Today let's talk about 2 things: judgementalness when it comes to parenting and fast food.
Last week, as some of you may have noticed, @maliasma had tweeted about the grossness that is skim milk (no offense, if that's your preferred type of milk, but a lot of people do find it gross) and I tweeted back about how they now give you skim milk in the kid's meals at most fast food places when you opt for the milk instead of the juice box or soft drink. I also commented that my kiddo needs the fat in 2% and whole. Anyways, some jerk decided to butt in to our conversation, saying that I had no business giving my 1 year old fast food and that it's my responsibility as his parent to make healthy nutritional choices for him.
Um... did I ask for parenting advice? No.
He got rude after my response about not giving parenting advice when it isn't asked for and my question about if I should go ahead and carry unrefrigerated milk in my bag all day rather than buy it on the go when we're out and about, responding to my tweet about my sis coloring my hair saying "you obviously care more about your hair than your child's nutrition - grow up!" Um, excuse me - HOW are the 2 related? I was doing my sister a favor, as she needs like 1500 hours in the salon at beauty school to get her certification, my hair needed coloring before her wedding this weekend, I offered to come in during her walk-in hours so she'd get the credit and I'd get it done for cheap. WHAT does that have to do with my son's nutrition?
And I should clarify, it's not like I'm giving Jay fast food all the time - he's actually only had it twice that I can recall.
The 1st time, we were out at the mall one afternoon, mall-walking with my friend and her daughter, when it got past Jay's lunch time. He was clearly hungry, woofing down Goldfish crackers, so I stopped at Burger King and ordered him a kid's meal. I got him the chicken nuggets meal with milk - he ate 3 of the 4 nuggets, most of the milk and all of his applesauce cup I brought in my bag, I ate the fries and other nugget. This isn't any different than a typical lunch of his at home - he often eats chicken nuggets and applesauce for lunch with milk. The other occasion, we took a day-trip into the big mall in the suburbs and obviously he was going to need to eat at some point, so we stopped for lunch at A&W. He got the kid's hot dog meal with milk - I cut up his hot dog (which was vienna beef, so not a "junk" hot dog), a little bit of the bun, an applesauce cup I brought with and a good bit of the milk. I ate his fries with my own hot dog. Again, at home he often eats cut up Kosher hot dogs (yay for Hebrew National) with milk and applesauce for lunch. I don't see what's so wrong about either occasion. Sorry, but we're not an organic family however I do opt for more "natural" products and products that don't have high fructose corn syrup when I can. Sometimes while on the go though, it is easier to stop at a fast food joint and make sure my hungry kid gets fed. He gets 3 meals a day plus a snack here and there and a bottle of milk before bed.
Considering the rough start he had at the beginning - being as low as in the 5th percentile for growth - I am thrilled that at his last appointment he was in the 50th percentile and his growth is back on track. We let him eat until he's full or doesn't want anymore. At this point, portion control isn't an issue and we give him food we know he likes and will eat. If it's able to be finger food, that's even better as he enjoys feeding himself.
It irks me when someone butts in about my child's eating habits when they have NO IDEA what we've gone through in the beginning just to get him to eat ANYTHING and enough to grow. Now that he's growing fine and in the 50th percentile... I don't think his nutrition is an issue. If he starts getting obese obviously we'll fix whatever the issue is.
But my kid LOVES his applesauce. And his milk. And things that can be finger foods. Breakfast he eats oatmeal with fruit and fruit yogurt, lunch always contains a meat, chicken or some kind of protein and a fruit and sometimes a veggie, dinner is always a meat, a veggie and sometimes a fruit - all served with milk, occasionally water. So unless you know what I've been through - please kindly STFU.
And another thing that bugs me - the Breastfeeding Nazis.
Yes, we all know, breast is best, but sometimes circumstances arise that make moms end up formula feeding instead.
It's a personal choice and there's always a reason for why someone is formula feeding, so unless you know the whole story, quit judging.
If you've been reading this here blog for awhile, you know our story with breastfeeding.
Jay was induced roughly 2.5 weeks before his due date because of a significant lack in his growth between gestational weeks 30 and 37 - they were afraid he had stopped growing and there was no way of knowing why. So he was born at 37 weeks, 5 days old - technically full-term. He weighed 6lbs, 7oz - a full pound bigger than what the ultrasound 3 days prior had guessed. We had planned on exclusively breastfeeding him for at least 6 months.
God had other plans.
At his 1 week appointment, Jay had lost weight and was down to 6lbs even. At his 2 week appointment he was at 6lbs 8oz. The doctor gave us the weekend to see if he would gain any weight after we began supplementing with formula - that Monday he was still holding steady at 6lbs 8oz and was admitted to the pediatric unit at the hospital where he had numerous tests done trying to figure out why he wasn't eating enough to grow. He then spent the week hooked up to a feeding tube, continuously pumping formula into his stomach for several days straight. He began gaining weight and eating from a bottle.
By then we decided it was easier to just feed him from a bottle, with formula, so we could keep track of how much he was eating, making sure it was enough. Plus they put him on "high calorie" formula (Enfamil Lipil, mixed specially) to help him "catch up" a bit better and we had a visiting nurse checking up to weigh him twice a week to make sure he was continuing to gain weight after being discharged.
