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The other day I saw my friend Robin, whose daughter had a baby about two weeks after John's due date (we were due right around the same time). Marlie was around 7 1/2 pounds when she was born, and nows weighs around 12lbs; John was 6lbs, 8oz when we brought him home from the hospital two days before his due date, and he currently weighs around 12lbs, 7oz. So, he's currently at a good weight for his adjusted age, which is nice to know.
Friday night was Bill's monthly Poker night, and it was at our house, so I went out to dinner with my friends Shannon and Monique. We have gone out regularly on Poker night since I left Kemp Elementary where they still teach; we had to quit our monthly dinners when I went on bedrest, and then over the summer, so it was nice to finally get back into our routine. John, of course, went with me and being such an easy baby, was no problem. Of course, all the "boys" were still at thehouse when we got home, so John said 'hi' to all of them, and then he and I went upstairs for the rest of the evening.
Saturday, Bill's sister Linda and our nieces Lauren and Emily came over from SC for the afternoon. We went out to lunch and John was awake for the whole afternoon, so he got very cranky and was happy to finally go to bed last night. He has gone about 6 hours the past two nights between feedings, so I'm getting a little more uninterrupted sleep. Of course, I don't really feel rested, but what can I do?
Bill has been working with John on sitting up and also rolling over when I am gone all day. John still has a little flat head, but it hasn't gotten any worse and he is actually better at not keeping his head on that side when he is sleeping.
Today's pictures: John with Lauren; John with Emily; John with Linda (you can see he is kind of cranky in the pics); John this morning much happier after a good night's sleep, still in his jammies
We met with Dr. Williams of the Pediatric Plastic Surgery and Cranialfacial Associates this morning. He felt that we just need to keep an eye on the whole flat-head issue, and make sure we turn John's head whenever we can. That is what we thought and were already doing. I didn't even have this issue on my list of things to ask John's pediatrician, but since he gave us the referral, we followed through. We should see an improvement when John is able to sit up unassisted and hold his head up more, which is what we thought. All in all, not a needed appointment, but it is reassuring to hear we're doing what we should be doing!
Hey all. Nothing new going on here, just the usual. John is getting bigger and bigger and is such a happy little guy. He really enjoys lying in his cradle looking at his Safari mobile. If it is on, he just watches it go 'round and 'round. If it isn't on, he kicks his legs like crazy to make the animals dance. It's good for him to lie in the cradle, too, since he is not turning his head to the right and making his flat-head worse! Plus, it will get him ready to sleep in it when we transition him as soon as we get the monitor off for good.
Speaking of flat-head, we have an appointment tomorrow with a specialist. John's flat-head (medical term positional plagiocephaly) is so mild, but our pediatrician felt we needed to have it evaluated, especially the whole neck thing. The initial referral was to the Cranial-facial clinic at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. However, when I called them, they said they don't see children with plagiocephaly and referred us to a doctor who does. He is involved with Children's Healthcare and is a plastic surgeon. I am sure they are going to tell us not to worry and just work on turning his head as much as possible. They may refer us to a physical therapist for some PT but I don't think it is that severe. I'll try to update tomorrow when we get home, but don't bet the bank on it!
We're doing really well with bedtime routine. Most nights I go to bed around 9 and take John with me. He usually falls asleep in 10-15 minutes (although last night it was 40!). He eats around 7pm (to take his reflux medicine) and usually wants to eat again around 11:30 or 12:00, which then requires him to eat again around 4 or 4:30, which stinks because I want to sleep until 5:20 and then feed John at 6:00. So a couple of nights, even though he nursed at 7, I have nursed him again at 9 for a little bit, and then he only wakes us once in the middle of the night for a feeding, and then I nurse again at 6 in the morning. After that feeding, most days John goes back to sleep for a couple of hours, and then eats again around 10 in the morning and takes a nap around 12ish. Most days I try to get to be home by 3 or a little after so I can nurse John, that way he only has one bottle a day. Most days that works, but some days John is so hungry and wants to eat more frequently, so he gets two bottles. But we're doing ok with the milk supply in the freezer, and only occasionally have to get into it. We talked to our pediatrician about starting rice cereal in his bottles but he recommended we wait until John is about 6 months old, which is fine. His adjusted age will be about 4 1/2 months then, so we'll see how it goes.
