Well, it was the first unplanned trip, anyway. A little over a week ago, we noticed a small, round patch of skin on H’s belly that was red and had little bumps, and felt like extremely dry skin. I put (my go-to for everything) Aquaphor on it for a few days and it seemed to definitely help, so I didn’t think a whole lot more about it. Yesterday, however, I noticed about 4 more spots like it on her. Each one about the size of a quarter or so, round, red, and really dry. It didn’t seem to bother her at all, but I figured since it seemed to be spreading, I better take her into the doctor. 

It was hard for me to get a good photo of it, but you can kind of see a few of the spots…the other 3 spots are on her sides. Like I said, not a terrible rash or anything, but it felt really weird and it was spreading, so…better safe than sorry, I guess, especially before we head to TN for the weekend.

So, in we went to the pediatrician this afternoon. We have never really had to wait more than a couple of minutes at the pediatrician’s office, but for some reason, today they were backed up. Our appointment was at 2:20, but I don’t think we actually got to see the doctor until around 3:15. Luckily, H was in a GREAT mood, and was smiling and “talking” to all of the people in the waiting room. And then once we got called back, she had a good time looking at all of the stuff on the walls and out the window. 

We saw Dr. Seidel (one of our favorites), and as soon as she saw the rash, she said I didn’t need to worry. Basically it is just mild atopic dermatitis (eczema), which she said has likely been brought on by a) the heat, b) her rolls, and c) her sweating from the 2 aforementioned factors. She said she wasn’t too worried about her developing full-blown eczema since neither Jon or I have it and it is usually genetic. She asked which kind of soap we use for bath time, and when I told her Johnson & Johnson, she said to switch to just a bar of Dove soap for the time being and that it should help clear it up. She also said to continue lathering her with Aquaphor like we have been doing, and if that doesn’t work, to just put some hydrocortisone cream on it, and that should do the trick. She said that some babies just have worse reactions to the heat/sweat than others and recommended that I dress her as cool as possible and just try to lotion her up as much as possible to try to “stay ahead” of the rash. Easy enough!

Long story short, I was pretty much already doing what the doctor recommended, but I feel better knowing it’s nothing serious and not an allergic reaction to anything. Glad to report that our sweet girl is still just as healthy as can be! :)

-S

Happy Tuesday, friends! This morning, we had Hadley’s 4 month checkup with the pediatrician, and all is well! In a nutshell, H is growing, eating and sleeping like she should (and better in some categories), and the doctor confirmed that she’s as perfect as can be. ;) She was as content as could be waiting for the doctor to come in:

Her stats at 4 months are:

• Weight: 15 lbs, 8.5 oz (87th percentile, up from 85th at 2 months)
• Length: 24.5 inches (59th percentile, up from 45th at 2 months)
• Head circumference: 15 7/8 inches (29th percentile, down from 34th percentile at 2 months)

The doctor said that she was clearly getting plenty to eat, and that she was thrilled with the way H is growing. She said that we could start H on rice cereal any time now, and said that we could put it in her bottle if we wanted to in order to introduce it, and then move to trying to using a spoon. She also said that she would not recommend starting H on any other solids until 6 months, so for now it looks like she’s stuck with milk and rice cereal! :) She said that the rice cereal may also help with H’s spitting up, so I am hopeful!

I only had a few questions to ask, but I got some (mostly) good answers (Q’s from me, A’s from doctor):

• Q: What (if anything) should we do about Hadley spitting up so much?
• A: As long as it doesn’t seem to be bothering her (and it doesn’t, usually) and she’s still gaining weight, it’s ok and normal for breastfed babies to spit up. She said that once she’s eating more solids, she’ll stop, so the end is in sight…and that at this point she didn’t want to put her on any reflux medicines, especially since it doesn’t seem to be bothering her. (Looks like many more wash cycles full of burp cloths and bibs for me!)

• Q: We are still swaddling her at night and for naps. Is this ok or do we need to think about stopping soon?
• A: Time to stop, or at least try to stop, soon. (MAJOR sad face here). She recommended that we try to stop swaddling during naps first and then move to not swaddling for bed time, once she has gotten used to it. (I know what this means: my child, who has been sleeping for 12ish hours for the last month+, is no longer going to. SIGH!) She said to wait until tomorrow to try not swaddling for nap time, since she had to get shots today. :( 

• Q: How do I know how many ounces of breast milk to put into H’s bottle for her one bottle feeding per day?
• A: A general rule of thumb is to divide their weight in pounds by 2, and that is about how many ounces she should be eating (so H weighs 15 lbs, 8.5 oz, she should be eating 7-8 oz.). She said that it’s totally fine if she doesn’t eat that much, though, as long as she seems to be full, and that she is actually probably not getting 8 ounces each time from breastfeeding, because it’s a lot more work than eating from the bottle. 

That was pretty much it for my main questions, and the doctor definitely gave me some helpful information. I also briefly mentioned that H has been waking up around 7 a.m. the last couple of mornings (which is after 9 hours of sleep, she usually sleeps until around 10), and the doctor laughed and told me I didn’t know how lucky I was and that really anything could be causing it…but basically she just told me not to complain. ;)

After our Q&A session ended, it was time for the dreaded 4 month shots. :( H had no idea what was coming:

The nurse was super nice and had H smiling the whole time. She gave her the first round by mouth, which H took like a champ. Then, she did the first shot, and I was shocked to hear the nurse say “well that must not have been too bad” when she was done with it and H hadn’t made a peep!! I said “wait, you’re done?”, and the nurse said “with the first one, but the 2nd one always seems to hurt more, it will definitely make her cry”. With that, I turned my head, and only a few seconds later I heard the cry that puts my stomach in knots. The most pitiful, heart wrenching cry…it was as if she was screaming “WHAT are you letting them do to me, Mommy and Daddy?!?”. So, so sad…but only a minute or so of snuggles later, she was calm again as if nothing had happened. Tough girl! I think she was also pretty excited about her Tweety Bird bandaids:

Much like last time, H has slept most of the day today. I have given her some tylenol per the doctor’s instructions, and other than her sleepiness, the shots haven’t really seemed to affect her. I know that it is in her best interest to get the shots, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. ;)

All in all, today’s appointment was most definitely a success. It feels so good to hear the doctor tell us that we’re doing things right and that we have a healthy, beautiful, sweet girl.

H is waking up from her nap—so I’m off to love on her. Have a great afternoon!

-S