All the doctors and nurses we met with were behind our decision to formula feed 100% - they said that as long as we tried breastfeeding and Jay got all the good stuff in the colostrum, than really it was okay to formula feed, as the colostrum is really the important stuff they need - the rest from the breast is just extra, as formula these days is made pretty well.
But of course the Breastfeeding Nazis will be Breastfeeding Nazis - judging you for giving your kid formula, not having any idea what you've gone through just to get your kid to eat enough to grow (we did learn at my 6 week post-partum appointment that there was a knot in Jay's umbilical cord, which we believe is why he never knew the feeling of being full and eating only enough to survive). Whether it comes from a bottle or a breast, it doesn't matter - as long as your baby is healthy and eating, that's what matters.
So Breastfeeding Nazis, please kindly, STFU - it's not nice and just plain rude and hurtful when you get all judgmental on those mom's who aren't breastfeeding for one reason or another.
To wrap it up - what IS with Burger King not offering much of a healthy alternative? I mean McDonald's and Wendy's both have healthy-ish snackwraps - Burger King has salad that tastes like it's a day old despite saying "fresh" on the label. Get with it Burger King - I'd eat there more often if they had a decent tasting snackwrap... it actually saddens me that McDonald's was replaced by Burger King in our local mall (where I work, I might add), as there's nothing "good" to eat there.
Showing posts with label feeding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feeding. Show all posts
3.21.2012
8.11.2011
6 month check-up
Today we had Jay's 6 month check-up and it went VERY well!
He weighs a whopping 16lbs 14oz - just under 17lbs! - and is 26.5 inches long! Last time, at his 4 month check-up he was 13lbs even and 25 inches long, so he hasn't gained much length-wise but he did gain almost 4lbs in 2 months! This puts him in the 50th percentile for weight for 6 month boys and 50th percentile for his weight for his length, meaning despite a rough start our baby boy is now average for his age!
So exciting!
His next check-up isn't until his 9 month one inNovember (aside from his trip up to Madison in September to meet with the pediatric urology specialist). The doctor said physically everything looks good and told us to keep using the Johnny Jump-Up (he said he wasn't fond of walkers) and to make sure he's getting plenty of tummy time since he'll probably start crawling soon. He didn't say too much about his bottom front teeth already coming through, other than the average age for teeth is 6-9 months so he's a little ahead there. He did say he's got great muscle control in his neck though! He said to keep him on formula and the solids until a year old...
...which means we can put the sippy cup on hold, as Jay doesn't seem to really be taking to it much either. The 1st day he at an ounce or so and the 2nd day he ate 2oz but he hasn't been interested in it since. I think he gets too frustrated with it as he can't drink it as fast as he can a bottle. Guess we'll just keep trying from time to time though!
We've finally gotten through all the veggies and fruits. Jay doesn't seem to like green beans but he'll still eat them - the only solid we've tried that he won't eat is peas, lol...
We also tried giving him a bath in the "big tub" as he's definitely outgrown his baby tub (we put him in it and all the water goes out, lol...). He LOVED the big tub! He hasn't played with any of his bath toys yet, as he's too busy splashing in the water while we clean him, lol... bathtime has been much more enjoyable for all of us since moving him to the big-tub as he would scream and cry in his baby tub for no apparent reason! But not anymore - no more crying at bathtime!
He weighs a whopping 16lbs 14oz - just under 17lbs! - and is 26.5 inches long! Last time, at his 4 month check-up he was 13lbs even and 25 inches long, so he hasn't gained much length-wise but he did gain almost 4lbs in 2 months! This puts him in the 50th percentile for weight for 6 month boys and 50th percentile for his weight for his length, meaning despite a rough start our baby boy is now average for his age!
So exciting!
His next check-up isn't until his 9 month one inNovember (aside from his trip up to Madison in September to meet with the pediatric urology specialist). The doctor said physically everything looks good and told us to keep using the Johnny Jump-Up (he said he wasn't fond of walkers) and to make sure he's getting plenty of tummy time since he'll probably start crawling soon. He didn't say too much about his bottom front teeth already coming through, other than the average age for teeth is 6-9 months so he's a little ahead there. He did say he's got great muscle control in his neck though! He said to keep him on formula and the solids until a year old...
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| Little Man (with daddy) greeting mommy after a night of work |
We've finally gotten through all the veggies and fruits. Jay doesn't seem to like green beans but he'll still eat them - the only solid we've tried that he won't eat is peas, lol...
We also tried giving him a bath in the "big tub" as he's definitely outgrown his baby tub (we put him in it and all the water goes out, lol...). He LOVED the big tub! He hasn't played with any of his bath toys yet, as he's too busy splashing in the water while we clean him, lol... bathtime has been much more enjoyable for all of us since moving him to the big-tub as he would scream and cry in his baby tub for no apparent reason! But not anymore - no more crying at bathtime!
6.30.2011
The Pea Incident
Ever since Jay's 4 month check-up, when the doctor gave us the "okay" we promptly started introducing him to baby solid foods, primarily veggies to start with.
I picked a Gerber Nature Select pack at Sam's that had 6 jars of sweet potatoes, 6 jars of carrots and 6 jars of peas.
Having been warned he might not like the peas, I started him with the sweet potatoes (which might I add, actually tasted pretty decent for being baby food!). He seemed to like those a lot!
