearing the end!

Weight: +0!! (Despite the Cinnabon I had right before hand)
Blood Pressure: 120/70
Heartbeat: 145
Fundal Height: 36
Baby's size: I had to ask him this week if he will estimate how big Brody will be when he's born. I have been told by several people that their doctor's estimates were completely off & some that were right on. But I'm a curious person, so I at least wanted to know what he thought.

So here's the consensus: He's probably already around 7lbs, and he estimated around 8 at birth. The only part that worries me is if he's late & grows a 1/2 lb a week like the doctor said he could. That would be a 9+ lb baby! Oh well, women do it all the time.

Labor Progress: This is the first week that he started doing internal exams to determine the progress towards labor. It is just an estimate and it's also not a strong indicator of how far away/close labor is. This is because I could dialate quickly or slowly. Some women remain 3-4cm dialated for weeks or go from 0-4cm in a few hours.

At this point, I am not dialated at all, but my cervix is 50% effaced (thinned out). The baby is definitely moving down & is head down. So he's getting ready to go.

Kick Counts: I have a sheet to start tracking the amount of times Brody moves. He's a pretty active little guy, so it's just important to make sure I take the time 2-3 times a day to notice if he's moving that day.

Next appointment: 1 week! Plus I'll be officially full-term!

34 Week Doctor Appointment

Another run-down of my latest appointment. Again, things are going very well, so it was a quick one!

Weight: up 1 lb for total gain of 31 lbs.
Blood Pressure: nurse didn't say, but they said it was great
Heartbeat: 140
Fundal Height: 34.5 cm -- still right on track, yay!
Questions:
He asked how I was doing & I gave him the same, doing great! I did mention that Brody's movements seemed to have changed slightly (I had a couple days where he was on the quiet side) but that it seems just like he's running out of room. Dr asked if I was having at least 10 movements per day? Per day? Definitely. He moves more than that when I'm ready to go to bed. I'm lucky that he's such a mover.

Since I know i'm getting closer to that delivery day, I wanted to ask him a few questions about when to come into the hospital etc.
When to call the dr: Call with any problems or trauma etc. But if I'm having contractions, call the doctors office during the day. He also said at my 36 week appointment I'll get his home number so I can call him if it's after hours. I thought that was pretty generous.

When to come into the hospital once in labor: He said whenever I am comfortable, but once contractions are about 5 minutes apart for a full hour we should definitely come in.

Induction: If I have a favorable cervix (he gave a certain centimeters dialted & % effaced) then he will induce at any point after my due date, if I want him to. If my cervix is still pretty closed, he will let me go 10 days after my due date. This reduces the rate of "failed inductions." Obviously his goal is to not try to make my body do something it's not ready for. All totally reasonable to me. I especially like the idea that if I am favorable, I can schedule an induction within a few days of being overdue.

Winter weather: Then on his way out, he gave me a quick lecture. It was kinda funny, but just something I'm sure he does with everyone (he doesn't even know what a clutz I am!) But he just said, make sure I walk slow in the winter weather & take small steps. If I fall & land anywhere on my stomach I should give them a call.

Next appointment: Starts my weekly appointments. He will do an internal exam to see if I've started dialating. They also do a group B strep test to see if I am carrying the bacteria. If I do, they will have to administer antibiotics during delivery. Other than that, it didn't sound like a big deal, but I can learn more if for some reason I fall in that category.

Plus, our next appointment is the week of Christmas...yay!!

30 Week Doctor Appointment

Today was my 30 week doctor appointment. Appointments are pretty quick now and I'll be there pretty often for the next 10 weeks.

The 30 week appointment is apparently the milestone of baby-swag. I was sent home with a travel bag, small diaper bag and tons of samples.

Weight: up 4 lbs for total gain of 27 lbs. Not ideal, but the doctor isn't worried.
Blood Pressure: 110/70
Heartbeat: 134
Fundal Height: 30.5 cm -- right on track (should be 30). This makes me less worried about having a big baby. But like I said last time, it's still early to tell.
Questions:
Not much to talk about this week. He asked about headaches and backaches, so I told them that both were getting better.

I told him that I started feeling braxton-hicks and he confirmed that it was what I was feeling. He told me to call if I was having real contractions that occur within 10 minutes of each other or cramping. Those are signs of pre-term labor, which I haven't felt either of yet.

Then they gave me the H1N1 vaccine. For some reason it hurt a lot more than the regular flu vaccine. I don't know if there really was a difference between the two or if the nurse I had last time was just better. My arm still hurts as I'm typing.

Next appointment in 2 weeks...