Sorry for the lack of update--I've been teaching 2 University of Phoenix classes for the very first time, and I swear it's more than twice the work of teaching just 1! I've enjoyed being busy, but with all the grading and posting on top of keeping up with an increasingly awake 4 month old, I don't have a ton of time to update the blog!
That being said, Gabby had her 4 month appointment on Monday, and she's officially gained 1.5 lbs since starting formula supplementation! I knew she'd gained about that much, since I'd continued weighing her on the scale at home, but it was really nice to have official confirmation. She still only in the 3rd percentile, but it's way better than not even being on the chart! She was also 24.5 inches long (somewhere between 10th and 25th percentile), and her head was 39.5 cm (under 5th percentile). She actually eats quite a lot of formula--basically 2 oz in her 2nd and 3rd feedings, 3 oz in her 4th feeding, and back to 2 oz in her last feeding (but only because I give her the other 2 in expressed milk). The doctor said we can start her on solids pretty much any time we want, kicking it off with rice cereal and the stage 1 baby food. We're probably going to wait another couple of weeks to let her settle into the formula a bit more, but we do plan on starting when she's around 5 months old. The doctor says that'll help with her weight gain too. He wants her in the 25th percentile by her 6 month appointment, and we've got a ways to go to get there!
Gabby handled her shots like a pro. She cried a tiny little bit, but stopped quickly. She was very tired and clingy the next day, but by Wednesday, she was back to her old happy self. I was actually really happy with her being so tired--she slept 13 hours Monday night into Tuesday (I felt like a whole new person!), and then took two 2.5 hour naps on Tuesday! She also didn't need to eat on Tuesday night (although she needed a paci at 3:00 am and again at 5:30, so I didn't get to sleep through the night like I did on Monday). However, I was back to being up with her last night for about an hour when she ate and then stayed awake for much longer after getting done. She has been sleeping for long periods, and not getting up nearly as often since we started formula. The flip side of that is that she's been quite a bit gassier. When she was just nursing, I could get away with not burping her at all and it would just work itself out. Now with the formula, if we don't burp her, she doesn't sleep! Brian found that out the hard way one night--he started trying to get her down for the night at 8:00, and she wouldn't go to sleep until 9:30 after having one huge poo. Poor guy, but I was just glad it was one poopy diaper I didn't have to change!
I promise to post pictures as soon as I get them off of the camera!
So it turns out I was right to be worried about Gabby's weight! I was weighing her pretty regularly after her bath, and realized that after a week and a half of weighing, she wasn't gaining any weight. Brian and I looked up her weight and age on the growth curve, and she was not even on the chart (like well below 5th percentile). I called the doctor today, and he had me bring her in for a weigh-in at their office. She officially weighed in at 10 lbs even, which is well below the 11.5 lbs she should be to stay on her growth curve (the 10th percentile). So now we're supplementing 2 oz of formula after each feeding.
I do have mixed feelings about this. Breastfeeding was such a bonding experience, and it was really cool to be the sole provider of food for Gabby. I still get to breastfeed, but now after that is done, she'll get her formula. I've done this for 2 feedings now today, and it's wicked obvious that she really needs those extra calories. She sucks that bottle right on down! Honestly, I could probably give her more, and she would eat that as well, but we want to make sure she's still getting some breast milk. The doctor thinks she was getting enough volume, but not enough fat. So basically she had enough calories to develop mentally, but not enough to put some meat on her bones. I'm switching to whole milk (yeah, that's going to take some getting used to!) to see if that helps some, but frankly, it probably won't. I'm going to keep up with the breastfeeding as long as I can with the supplementation, and it's going to be another challenge adjusting to the new feeding. I've tried feeding her the formula an hour after she eats, but that means I'm basically feeding her once an hour, and it makes it really hard to go anywhere with her at all (although the bottle will make it so much easier to be mobile). So I'm going to try feeding directly after the boob, hoping that she still has room in her belly for the formula. It's going to be a challenge, but Gabby and I are up for it!
So keep us in your thoughts, as we try to pack on 0.5 lbs before her 4 month appointment in 2 weeks!
Time is flying again! We're 3 and a half months in, and doing fine! My Mothers Day present from Brian was a video camera, so expect to see more videos of the cute things I observe her doing every day.
I have to say that is the best thing about being home with her all the time--I get to see her milestones myself (give me this one, working moms--it's so hard to find positives when you really want to work but can't freaking get hired anywhere!). This week she definitely discovered her feet. She's not grabbing them quite yet, but she was using them to kick at her toys on her activity mat.
I did warn you about the videos--this one was actually done with my regular camera, since I couldn't find the video camera in time.