Once we finished those with no allergic reactions we gave him the carrots, which he also seemed to like!
Then, once those were gone, we got to the peas...
and boy did he NOT like those!
He took the 1st spoonful just fine, but the 2nd one he started fussing about, and by the time I attempted to get a 3rd spoonful in him he was spitting out at me and screaming bloody murder (I swear he was cussing me out in baby speak, lol...). I called my mom for advice and after hearing him scream in the background told me just to save them and try again in a few weeks as to not force it into him and turn him off to eating the solid foods, so I fixed him another bowl of rice cereal for dinner that night instead as I needed to go get some more non-green veggies for him.
I got about 1/4th the bowl of cereal in him before he passed out in his high chair for a good half hour or so - he wore himself out screaming over the peas! LOL...
So apparently Jay does not like baby food peas!
Since the pack at Sam's only has the 3 flavors in it I went to Walmart to stock up on other flavors - in addition to carrots and sweet potatoes I grabbed some squash and sweet potatoes with corn (which he finished off this week just fine!). I also grabbed some fruits too so we can start those next week - he has apples, bananas, peaches, and pears waiting for him to try!
I like the Gerber Nature Select foods as they come in a 2pk plastic container with snap on lid for just under a $1 and it's made with 100% natural fruits/veggies, with no added sugar, salt, starch, artificial colors or flavors! He also eats the Gerber brand rice cereal too. He's definitely a Gerber baby!
I picked a Gerber Nature Select pack at Sam's that had 6 jars of sweet potatoes, 6 jars of carrots and 6 jars of peas.
Having been warned he might not like the peas, I started him with the sweet potatoes (which might I add, actually tasted pretty decent for being baby food!). He seemed to like those a lot!
Once we finished those with no allergic reactions we gave him the carrots, which he also seemed to like!
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| This is the result of Jay trying to "help" mommy put the spoon in his mouth - carrots EVERYWHERE, lol... |
and boy did he NOT like those!
He took the 1st spoonful just fine, but the 2nd one he started fussing about, and by the time I attempted to get a 3rd spoonful in him he was spitting out at me and screaming bloody murder (I swear he was cussing me out in baby speak, lol...). I called my mom for advice and after hearing him scream in the background told me just to save them and try again in a few weeks as to not force it into him and turn him off to eating the solid foods, so I fixed him another bowl of rice cereal for dinner that night instead as I needed to go get some more non-green veggies for him.
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| Sleeping in the high chair |
So apparently Jay does not like baby food peas!
Since the pack at Sam's only has the 3 flavors in it I went to Walmart to stock up on other flavors - in addition to carrots and sweet potatoes I grabbed some squash and sweet potatoes with corn (which he finished off this week just fine!). I also grabbed some fruits too so we can start those next week - he has apples, bananas, peaches, and pears waiting for him to try!I like the Gerber Nature Select foods as they come in a 2pk plastic container with snap on lid for just under a $1 and it's made with 100% natural fruits/veggies, with no added sugar, salt, starch, artificial colors or flavors! He also eats the Gerber brand rice cereal too. He's definitely a Gerber baby!
5.04.2011
3 months and rice cereal
Today Jay is officially 3 months old!
Wow, does time fly! Seems like it was just the beginning of February with the big snowstorm, then he was here and we were struggling the first few weeks... hard to believe it's already May and summer is just right around the corner!
We decided to try giving him some of the Gerber rice cereal stuff you mix with his milkies, as the doctor told us at his 2 month check-up that we could go ahead and try it if we wanted, to get him used to the concept of eating from a spoon. We thought 2 months was a little young but decided we'd give it a try when he reached 3 months.
He took the spoon pretty well but fussed almost the entire time we were feeding him the rice cereal, until we let him drink from the bottle for a bit. He finished the bowl (which was 1 TBSP rice cereal, 4ish TBSP his milkies). We figured we'll try it twice a day - there were spurts where he'd eat it from the spoon just fine for a good minute or so but then he'd start fussing for the bottle.
Wow, does time fly! Seems like it was just the beginning of February with the big snowstorm, then he was here and we were struggling the first few weeks... hard to believe it's already May and summer is just right around the corner!
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| 1st taste of solid food - Gerber rice cereal 3 months old |
He took the spoon pretty well but fussed almost the entire time we were feeding him the rice cereal, until we let him drink from the bottle for a bit. He finished the bowl (which was 1 TBSP rice cereal, 4ish TBSP his milkies). We figured we'll try it twice a day - there were spurts where he'd eat it from the spoon just fine for a good minute or so but then he'd start fussing for the bottle.
3.29.2011
It's almost time!
So we're in full swing of pre-moving!
Thursday while I was out running errands hubby had me pick up a bunch of boxes from U-Haul and we've been busy boxing stuff up since. Right now we've just have left the bathroom, the stuff in the kitchen we use, Jay's stuff, and the stuff in our closet to pack up, as well as a slew of stuff in the storage unit and of course decorative stuff that I need to get newspaper from my parents so we can wrap it up so it doesn't break.
Kitty is quite confused, although she enjoys jumping up on top of the boxes and even in some of them!
I was also productive today and got a lot done as far as moving preparations.
