Sorry these posts are fewer and far between; caring for an infant is a
full time job! Kingston was 6 weeks on Friday (I can't believe it
either) and is growing like a weed! For the past three weeks he's been
to the doctor twice and each time has gained about 11 ounces weekly.
His weight last Friday was 10lb 12oz. I read they usually gain about an
ounce a day. I keep asking the doctor if his weight gain is okay and
he said he's not worried. Needless to say, this kid eats like it's his
job! Babies usually eat about 2-3 ounces per meal now, which he does at
times, but sometimes he'll suck down 5 ounces with no problem. I've
held back a bit when he cries to make sure it's a hunger cry and it
always seems to be.
A couple of weeks ago he
started getting very fussy and his pediatrician thinks he has acid
reflux and possibly colic. I agree with both! I could tell his burp
was reflex the other day, so we started him on Zantac a week ago and it
seems to be helping a bit, though we may try increasing the dose to see
if he can get better relief. He's always trying to clear his throat and
has to be sitting up for awhile after feedings before he'll lay down.
He started a witching hour a couple of weeks ago where he screamed for a
couple of hours and was inconsolable, but that hour turned into all
day. It's not constant, but he'll scream at times in the morning,
afternoon and evening. Last Saturday night Lee didn't put him down
until 2am, which he started fussing again immediately, so I took over
and he finally fell asleep at almost 4am and was up again two hours
later. To say the least, we are exhausted! We were told colic resolves
by three months, so we're just trying to hang in there for the next six
weeks.
Kingston hit an early milestone last week and
rolled from tummy to back during tummy time! I read the earliest that
happens is usually three months, but typically can be expected around
month four. He's rolled over several times and often looks like he's
trying to crawl. I won't be surprised if he starts crawling early. I
should enjoy this time, because I feel like soon he's going to be all
over the place.
He has also started grasping at
things like my hair and tugging on my shirt. I love when he grasps my
shirt when he feeds or when I'm holding him. He started moving his head
down, when it's on my shoulder, to my chest when he's sleepy and wants
to rest... and my heart melts! It can be overwhelming at times, when he
doesn't want to sleep anywhere except in my arms. The whole "sleep
when the baby sleeps" motto went out the door because this baby doesn't
sleep much. Even when he does fall asleep in his pack n play it's only
for thirty minutes max! I'll often recline on the couch while holding
for a nap for both of us, even if it is only 20-30 minutes.
We
had quite a scare several weeks back with his circumcision. It was the
first day of Lee's two week family bonding, and while he was in good
spirits that morning, mama was pretty nervous! The pediatrician who saw
him in the hospital when he was born, not his pediatrician now (he
doesn't have hospital privileges currently to do the procedure) did the
circumcision. That morning upon arrival, were told he was stuck in
traffic because of a wreck. He commutes from pretty far, so he was
going to be about an hour late. Just before that hour came, Kingston
started crying and the medical assistant told me to go ahead and feed
him, but that would push his procedure out an additional hour. His
appointment was 8am and the doctor finally got started around 10:30. We
were told a lot of babies sleep through the process, but I knew he
wouldn't be one of them. He screamed almost the whole time, and
rightfully so! They give them sugar water to distract them through it,
but it only helped minimally and he ended up having double what they
give them. The doctor had a hard time stopping the bleeding, but
finally did and we waited thirty minutes to make sure he didn't bleed
anymore. As soon as he opened his diaper to check, he started bleeding
again. He did this twice and I could tell the doctor was getting a
little frazzled. The bleeding finally stopped and we left at noon (four
hours there!). I asked the doctor what I should do if he starts
bleeding again, which he replied with a confident "he won't" but I
wasn't reassured. As soon as we went to change his diaper the bleeding
started again.
It was a significant amount and while I
was on the phone trying to get an appointment with his actual
pediatrician, Lee couldn't stop the bleeding and told me when need to go
to the emergency room ASAP. That was one of the hardest days for me!
Hearing him scream most of the day just tore my heart to pieces! They
had a hard time stopping the bleeding as well and each time we did a
diaper change it opened up. The doctor we saw in the ER called the
pediatrician, Dr. S, and consulted with the hospital pediatrician who
also works at Stanford. We went in just thinking they'd stop the
bleeding and give us instructions if it happens again. We were not
prepared for talk of Kingston having a bleeding disorder and
recommending they run blood tests and an ultrasound of the brain. The
admitting doctor decided to start with the blood test, and his blood had
to be drawn three times to get an adequate amount for the test. He
screamed the whole time, which I held him down and sobbed. The results
took an hour and came back negative, but what a scare!! We could tell
Dr. S was totally freaked out and called us repeatedly when we got home
until we answered. He's only had one baby who bled a lot after
circumcision, but never had a baby make a trip to the ER. Apparently,
it's not very common for babies to bleed after the procedure like he
did. We followed up with Dr. S a week later and he told us he was
nervous doing a circumcision after that and made sure all of his
instruments were correct and now spends more time doing them to ensure
there won't be a problem. He thinks a blood vessel didn't get crushed
(I know, sounds awful!) when he clamped the skin down. His little wee
wee is healing well and I am so thankful he was so young and will not
remember that traumatizing procedure! I felt like a horrible mother for
putting him through it, but the pediatrician in the hospital reassured
me and went over the many medical benefits of circumcision.
I
saw my obstetrician yesterday and have healed well from my c-section. I
really like the doctor who did it and will stick with her for all of my
gynecology needs. When she asked if I was sleeping, eating or
showering much I got teary-eyed. The sleep is good some days, but some
days the lack of it really gets me. It has been hard to find things to
fix to eat with only having one hand available. I also have a bit of
post-partum depression, which isn't surprising with my history of
depression. My OB spent a good while yesterday talking to me and gave
me some tools to help manage. She also recommended I get out of the
house more, which I agree. I have been hesitant, just because of the
stress I have while driving with him and the worry of him throwing a fit
while we're out in public. I know it's going to happen, so I might as
well get comfortable with it.
I've also had a lot of
guilt for being depressed because of what we went through to have him.
I've realized through pregnancy and post-partum I'm not very lenient on
myself and that's something I need to work on. My OB gave the analogy
yesterday that there is a reason they tell you to put the oxygen mask on
first if ever needed in a plane... I need to take care of myself before
I can take care of him.
Our days have been very busy;
besides the times eating, I enjoy reading to him, singing, playing
music, tummy time and he loves to play with his activity gym. The
activity gym is an ocean theme and he loves to look at the star at the
top that flashes and jams to the music. He's also been checking himself
out in the mirror on it, but I'm not sure how well he can see himself.
I downloaded an app the other day that has recommended activities to do
based on age and also gives me a run down of where he's at mentally and
physically. I want to do all I can to give him to the tools to be
smart and well rounded. He has also started smiling at me more, and
it's such an awesome feeling to see him recognize me and smile because
he's happy I'm there. I read that babies still see themselves and the
mother as one entity now and not yet see us as two different people.
I'm okay with that since I know there will come a time where I won't be
cool and won't feel needed by him.
The puppies are
still doing great with him and enjoy licking his hears, nose and toes,
especially Kazoo. She often sits by me to protect her little brother.
Today we are going to Kingston's first birthday party for his future
girlfriend, Marylou. She's the daughter of my good friend Lourdes and
she just turned one. Lourdes and I joke that they'll be
boyfriend/girlfriend one day. The party is at a park so we're bringing
the whole family, which will be good for the dogs as well, and myself!
I'm excited to be around people today!
I hope everyone is doing well! I will try to update as often as baby K allows me.
XOXO,
Chelle