Today's pictures: John's preemie diaper on the left, his current Stage 2 diaper on the right; John in his preemie diaper at about 5 days old (it was a little big on him then); John in his stage 2 diaper today (it is also just a tad big- it is recommened for 12-18 pounds and John is just a little over 12lbs now)
John had his four month well-child check-up this morning, and his second round of immunizations. He weighed 12 lbs, 2 oz, which is the 6th percentile (at his two month check-up, he was 7 lbs, 14 oz, 1st percentile). This time he was 24 inches long- yes, two feet!- which is the 19th percentile (up from 1 foot, 9.25 inches, the 4th percentile). So, he is catching up but still small!
Our pediatrician also gave us a referral to the Craniofacial clinic at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, because John has a preference of turning his head to the right, and fights against you when you try to turn it to the left (he almost immediately turns it back to the right when he is awake, and still prefers to keep his head to the right when he is asleep but will keep it to the left for a while if you turn it that way when he is asleep). Anyway, John is getting flat-head on the right and we're going for an evaluation and if needed, management, to get him to turn his head the other way. It probably isn't needed, but Better Safe than Sorry! Plus, it gives me another day off of work, which is always nice!
We're also going to have the info from the monitor downloaded because our pediatrician wants to discontinue the use of the monitor if we can, which we should be able to since John's not having any issues. We're going to continue with the Prevacid and will re-evaluate that at John's 6 month check-up in November.
Today's picture: John alseep in his bouncy seat after his appt. this morning- you can't see the bandaids on his legs, but they're there
Today's video: the one I tried to post on Sunday- John talking to his Firefly. The camera work is shaky, but since I'm not a professional and don't get paid to take videos, it's the best you're going to get!
I know what everyone has been thinking: why hasn't the blog been updated?? Well, I just haven't felt like it, that's why! Anyway, here's what's been going on.....
A couple of Thursdays ago, we had a Partners in Education Fair at Addison, and we took John. It wasn't anything big, just a bunch of booths for our partners to show what they have, etc. John loved it, though. He loved the noise (it was in the school cafeteria and very loud) and all the people, current teachers and students/parents and former students/parents, who came by to talk to him and make faces, etc. He loved the attention and was wide awake and interested the entire time.
That Saturday, John's Grammy and Poppy came to visit for the afternoon. We went to lunch and John slept the entire time, but when he was awake enjoyed the visitors.
The next school week was busy as usual. John did a great job of mostly going to bed when I did around 9 or 9:30 and going right back to sleep after he nursed, but then he would stay up after his 6 a.m. feeding and still be awake when I left the house at 6:50, but he seemed happy to lay in his bed and talk to the angels while Bill got a little more sleep.
Friday night (two nights ago) we took John back to Addison for our school's Family Fun Festival. Nothing that John could do, and it was outside so it was hot and sticky (we can't wait for the cool fall weather to get here next month!!!); however, John really enjoyed himself. Lots of teachers got to hold him, he really loved Jullia, a fourth grade teacher who needed her baby fix- her daughter just had her first baby, Jullia's first grandbaby, in June and they live in Florida, so she was happy to hold John. John was great, as usual, not fussy and very interested in everything going on around him.
When we got home, John's Nana, Auntie Cay-cay (Michael's name for Carolyn), SaraBeth and James were there (yes, we knew they were coming!). We went to dinner and again, John loved all the attention. It was sooooo nice to have Nanny SaraBeth with us for the weekend! I think I only had to change two diapers (middle of the night changes) and only one change of clothes. SaraBeth did the rest. It would be nice if she could live with us..... John loved her and James. Poor Nana and Cay-cay didn't have much time to hold John (neither did his Daddy), but it was really great to have the help! Saturday we went to lunch and then watched the football game. Bill and James watched in high def on the TV in the office upstairs and the rest of us watched downstairs (well, actually John was sleeping on his Nana). When the Gamecocks scored their only touchdown, Nana, SaraBeth and Carolyn all screamed and clapped, and John jumped about a foot off Nana and started howling at the top of his lungs. It was quite funny to say the least!
John has his 4 month checkup and immunizations on Tuesday. Hard to believe he is 4 months old already! He weighs about 12 pounds and is doing great! He is just so adorable and fun to look at and talk to. Hopefully we won't have John on the monitor after that visit. If we can take him off, we'll try to move him into his cradle to sleep (although I love having him next to me in his SnuggleNest!). We tried once already but I almost broke the monitor when I got John up to nurse, got the cords stuck on the cradle. Don't think insurance will pay for that....
Today's pictures: Pics from the visits last weekend and this one- John with his Grammy, John with his Poppy, John with Cay-cay, John with his Nana, John with his cousins at one week old (where SB said, "This is the smallest baby I've ever seen!"), John with his cousins at 4 months, Go Gamecocks!!
I was going to add a video but there was an error when I was uploading it and it takes too long, so I'll try again some other time.