I secured a quote for homeowner's insurance through Farmer's (they had the best rate), got electric (ComEd) setup in my name and starting on the 6th, got our gas (Nicor) set up and just waiting for confirmation, and reserved a U-Haul truck for the day we're moving all the big stuff over to the house (the 9th). I also setup a new Comcast account over there and got their awesome online special for new accounts (basically what we have now, plus the HD channels and HBO for 6 months so we can watch True Blood and Entourage this summer!) and setup an appointment for them to come out and "install" it. I also learned that our water and trash are on the same bill and were started on the 16th - apparently the realty company that was selling our house had them put the water/trash bill in our name then as we were going to need to have the water on for the home inspection.
So aside from finishing up packing we just have to write up and leave our 30 day move-out notice and purchase our fridge and washer/dryer which we're planning on doing tomorrow (Tuesday) as well as purchasing some stuff we're going to need around the house - yay shopping!
In other news, Jay has been downing 5.5oz bottles - at least 2 a day! And he definitely feels a bit heavier too.
His next check-up is his 2-month one next week (can't believe he's already 2 months old on Friday!) and I'm pretty sure the doctor is going to have us reduce his calories per oz from the 24 down to the normal 20 and if not I'm going to ask, as he's averaging a little over 20oz of food per day which I'm sure is a lot more calories than he needs!
On the 14th we're going up to the children's hospital in Madison for further kidney testing, including a more advanced ultrasound (which his urologist said in some cases they can tell what's causing the blockage from this ultrasound) and some test I read about that involves a catheter and they give him some liquid and watch how it empties from his system or something... I forget the specifics! Not going to be fun for him and it's likely to be a long day too - we have to be there at 9am and it's a little over an hour drive so we need to leave a little after 7am... the said the ultrasound could take up to an hour while the catheter test is obviously going to take awhile.
Jay's been a little farting machine too lately! It's actually quite amusing!
Oh! And his birth announcements arrived today too - we'll probably send them out next week or the week after we move and get somewhat settled.
He peed the bed - or should I say our bed - the other night. I was laying down to relax and was snuggling with him when I sat my arm in something wet underneath him... mommy fail! Apparently I didn't fasten the one side of his diaper tight enough and he leaked a nice size puddle on our bedsheet! Doh!
He also seems to enjoy watching/listening to daddy play Call of Duty as he was sitting perfectly fine in his bouncy seat while daddy was playing but the second he was done he got fussy! LOL... He also LOVES looking at himself in the front-facing cameras on daddy's phone (an HTC Thunderbolt) and tablet (the Samsung Galaxy Tab) - it's pretty funny! Take that mirrors! lol...
He's been sleeping a good 3-4 hours a night in the bassinet most nights before he ends up sleeping on me for the rest of the night. It's progress. I'm hoping maybe his crib will be more comfortable for him once we get it setup after the move.
I've also resorted to letting him sleep on his tummy in there too. He seems more comfortable than on his back and he sleeps a lot longer too - on his back he doesn't last long before he's awake and howling. Plus, if he sleeps with his binky in his mouth, it doesn't fall out as easily. While they ingrain the SIDS guidelines and warnings, I'm not too worried about him on his tummy as he's got lifting and turning his head down pat and when he is on his tummy he's automatically got his head turned to one side or the other. I do check on him throughout the night though just to make sure he's okay and before I drift off to sleep I often look over and make sure he's not faceplanted everytime I hear him move around in there. They also say co-sleeping is a no-no too, but we've broken that "rule" plenty and we're doing just fine with it - sometimes you have to do what you have to do so everybody wins and is able to get a decent amount of sleep! We'll try his back again when he's sleeping in his crib in the upcoming weeks - a friend suggested it could just be the Pack n Play mattress isn't comfy (her kids hated it) and that he might sleep better on an actual crib mattress, so we'll see.
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| Mound o'boxes |
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| Boxes are taking over my living room! |
Kitty is quite confused, although she enjoys jumping up on top of the boxes and even in some of them!
I was also productive today and got a lot done as far as moving preparations.
I secured a quote for homeowner's insurance through Farmer's (they had the best rate), got electric (ComEd) setup in my name and starting on the 6th, got our gas (Nicor) set up and just waiting for confirmation, and reserved a U-Haul truck for the day we're moving all the big stuff over to the house (the 9th). I also setup a new Comcast account over there and got their awesome online special for new accounts (basically what we have now, plus the HD channels and HBO for 6 months so we can watch True Blood and Entourage this summer!) and setup an appointment for them to come out and "install" it. I also learned that our water and trash are on the same bill and were started on the 16th - apparently the realty company that was selling our house had them put the water/trash bill in our name then as we were going to need to have the water on for the home inspection.
So aside from finishing up packing we just have to write up and leave our 30 day move-out notice and purchase our fridge and washer/dryer which we're planning on doing tomorrow (Tuesday) as well as purchasing some stuff we're going to need around the house - yay shopping!
In other news, Jay has been downing 5.5oz bottles - at least 2 a day! And he definitely feels a bit heavier too.
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| Baby smiles!! |
On the 14th we're going up to the children's hospital in Madison for further kidney testing, including a more advanced ultrasound (which his urologist said in some cases they can tell what's causing the blockage from this ultrasound) and some test I read about that involves a catheter and they give him some liquid and watch how it empties from his system or something... I forget the specifics! Not going to be fun for him and it's likely to be a long day too - we have to be there at 9am and it's a little over an hour drive so we need to leave a little after 7am... the said the ultrasound could take up to an hour while the catheter test is obviously going to take awhile.
