Dr. Appointment Update

The appointment went well and everything seems to be fine with RJ's head. She told us to keep doing what we're doing (which is keeping him off of his head as much as possible) and everything should be fine. She also mentioned that the flattening most likely had something to do with the hemotobin on his head that he was born with (which personally I attribute to a nursing shift change at the hospital which delayed the birth, but that's a whole other story). She (the doc) thinks he was probably compensating for it and therefore laying on another part of his head (which is the part that was starting to look flat). This made sense to us since we had been laying him on his side and doing a lot of tummy time all along.

We also discussed the rice cereal and other solids and we're going to begin down that path again starting tomorrow. I think he may have a few belly aches along the way because his digestive system needs to get used to it is all.

RJ weighed in at 14 lbs and 13 ozs and 25 and a half inches long. This puts him somewhere in the 20th percentile range. We discussed this because I thought it was like a school test or something and 20% didn't sound so good to me. The doc explained to me that the majority of babies are actually over weight which means your not really going for 100% here and that she thought 20% was just perfect. She said they only get concerned on growth when they're like in the 5 percentile or sometimes more like 1 percentile. This was all very invaluable information for me because I've been little concerned. I felt a lot better after talking with her.

We also discussed with the doc breaking RJ of the swaddle and we've decided not to lay him on his belly. Pediatricians still recommend laying them on their back or side to sleep up until 1 year of age due to SIDS. They have proven that 1st born males have a higher risk of SIDS and there's just still so much they don't know about it . . . so, we decided we're not willing to take that chance with our precious boy! Instead, in about a week or two we will be trying something I've entitled "cold turkey, cry it out method." The doctor swears by it and at this point RJ is so strong that the body positioner we're using and the swaddle can actually be a SIDS hazard at this point . . . so we may as well get rid of the pacifier at the same time (that's the cold turkey part - take it all away at once). The cry it out method is to take it all away and allow RJ to cry 1st for 20 minutes and then provide reassurance, love, etc. then cry for another 30 minutes before providing more reassurance and finally for 40 minutes (although our prayer is certainly that he doesn't make it this long). The doctor says this works usually after about 3 days. SO . .. we're thinking we'll make a weekend of it so that we don't scare our new nanny away too quickly.

Oh boy . . . it should be a lot of fun! 20 minutes of crying seems more like 20 hours, but I think I'm ready to do it and I know at this point it's the best thing for my little guy in the long run. I'm sure it will be one interesting experience and we'll give you an update!