She also spends a lot of time now studying her feet when she's sitting on my lap, and I know it's just a matter of time before they find their way into her mouth. Speaking of mouths, she still hasn't quite figured out how to get her toys to her mouth consistently. She gets it every once in a while, but then doesn't really repeat the action. She is able to get both hands to her mouth, and whenever she gets a hold of my hand, it goes straight there as well. She's so close to figuring it out with her toys. I thought for sure she was going to be a lefty, since at first that was the only hand that grabbed things and that she sucked on, but now she spends equal time with each, and maybe even more with righty. I guess it really is too early to tell!
One of her other cute new games it to play in front of the mirrored closet door in our bedroom. This started when I would put her on her tummy in front of the mirror when I needed to get things done upstairs. She quickly discovered that there was a baby who lived in the mirror, and that baby was pretty cool. Then she noticed that baby's mommy who looks suspiciously like her mommy. And occasionally, when she's really lucky, there's a black kitty who comes through that looks very much like Zoe. And occasionally Zoe gets a bit too friendly!
And here's one where Zoe isn't washing her head (I did warn you about the videos, remember!):
One slightly less positive thing is that I am a bit worried about her weight gain. I post regularly to a Facebook group, and one post recently was a poll on how much your baby weighed. Gabby was easily in the bottom 3 of over 100 babies, and many of the babies who weighed more were younger than she is. I bought a baby/toddler scale from Amazon and have been weighing her every couple of days. She's holding steady at 10 lbs, give or take a couple of oz (that seems to depend on diapers and if she's just eaten). Everyone says she looks really healthy, and is very proportionate (not super long and skinny, but rather short and skinny). Plus, she's certainly eating enough and making the requisite number of diapers as a response. She's a very happy baby, and extremely alert when awake, so I probably shouldn't be so worried, but I am a mom and that's apparently my job now! She doesn't have her 4 month appointment until June 18, so I guess I just get to worry until then! I'm pretty sure the pediatrician is going to say she's OK, but still suggest starting rice cereal then to get her weight up a bit. That's fine with me--I'll do whatever I need to do to make sure she's healthy!
One other annoying, although somewhat cute, thing she does is fight her naps tooth and nail. She seems to get tired around an hour and a half after she wakes up from her previous nap, but she really fights going down again hard. We have a routine in which I swaddle her with one arm out, then put a paci in and bounce her for a few minutes until her eyes are closing and then lay her down in her Pack N Play.
Like so
Usually, once she's lying down she'll stay down for at least 1 sleep cycle, but she really fights to stay awake while I'm bouncing her. She usually starts crying when I put her in the swaddle, and she really won't stop until she falls asleep. She really reminds me of my sister (hi Amy!)--Amy would always fight hard to stay awake too, and we figured it was because she didn't want to miss anything. If we get out of the swaddle routine, I really have trouble with her. For instance, we met my friend Susan and her son Jackson at a park for lunch and a concert the other day, and Gabby just would not go to sleep. She was obviously very tired (and it was well past her naptime), but she fought so hard to stay up, because we were outside and there were so many things to see! She eventually crashed while eating, and I was able to put her down for 30 minutes or so.
Proof
She gave me a pretty long nap after we got home, but she was really tired from missing the first one, and fought to go down for that one! It's cute when I think about it, or talk about it with someone else, but really not so cute while it's happening!
On the job front, nothing new at all. I have a UOP class going right now, and another starting June 5 and July 24. I'm really grateful for them--it helps to be able to interact with grown-ups for a couple of hours a day! I am also thankful for the Facebook group--they are a great group of women, and really understanding about my freakouts. I actually posted there that I was worried about Gabby's weight, and everyone who responded was really encouraging. I'm so lucky to have them!! It's also been great to have my friend Stephanie on maternity leave for these past few months, and Susan being home a lot as well. Additionally, one of the moms from the Facebook group lives in Sacramento, and I've been able to meet up with her as well. This is the only way I'm staying sane right now.
We're actually doing a penpal exchange with the Facebook group. I haven't gotten a very good picture of the first gift (an adorable yellow outfit with a huge bee on the butt), but we got a second gift today:
Why yes, that IS a Star Wars burp cloth, wipes box and a tiny Darth Vader toy
I love these ladies! In addition, the mom in Sacramento, Elisabeth, made Gabby this bib:
Don't mind the tired eyes--it was naptime
She's also wearing it in the above photo. It's so cute!
And to end, yet another video of my favoritest baby in the world, and the cool new sounds she makes. It was shot in the kitchen, so please excuse the sound of the fan from the stove in the background.