Jay's been a little farting machine too lately! It's actually quite amusing!
Oh! And his birth announcements arrived today too - we'll probably send them out next week or the week after we move and get somewhat settled.
He peed the bed - or should I say our bed - the other night. I was laying down to relax and was snuggling with him when I sat my arm in something wet underneath him... mommy fail! Apparently I didn't fasten the one side of his diaper tight enough and he leaked a nice size puddle on our bedsheet! Doh!
He also seems to enjoy watching/listening to daddy play Call of Duty as he was sitting perfectly fine in his bouncy seat while daddy was playing but the second he was done he got fussy! LOL... He also LOVES looking at himself in the front-facing cameras on daddy's phone (an HTC Thunderbolt) and tablet (the Samsung Galaxy Tab) - it's pretty funny! Take that mirrors! lol...
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| Passed out on mommy |
I've also resorted to letting him sleep on his tummy in there too. He seems more comfortable than on his back and he sleeps a lot longer too - on his back he doesn't last long before he's awake and howling. Plus, if he sleeps with his binky in his mouth, it doesn't fall out as easily. While they ingrain the SIDS guidelines and warnings, I'm not too worried about him on his tummy as he's got lifting and turning his head down pat and when he is on his tummy he's automatically got his head turned to one side or the other. I do check on him throughout the night though just to make sure he's okay and before I drift off to sleep I often look over and make sure he's not faceplanted everytime I hear him move around in there. They also say co-sleeping is a no-no too, but we've broken that "rule" plenty and we're doing just fine with it - sometimes you have to do what you have to do so everybody wins and is able to get a decent amount of sleep! We'll try his back again when he's sleeping in his crib in the upcoming weeks - a friend suggested it could just be the Pack n Play mattress isn't comfy (her kids hated it) and that he might sleep better on an actual crib mattress, so we'll see.
3.11.2011
End of week wrap-up
So Jay is 5 weeks old this morning.
The visiting nurse came Tuesday evening and weighed him at 7lbs, 11oz (despite the doctor's office scale the day before clocking him at 7lbs, 6oz) and then she came for the last time this morning and he weighed 7lbs, 13oz! Either way, he's growing!
Once he hits 8lbs we can start fitting him into some of the 0-3month sized clothes he has plenty of, as those are good for 8-12lbs - I'm guessing after next week he'll be into them (which is good cuz the St. Patrick's Day onesie I bought him is newborn size!)
Last night he slept a good 3 hours in the bassinet (from about 430am-730am) before waking up to eat. He's also been eating 2.5-3oz per feeding on average and sometimes he'll down as much as 4oz! I'm thrilled!
Today was a nice day - we woke up by 1030am as the visiting nurse was supposed to be by a little after 11... well she didn't get there til almost noon, but whatever. Then we took a nice nap together on the couch til about 230pm and then got ready to go out to the mall for a bit to do some mall walking with mommy's friend and her 2 young kids (one's 4, the other is turning 1 this weekend). Jay fell asleep as soon as we got to the mall and didn't wake up til almost 2 hours later when we left. Then my inlaws came over for a bit to spend some time with Jay and now we're just hanging out the 2 of us like we usually do late at night.
Jay's latest thing this week, aside from being alert and looking at everything, is faking sleep. When he wants you stop trying to burp him he'll pretend to fall asleep. When he doesn't want his binky anymore, he'll pretend to fall asleep. His honorary aunt Jeny who's in town this week to do some wedding planning came by and soon after she started holding him he pretended to fall asleep as he didn't know who she was. How do we know he's faking? He over exaggerates his breathing, will creep open one eye to peak out and see if you notice him "sleeping" and he'll give this big silly grin if you catch him with his eye open, lol... it's pretty funny!
So tomorrow Jay gets to spend the evening with Grammie and Grandpap as mommy and daddy are going into the suburbs and then Sunday Jay has his first birthday party to attend (my friend's daughter who's turning 1). Next week I have 3 doctor appointments to go to - Jay's follow-up at the doctor's office on Monday, his follow-up urology appointment on Thursday, and then on Friday I have my 6 week post-partum appointment - hopefully I'll get my birth control prescription filled and a note saying I'm good to go back to work as I need to make some monies so I can spoil Jay some more and get us furniture and decorative stuff for our new home.
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| Mommy's Little Monkey |
Once he hits 8lbs we can start fitting him into some of the 0-3month sized clothes he has plenty of, as those are good for 8-12lbs - I'm guessing after next week he'll be into them (which is good cuz the St. Patrick's Day onesie I bought him is newborn size!)
Last night he slept a good 3 hours in the bassinet (from about 430am-730am) before waking up to eat. He's also been eating 2.5-3oz per feeding on average and sometimes he'll down as much as 4oz! I'm thrilled!
Today was a nice day - we woke up by 1030am as the visiting nurse was supposed to be by a little after 11... well she didn't get there til almost noon, but whatever. Then we took a nice nap together on the couch til about 230pm and then got ready to go out to the mall for a bit to do some mall walking with mommy's friend and her 2 young kids (one's 4, the other is turning 1 this weekend). Jay fell asleep as soon as we got to the mall and didn't wake up til almost 2 hours later when we left. Then my inlaws came over for a bit to spend some time with Jay and now we're just hanging out the 2 of us like we usually do late at night.
