New Pediatrician: 4-month well visit

Little bird is growing everyday. I can't believe tomorrow she will already be 5 months old. In one more month, she will be half a year old. (Geez, seems like a blink of an eye ago that she was just a little pea.)

This week, I took her for her four-month well visit at her NEW pediatrician's office. We decided to change pediatricians because it just wasn't a good fit for our family. They weren't as open-minded as they let on to be so   I switched because I have no time to waste hoping that the care of my child will improve. Its the simple things that really make a difference. For example, the new place keeps her file electronically along with a hard copy and gives us a summary of our visit to keep. The old place was very old school in practice and technique, I just couldn't take it.

I had so many questions for our new pediatrician since her last visit to our old pediatrician was at her two month mark. Since then, little bird had developed a mild case of cradle cap, a skin rash on her elbows, and I wanted to know about sleep training. Truth be told, I was also concerned that little bird wasn't meeting certain milestones like rolling over.

For the cradle cap, we were told to wash and brush her hair everyday, if it didn't clear up we should apply some baby oil, brush her hair, and wash it out.

For the skin rash, it turns out it was just a mild form of eczema which most babies develop. To treat, use a mild soap during bathing and apply Aquaphor or a lotion to treat eczema 2-3 times daily especially to dry patches.

Sleep training: It was suggested that we try to avoid her afternoon/evening naps, start a consistent bedtime routine starting around 8pm, and try giving her formula as her last meal (even though little bird still is receiving breast milk, the thought is that she will sleep longer because formula is digests slower than breast milk).

Milestones: Little bird just started tolerating tummy time and her head control while on her tummy had never been great until recently. The pediatrician said that due to her wearing the pavilk harness for two months it could have delayed her a bit on this milestone, which is understandable. They assured me she is doing well for her age and that I shouldn't be concerned about her not rolling over just yet. On the other hand she is doing all of the following:

• Sits when propped with pillows or assisted (Physical)
• Transfers toys/objects from hand to hand/mouth, uses 'mitten like' grasp (Physical)
• Babbles to get attention, watches mouth movements, showing interest in solids (Language/Social)
• Blows bubbles, flaps arms to be picked up, laughs when tickled, tracks accurately (Language/Social)
• Changes hand positions to touch certain objects (Cognitive)
• Is aware that people/things have labels like "mommy" (Cognitive)

They also suggested I switch her bottles to Dr. Brown bottles since they will help with little bird's gas issue which keeps her from sleeping through the night along with mylicon gas drops. (Just got them today, so it's worth a try.)

Here are little bird's latest stats:

Weight: 15 lbs. 11.9 oz.          (74.32 percentile for age)

Length:  2' 2.5''                       (94.99 percentile for age)

Head circumference: 17.52"    (98.01 percentile for age)

At the end of the visit, little bird got her vaccinations (2 total, one of which was a combined vaccine). She's such a little trooper. She got her first one and was fine. Then came the second one, she stared at me with those big blue eyes with a look of shock on her face and started to whimper. I had a bottle ready for her so I stuck it in her mouth and she quickly stopped to eat and was fine. 

I'm glad I changed doctors and look forward to this new partnership. 

Can you believe how tall little bird is getting? 

LaTeR

Wow.

Everyday I tell myself I'll update my blog, call this person, do this chore, begin this workout, and so on. As the day goes on, I realize I will not call that person, do that chore or begin that workout. I spend all day playing, talking, cuddling, laughing, smiling with little bird...oh, and I can't forget wiping her drool, changing her diapers, and feeding her.

One must realize these are moments I will never get back since she's only a little bird once. These are OUR moments. Thus, I'm sorry if I don't get to update my blog as often as I would like, make that phone call, complete that chore (so my house will remain a mess and I will continue to be in my pjs, lol), or shed those post-preggo pounds.

I will get to it LATER, if time allows.

How do you balance your time?

NoT tHe SaMe

Sleep...Life will never be the same for me.

Before little bird, I slept 8+ hours. I enjoyed my weekends when I could lay in bed and watch movies all day long. I went to bed when I wanted and I was on my own schedule. Life was soooo much easier, as I now realize.

These days, sleeping three hours in a row is a luxury. Little bird isn't "sleep trained" and she co-sleeps with me. Which means she is up until I go to bed which is around 10pm each night. She use to wake up once a night around 3:30am but that has changed. Lately, she wakes up three or more times a night either due to gas or hunger. I'm exhausted everyday but as a mother you get up and take care of your duties.

Other mothers report their children (around her same age) go to bed around 7 or 8pm and sleep through the night to about 6-8am. I would never want little bird to sleep that long but if she could just sleep through the night I would be happy.

I'm also super jealous that my hubby gets to sleep normally. Sometimes, I find myself so angry at him just because he continues to "sleep in" on the weekends while I'm up with a crying little bird. I understand he works during the week, pays the bills, and keeps us fed. However, do they (our husbands) realize we work 24/7. Being a SAHM (stay at home mom) is great but it certainly isn't easy. Don't get me wrong, I get to wake up to little bird, I get to witness all her milestones, and I just LOVE her to pieces but there are those days that I feel alone entirely.

Most days, the only other person I talk to all day is little bird. Hubby gets home from work late most nights so when he gets home he wants to play video games, check his emails, make music, or check out the stars for the whole night. Yes, he has been working hard all day and should be able to have "his" time but where's MY time?

I hate the days...

• I don't get time to myself. 
• I can't take a shower (and yes, there are many of those). 
• I don't get to eat three meals a day.
• I can't sleep in when I desperately NEED to.
• I don't get invited to social outings with friends.
• I can't go shopping whenever I want.

Although, there are days that I could live without. I would never live without little bird, she is MY world. Having little bird is such a blessing and being a SAHM is amazing. I am the same person as BEFORE baby just a lot more STRONGER because of her.

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, It's about learning to dance in the rain"

Does anyone have any advise regarding "baby sleep training"?

WoRdLeSs WeDnEsDaY: Daddy's Girl

She already has him wrapped around her cute little finger.