4 Month Update

Sam had his 4-month well visit yesterday and our boy is doing great!  He has officially doubled his birth weight (of 7lb 10oz) with a little extra to boot!  I figured he was right around 15lb, just by jumping on our home scale with and without him.  Though it only gives you figures by the half pound, so hard to know exactly where he fell.  He weighed in at 15lb 8oz yesterday, so I was close!  And that officially graduates him out of our size 1/2 diaper stash. I knew he was about to blow out of those, so we donated what was left of our unopened stock and have been finishing off those that were opened.  But we quickly realized that diaper sizing is confusing.  I had assumed that he'd go from size 1/2 straight to 3.  You know... 1, 2, 3.  Makes sense, right? Well there's a small gap between the weight ranges for size 1/2 and size 3.  Like a pound.  But the weight range for size 3 is HUGE... and we have a ginormous supply of size 3 because it looks like he'll camp out in those for a while once he's in them.  But I failed to consider he'd actually need a size "2" for a while, which are harder to find.  I mean, the 3's look huge.  OK I'm quickly realizing this is like the most boring paragraph ever written.  Let's move on.

 

So yes, Sam is continuing to pack on the sweet pounds and hitting his milestones, etc. as expected for his age.  Only real thing that is somewhat "off" is his head size.  Before parenthood, I didn't even know you looked at head size, but yeah I guess that makes sense.  He is on the very, very low end of the scale when it comes to the circumference of his noggin for his age.  It is growing, so the doctor is not at all concerned.  But of course I consulted Dr. Google after our visit yesterday and read horrible things.  Hubby was not worried, but called the doctor to put my mind at ease (*sweet hubby*) and she said stop talking to Dr. Google.  Some babes have little heads and it is no cause for concern, as he is hitting and/or exceeding all of his developmental milestones.  And most importantly, it IS growing.  And it certainly doesn't look small, but I have seen other babies his age with ginormous heads - haha...  something you never really notice till you have a kid, I guess!

 

He is at a really fun age right now... we sit up a lot to play - with support of course, but he enjoys sitting up and looking around.  He giggles and coos and smiles like crazy.  And is really, really into his toys now - which is so fun.  He's such a cool little dude.  We are also in the clear to start solids!  So I imagine we'll start with some cereal this weekend.  We've been playing with spoons some just to see if he knows what the heck to do with them.  I would just give him a little milk "froth" on a spoon while  I was putting his bottles together and he seemed to take it fine.  We plan to video his actual first feeding with cereal - should be fun!  My face apparently lit up like I won the lottery when I had my first bite of solids.

 

Also speaking of food, I've definitely experienced how going back to work can take a toll on your milk supply.  Before Sam was here I kinda had an I'll-try-this-breastfeeding-thing-but-if-it-doesn't-work-that's-OK attitude. Now that he's here, I'm like THIS. IS. GOING. TO. WORK.  I'm so grateful that Sam loves the boob... he took right to it from day one.  And breastfeeding has been such a joy... it is our "special time."  We introduced a bottle early because I wanted other family members to be able to feed him, so my pump and I became tight very quickly.  And of course returning to work means bottles for daycare.  But returning to work and the stress that comes with that also can put a kink in your supply.  Before long, I was barely keeping up with him.  I remember one or two days where I didn't even pump enough to fill two of the three bottles he needed for the next day and this was stressing me OUT (which only makes matters worse).  How much I pump is also largely tied to stress and emotions - how crazy is that?  I had to dip into my frozen supply (which was minimal to begin with and now gone) just to get him by. 

 

So then I started asking around about formula... and meanwhile feeling absolutely defeated.  I knew that it would of course be OK to supplement some formula along with breastmilk.  But I just really didn't want to if I didn't have to.  So as a first course of action, I got very aggressive with increasing my supply.  I have the Medela Pump 'n Style (which I love) and earlier had gotten a set of larger shields to see if they worked better for me (than the standard ones the pump came with).  I realize this is totally Greek to you if you've never breastfed - I'm moving on quickly, promise.  The larger shields definitely helped, so I recently got another set so that I can pump with those exclusively.  That, combined with being a little more strategic with my pumping regimen, has made all the difference.  I'm now easily filling Sam's three bottles.  So I feel so much better about it.  And yes, I know my milk supply is not a reflection of me as a momma... but it's hard to take emotion out of it.  Just is.  I would totally add in formula if he needed it, and will if it comes to that - nothing wrong with that.  It's just my own personal will that is pushing me to keep the boy solely on the boob as long as I can.  I'm shooting for one year.  We will have to wean him whenever we go back for the next embryo transfer anyway, so just hoping to make it to the one-year mark.  (And no, we don't have a set date for the next round! Hush!)

 

And I must say on the breastfeeding thing... it is totally a personal decision whether you do it or not and if you do, how long you do it.  But I was telling the hub the other day, how freaking fascinating is it that we (meaning smart science people) have never been able to duplicate breastmilk?  Formula does the job, but even formula makers will tell you breast is best.  The more I read, the more I learn about the crazy "powers" of breastmilk.  Baby's got red eyes? Drop some breastmilk in there.  Chapped lips?  Rub on some breastmilk.  Mom is sick?  Keep feeding baby - the milk is his best defense - even if he gets sick, chances are he'll have the mildest case in the family.  It's pretty nuts!

 

Alright... off to wrap up my week so that I can enjoy the weekend with my little family! Hope you all have a great one. Our big project at home is working on the playroom downstairs for Sam (which up until now has been a pretty empty room).  It's going to be wicked cool... so I will begin posting pics on our progress!  Oh and yeah, party-planning for Sam's 1st birthday is in full force.  Yeah, the one in January.  More to come...

 

Oh and I think I want a minivan.  What the hell?  Go ahead and discuss that.