Jay's latest thing this week, aside from being alert and looking at everything, is faking sleep. When he wants you stop trying to burp him he'll pretend to fall asleep. When he doesn't want his binky anymore, he'll pretend to fall asleep. His honorary aunt Jeny who's in town this week to do some wedding planning came by and soon after she started holding him he pretended to fall asleep as he didn't know who she was. How do we know he's faking? He over exaggerates his breathing, will creep open one eye to peak out and see if you notice him "sleeping" and he'll give this big silly grin if you catch him with his eye open, lol... it's pretty funny!
So tomorrow Jay gets to spend the evening with Grammie and Grandpap as mommy and daddy are going into the suburbs and then Sunday Jay has his first birthday party to attend (my friend's daughter who's turning 1). Next week I have 3 doctor appointments to go to - Jay's follow-up at the doctor's office on Monday, his follow-up urology appointment on Thursday, and then on Friday I have my 6 week post-partum appointment - hopefully I'll get my birth control prescription filled and a note saying I'm good to go back to work as I need to make some monies so I can spoil Jay some more and get us furniture and decorative stuff for our new home.
3.01.2011
Home from the hospital
We were finally discharged from the hospital late this morning (Monday).
Since my last post on Wednesday, Jay's made quite a bit of improvement!
Thursday they started upping the amount of formula he was continuously being fed every few hours, trying to get him back up to 20mL as they had bumped him down to 10 after the first night of the continuous feeding as he was spitting up still. We got to about 15mL on Friday evening when the stomach doctor that started seeing us decided to go ahead and have us start feeding him by bottle again (50mL of 24 calorie formula) every 3 hours as he felt that the continuous feed wouldn't help get us out of there any quicker as with Jay constantly having food in his tummy, he wasn't getting that sensation of being hungry and wanting to eat. They had us do that for the rest of the night and all of Saturday before Sunday just letting him eat as much as he could/wanted every few hours - 50mL is just under 2oz, and when they let us, he was averaging 2oz per feeding on Sunday and he was keeping it down for the most part too!
Since he was eating fine on his own and keeping it down pretty well and gaining weight they let us go today - much to my pleasure as I was sick and tired of sleeping on the hospital pull-out furniture and just being there in general.
They have us feeding him Enfamil's Lipil formula, mixing it a special way so it's more concentrated giving him 27 calories per oz. He weighed 6lbs, 12.1oz this morning when we left - a huge improvement from the 6lbs, 1oz he came in at!
Because he has to be on the higher calorie formula, obviously I'm not breastfeeding. There's no telling how long he'll need to be on the higher calorie formula and my supply already seems to have depleted. I'm fine with it though so don't think I'm beating myself up over the fact I can't breastfeed him - I'm not and like I mentioned in a previous post, I kinda welcome the fact that we have to give him formula as with all the post-partum crap (I was dealing with the depression and emotional stuff of it to a lesser degree), the stress of breastfeeding wasn't helping it any.
He's been doing good since we got home though - he ate 2.5oz for his afternoon bottle before taking a 2.5hr nap IN THE BASSINET!!! It was a shocker to me too, as he fell asleep after eating and I put him down in there so I could at least do some stuff before he woke up... and Little Man was passed out! He's napping in there right now too - I expect him to wake up around the time daddy gets home from work for some more food before we try putting him down for the rest of the night/morning. He did spit up a little tonight though - he drank 1oz that was left from before and then I made another 3oz bottle... there was a lot of foam but from what I can tell he drank nearly 2oz before spitting up probably 1 (all over himself and me - fortunately none got on the couch!); I cleaned him off though and he ate maybe another half ounce before tiring out. I'm not too worried though - he had already met his ounces for the day (for his size, he needs about 15oz of the normal formula and about 12oz of the higher calorie stuff).
Since my last post on Wednesday, Jay's made quite a bit of improvement!
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| Jay's first wagon ride! When they discharge the kids from the pediatric unit, they wheel them out and down to the entrance in these wagons! How cute! |
Since he was eating fine on his own and keeping it down pretty well and gaining weight they let us go today - much to my pleasure as I was sick and tired of sleeping on the hospital pull-out furniture and just being there in general.
They have us feeding him Enfamil's Lipil formula, mixing it a special way so it's more concentrated giving him 27 calories per oz. He weighed 6lbs, 12.1oz this morning when we left - a huge improvement from the 6lbs, 1oz he came in at!
Because he has to be on the higher calorie formula, obviously I'm not breastfeeding. There's no telling how long he'll need to be on the higher calorie formula and my supply already seems to have depleted. I'm fine with it though so don't think I'm beating myself up over the fact I can't breastfeed him - I'm not and like I mentioned in a previous post, I kinda welcome the fact that we have to give him formula as with all the post-partum crap (I was dealing with the depression and emotional stuff of it to a lesser degree), the stress of breastfeeding wasn't helping it any.
