9 MONTH DOC APT

We had Lou's 9 month check up last Thursday and of course had a lot to discuss. First I have to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE his new pediatrician. She is a little hippie-ish which I'm totally down with. The first thing we discussed was his weight and eating issues. He weighed in at 17 lbs 14 ounces which put him in the 10th percentile (height was 28 inches - 40th percentile and head was in the 60th percentile) :)  He might be skinny but he has lots of brains in that big head of his! LOL  Anyway, we looked at his weight on the growth curve and it clearly just leveled off at about 6 months on (which we already knew).  She said this is actually quite common since most babies plump up and grow like crazy in the early months and then taper off at around 6-9 months as they become more active and just naturally slow down a bit in their growth.  She said that looking at his weight alone is not real cause for concern, especially since he looks perfectly healthy and his weight is very evenly distributed.  What caused concern was the family history (cousin with EE, dad with food allergies) and his current issues with solid foods (not eating purees for us (mostly me) and his put food in mouth - chew - spit food out method with finger foods). She explained she wasn't overly concerned since these both could possibly be easily explained but just to be safe and given the family history she wanted him to see a GI Specialist.  She further explained that the not wanting to eat for us could simply be because we are away from him all day and when we get him home it's probably just not what he wants to do. Why would he want to eat cereal and peas when he could do his favorite thing in the world - NURSE!  Or maybe he just wants to play with us.. or probably a little of both.  And the fact that he eats solids just fine at daycare for the most part, that leads her to believe it's a behavioral issue verses a physical issue (another good sign).  Food therapy was also brought up as a way to help him with the textured foods.  At this point I felt pretty good and was happy that I had kept the GI Specialist appointment that I had made a while ago (which was now a week away).

Next we moved on to the sleep issues... at 9 months he is still waking up a TON at night to nurse.  Some nights 5 times a night and others just 2 and very rarely he'll just wake up once.  And man does he get angry if I try to withold the boob - he suddenly becomes a contorcionist and will twist himself into a pretzel and chew through night gown if it means he will get to a boob.  It's rediculous.. and totally hilarious.  He has never taken a bee bee (which was not due to lack of introduction on my part).. I tried and I tried in the beginning and he just had NO interest. Well I haven't given up hope.. every night I leave several bee bees in his crib hoping that during one of his middle of the night wake ups that he will just reach for a bee bee to suck on instead of mom.  So far no such luck.  HOWEVER, he loooooves to hold them. hahahaha.. every time I go to get him during the night and in the morning he always has one in each hand. Strange right?? I've never seen a baby that just HELD their bee bee.. Anyway, his doctor told me she usally suggests night weaning by 6 months old (yes, I know this and actually had him night weaned (for a brief time) by 4 months) but she said she doesn't go by the book on what you should or shouldn't do.  I explained to her that I cannot do the "cry it out" method which other pediatricians have recommended and she understood completely and advised to do what makes me most happy.  Whether that is waking up every 2 hours to nurse or starting the night weaning process with the least amount of tears or even co-sleeping.  She actually believes co-sleeping is a great alternative for moms that work outside of the home during the day since it's important to have that closeness and bonding time with eachother.  Lucas is most likely waking up every two hours to nurse simply because he misses me and wants the comfort it brings.  I like the idea of co-sleeping but the reality of it is just too hard. I've tried it a handful of times and it was miserable every time (mostly for me) I couldn't move around the way I wanted and was constantly worried about smooshing him.. and then we don't go to bed or wake up at the same times.. it was just a mess.. so we will continue putting him in his crib and I will continue to nurse at night.. for now.. eventually this boy needs to be weaned!! I think it helps that nursing is one of my favorite things in the entire world. I absolutely love our time together and the bond we share from it... so that is why I continue to do it.. is zombie-like as I become I know that this, like everything else, will pass and that I will truly miss it. Oh and the important part of the docs advice was that whatever route we take that we need to be consistant.. Consistancy is huge..

Lastly, she wants him to be checked for glaucoma. :( Yep... but not to worry, that it is totally just precautionary.  The first thing she noticed about Lou was his enormous eyes, which is the first thing everyone comments on when they meet him. :)  She asked me if his eyes water which they do.. pretty much everytime he is out in the sunlight they will water.  Apparently big eyes combined with the watering could be an indicator of congenital glaucoma.  She said not to worry and that he's probably just fine but that she wants him to be checked just in case.. so that appointment is scheduled for December 7th.

So now to the GI Specialist (that appointment was this morning).  She pretty much said everything his pediatrician said and explained that she is very confident that he does not have EE (yaaaaay!). She thinks the eating issues are behavior combined with not really knowing what to do with the food once it's in his mouth (the reason for spitting it out).  She thinks he is having a hard time getting it to the back of his throat to swallow and he's just in a transitional period that could be helped along with a little food therapy.  She is requesting he be seen by a food therapist for an evaluation and then go from there.  In the meantime we will watch his weight but as his pediatrician said, he looks great. 

All in all I was very happy with todays appointment and am very confident my little man is going to be just fine. :)

One thing we've learned about Lou is that he HATES elevators.. he does not like the feeling when it drops or rises.  Here he is today, safe in Daddy's arms :) while riding up to his doctor appointment.. stroller and all... :)