He's been doing good since we got home though - he ate 2.5oz for his afternoon bottle before taking a 2.5hr nap IN THE BASSINET!!! It was a shocker to me too, as he fell asleep after eating and I put him down in there so I could at least do some stuff before he woke up... and Little Man was passed out! He's napping in there right now too - I expect him to wake up around the time daddy gets home from work for some more food before we try putting him down for the rest of the night/morning. He did spit up a little tonight though - he drank 1oz that was left from before and then I made another 3oz bottle... there was a lot of foam but from what I can tell he drank nearly 2oz before spitting up probably 1 (all over himself and me - fortunately none got on the couch!); I cleaned him off though and he ate maybe another half ounce before tiring out. I'm not too worried though - he had already met his ounces for the day (for his size, he needs about 15oz of the normal formula and about 12oz of the higher calorie stuff).
2.23.2011
Failure to Thrive
Those that follow me on Twitter and of course family and friends that are on Facebook already know about what's been going on this week... for the rest though, here's an update - thoughts and prayers for us and little Jay are much appreciated!
As I mentioned over the weekend, we switched Jay to formula as at his doctor's appointment on Friday showed that he had LOST weight rather than gained any and the doctor wanted us to supplement with formula to see if that would put the weight on him, thinking maybe my milk supply just wasn't doing the job.
Well first thing Monday morning we went in for a follow-up again just to see if the formula was doing the trick... well he hadn't lost anymore weight, but he didn't gain any either, holding steady at 6lbs, 1oz, which was the same as his hospital discharge weight after he was born.
Our doctor said that wasn't acceptable and had his receptionist call over and get us admitted at the hospital so they could look into why he wasn't gaining any weight despite us feeding him every 2-3hours.
Well, Monday we met with the pediatric doctor here who explained that it's possible Jay just has what is called "failure to thrive" meaning that for whatever reason he just "got behind" and hasn't seemed to catch up. He looked him over and said that Jay appears to be completely healthy - he was very impressed at his strength too, despite his small size, and how well he was already holding his head up! They ran another renal ultrasound on Jay just to check and make sure his left kidney (the enlarged one) hadn't grown any in the past 2 weeks, possibly putting pressure on his stomach causing it make him feel full when he actually isn't, and they drew some blood for some blood work tests too. They also had us feeding him formula via a bottle and then pumping the rest in via a pump hooked up to his feeding tube, as he needs to be eating 2.5oz per feeding to get in the calories he needs to grow (at home we were doing good if we could get him to take 1oz per feeding - getting anymore than that into him before he fell asleep or spit it up was rare!).
About 1am on Tuesday we had a bit of a scare too - Jay started spitting up and coughing up A TON of mucus! It was really scary as at one point it seemed like he was choking trying to cough it up and the nurses had to suction a ton of it out of his noes and the back of his throat... seemed like it was taking forever to get it to stop coming up and yeah... it was just really scary!
Tuesday morning we had the results of the ultrasound, which came back fine - his kidney hasn't grown or changed since so that's not the issue, and all the tests they did with his blood came back fine as well. They suggested we do this barium x-ray where they mix barium in with formula and feed it to him and watch via an x-ray to see how it's going through his system, down his throat, into his stomach and through to his intestines, making sure there's nothing blocking or obstructing the flow that would cause him not to eat much or spit up when he eats more than a certain amount. That came back fine though too - nothing abnormal, everything was going through him fine.
He kept his 11am feeding down pretty well but spit up most of the 2pm feeding. They hooked him to an IV bag with formula in it that is slowly continuously pumping the food into him via his feeding tube. He spit up a little at 8pm and again at 130am. I fell asleep around 3am and they said he spit up again at about 4am so they turned down the amount he was getting per hour from 20ml to 10ml and he hasn't spit up since (as of 930pm Wednesday night).
Today (Wednesday) we had a pediatric GI specialist come in and take a look at him to see if she could think of any other reason that what we've already ruled out that could be the cause for this. She said the same thing the pediatric doctor did - he seems perfectly healthy! She said it just seems he "got behind" and needs the push to get him to eat more and hold it down. She also increased his calorie intake from 24 to 27, so it seems like going back to breastfeeding won't be an option for us as he needs high calorie formula to catch up and push his growth.
The pediatric doctor said that for tonight they're going to keep him on the continuous feeding to see if he continues to grow more (he's gained 4oz since we've been here, now at 6lbs 5oz, up from 6lbs, 1oz) and then tomorrow we'll try giving him a bottle again and pumping in what he doesn't finish every 3 hours to see if he can stomach it now that he's been having it continuously going into his system for over 24hours. He said we'll be here at least through Friday if not through the weekend and it's possible they might send us home with his feeding tube still in him so we can give him a bottle and pump in the rest via a syringe - hopefully he does well enough though the next few days with the bottle though that we won't have to do that. He also said the feeding tube can last for several months before needing to be changed out, however he said he doesn't see Jay needing it for more than a few weeks after we go home if at all. He also said that they'll leave us alone as much as possible, meaning they won't be doing anymore tests or poking/prodding of Jay unless there's an absolute reason for it as he'd rather just see how he takes to the feedings.
I must say though, this pediatric doctor has been great! I like his approach of let's not do anything unnecessary when it comes to the testing and all that and he's very easy to talk to - I think when our family doctor retires (we believe he's in his early-mid 60s) I might try to see if we can get on under this guy.
Jay has been quite the little trooper too, taking everything so well! Sure, he cried when they put the feeding tube in (which was hard for me to watch too) and got a little fussy near the end of them drawing blood from his heel and at the end of the ultrasound and while they took the big scary x-ray of his belly, but for a barely 3 week year old he's been doing very well! He's been sucking on his binky quite a bit too, using that as his security item it seems, as Monday while everything was going on he was sucking on it like crazy while holding onto my finger. He had a little bit of a crying fit earlier - nothing seemed to comfort him for about 10 minutes, but then he was fine - I think he's just a little stressed, having to be back in the hospital and hooked up to a machine with nurses coming in throughout the day to check his vitals... I don't blame him for having a good cry - the situation sucks.
My mom's been coming up during the late morning and staying through the afternoon so I can get a nap and shower in (I've only been getting a few hours of sleep at night here in the hospital as I don't want to leave Jay alone up here - he's too little and only a few faces are really familiar to him) while hubby's been coming up after work in the evenings and staying til around midnight - fortunately he took this week off as his vacation from UPS as we were expecting Jay to be born this past weekend so he doesn't have to rush off to his night job this week.
So that's where we are with things - we'll be here at least through Friday, possibly through the weekend, all depending on how much Jay grows and how well he does with the bottle the next few days.
Thanks in advance for your prayers and thoughts - hopefully things continue to progress and get better and he's able to eat as much as he should be on his own!
As I mentioned over the weekend, we switched Jay to formula as at his doctor's appointment on Friday showed that he had LOST weight rather than gained any and the doctor wanted us to supplement with formula to see if that would put the weight on him, thinking maybe my milk supply just wasn't doing the job.
Well first thing Monday morning we went in for a follow-up again just to see if the formula was doing the trick... well he hadn't lost anymore weight, but he didn't gain any either, holding steady at 6lbs, 1oz, which was the same as his hospital discharge weight after he was born.
Our doctor said that wasn't acceptable and had his receptionist call over and get us admitted at the hospital so they could look into why he wasn't gaining any weight despite us feeding him every 2-3hours.
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| Jay with feeding tube & pump |
About 1am on Tuesday we had a bit of a scare too - Jay started spitting up and coughing up A TON of mucus! It was really scary as at one point it seemed like he was choking trying to cough it up and the nurses had to suction a ton of it out of his noes and the back of his throat... seemed like it was taking forever to get it to stop coming up and yeah... it was just really scary!
Tuesday morning we had the results of the ultrasound, which came back fine - his kidney hasn't grown or changed since so that's not the issue, and all the tests they did with his blood came back fine as well. They suggested we do this barium x-ray where they mix barium in with formula and feed it to him and watch via an x-ray to see how it's going through his system, down his throat, into his stomach and through to his intestines, making sure there's nothing blocking or obstructing the flow that would cause him not to eat much or spit up when he eats more than a certain amount. That came back fine though too - nothing abnormal, everything was going through him fine.
He kept his 11am feeding down pretty well but spit up most of the 2pm feeding. They hooked him to an IV bag with formula in it that is slowly continuously pumping the food into him via his feeding tube. He spit up a little at 8pm and again at 130am. I fell asleep around 3am and they said he spit up again at about 4am so they turned down the amount he was getting per hour from 20ml to 10ml and he hasn't spit up since (as of 930pm Wednesday night).
Today (Wednesday) we had a pediatric GI specialist come in and take a look at him to see if she could think of any other reason that what we've already ruled out that could be the cause for this. She said the same thing the pediatric doctor did - he seems perfectly healthy! She said it just seems he "got behind" and needs the push to get him to eat more and hold it down. She also increased his calorie intake from 24 to 27, so it seems like going back to breastfeeding won't be an option for us as he needs high calorie formula to catch up and push his growth.
 |
| Keeping calm in mommy's arms with his binky while continuously being fed via feeding tube. |
I must say though, this pediatric doctor has been great! I like his approach of let's not do anything unnecessary when it comes to the testing and all that and he's very easy to talk to - I think when our family doctor retires (we believe he's in his early-mid 60s) I might try to see if we can get on under this guy.
Jay has been quite the little trooper too, taking everything so well! Sure, he cried when they put the feeding tube in (which was hard for me to watch too) and got a little fussy near the end of them drawing blood from his heel and at the end of the ultrasound and while they took the big scary x-ray of his belly, but for a barely 3 week year old he's been doing very well! He's been sucking on his binky quite a bit too, using that as his security item it seems, as Monday while everything was going on he was sucking on it like crazy while holding onto my finger. He had a little bit of a crying fit earlier - nothing seemed to comfort him for about 10 minutes, but then he was fine - I think he's just a little stressed, having to be back in the hospital and hooked up to a machine with nurses coming in throughout the day to check his vitals... I don't blame him for having a good cry - the situation sucks.
My mom's been coming up during the late morning and staying through the afternoon so I can get a nap and shower in (I've only been getting a few hours of sleep at night here in the hospital as I don't want to leave Jay alone up here - he's too little and only a few faces are really familiar to him) while hubby's been coming up after work in the evenings and staying til around midnight - fortunately he took this week off as his vacation from UPS as we were expecting Jay to be born this past weekend so he doesn't have to rush off to his night job this week.
So that's where we are with things - we'll be here at least through Friday, possibly through the weekend, all depending on how much Jay grows and how well he does with the bottle the next few days.
Thanks in advance for your prayers and thoughts - hopefully things continue to progress and get better and he's able to eat as much as he should be on his own!
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