'Nuther Dr Update

Good news!  Ian's weight was way up this morning!  8lbs 10oz!

We weighed him three times, because at first, the scale said he weighed 9lbs, 12oz... and there was no way that was correct; it would have meant he gained nearly 2lbs in 5 days. So we took him off, zero'd the scale and put him back on.  That time he weighed 8lbs 12oz.  So we went for a best of three, and the final "official" weight is 8lbs 10oz.  It also tells me that he may have actually gained more than was reported last Monday, if this scale is proving to have this kind of +/- tolerance.

Today we were introduced to a third doctor from the practice.  I can't remember his name off-hand, but it was something very close to "Dr. Foreskin." (I am just hoping none of the doctors in the practice EVER read this blog.) -- Forstein! That was it!  Dr. Forstein did a good job of looking over Ian and discussing his dietary needs with us.  I also asked him to look at Ian's circumcision, which we have had some concerns regarding it's proper healing.  I'll spare you all from any intimate details, and my son's lifelong embarrassment, but if you are curious you can always email me. Don't anyone be alarmed though, he is functioning properly without any pain or discomfort.

Incidentally, if you ever happen to need to research the public debate on circumcision, I don't recommend Googling the topic because—trust me on this—it returns all sorts of horrid pictures and rants from extremist "purists" claiming that circumcision isn't want God intended (I wonder if any of these nutters are Jewish?)

Before we left the office, Ian decided it was time to eat, so the nurses were kind enough to lend us an office to feed him in, and while in there, Ian decided it was time to immediately and explosively drop what must have been a half-pound of his newly gained weight into his diaper (good Lord!).  Once we cleaned up the office, we were on our way!

You may recall from a previous post that we switched Ian to the Enfamil Gentlease formula because he seemed to be having discomfort digesting the Similac Advance.  Well, he definitely digests the Gentlease better, but we pay for it with insane diaper deposits; we actually may think he's got diarrhea from it.  All the symptoms match except that he's not pooping constantly. Gonna have to rethink his formula again.

Then Ian had a nice relaxing day.  His Aunt Robyn and cousins came over, but he spent most of the time sleeping in the upstairs nursery.

Later that night, he projectile vomited his latest bottle all over Kristin's shoulder.  That was fun!

What have been other people's experiences with different formulas?  I'd be interested in finding out.

Strike a pose!

Our little peanut.

Kristin took Ian to Sears for some holiday pics! Here are some highlights.

How can you not love that dupah!?

In Momma's hands.

Happy 1-MonthAversary Ian!

Wow how time flies!!!

Mr. Ian had his 1-month checkup at the doctor today; this time with the lady doctor.  Once again she proved not nearly as thorough as Dr. Rinzler.

Ian's weight had only gone up 1oz from last Tues, so his weight was 7lbs. 14oz.  The Lady Doctor (I will refrain from naming her outright) said she was "concerned" but seemed a little dismissive about it.  Maybe acting NOT concerned is her way of not panicking panicky mothers, but that's the wrong approach for us.  Lady Doctor wants Ian back in to be weighed again on Saturday, and said that if he doesn't gain significant weight that they have methods of "intervention" but didn't bother to elaborate.

Do you think this Lady Doctor realizes that the word "intervention" to new parents does NOT sound like, "We'll just supplement him with some higher calorie formula for a while, nothing to worry about."?

Do you think that this Lady Doctor realizes that new parents INSTEAD hear, "We have several complicated means of intervention (all which will likely scare the crap out of you), that we'll administer in order to get some weight onto your starving child." and that those same parents conjure visions of their child hooked up to feeding tubes, wires and monitors and possibly admit him to the hospital?

Personally, no, I don't think she realizes it, or thinks about it at all.  (BTW, wrong approach again).

Now Ian looks and acts healthy in EVERY OTHER WAY, so I am not terribly concerned.  It also happens that we changed his formula this week from mixing higher calorie Similac to a regular caloric mix of Neosure Gentlease, because we noticed he seemed to have trouble digesting the Similac: lots of grunting, straining, etc. Since the switch, there has been a LOT less of the fussiness (and strangely enough, a lot less poop too). So I simply attribute it to the formula change, but we'll see what happens on Saturday.

Our 2nd question to Lady Doctor: "His circumcision looks like it might be a little swollen, is this ok?" Her response, "Yeah, it looks a little swollen... don't worry about it." And nothing more.

HOLY CRAP!

Aside from his low weight gain, she said he was healthy, "a clean bill of health."

Just loving this pic!

This is the BEST picture... LOVE this pic. Just had to get it posted for all to enjoy!

Incidentally, Ian got his first piece of U.S. mail today, and it was from the government! He is now an official "card-carrying" citizen, and tax-payer, of the United States: his Social Security card arrived!

And the ounces just keep on coming!

Ian's follow-up appointment with Dr. Rinzler was a success!  7lbs. 13oz!

This was also the first time Kristin took Ian to the doctor on her own.  Since each visit so far has taken a minimum of an hour-and-a-half, I can't continue to take the time away from work.  The first couple of appointments were important for me to attend so that I could see that he was on an upward trend and that there were no issues or complications.

According to Kristin, Dr. Rinzler once again took time with Ian and answered her questions fully.  She liked his approach so much that we think we'll keep him as Ian's primary, instead of "interviewing" each of the doctors in the practice before making a final decision.

Keeping Clean - First Tub Bath

The best bath-taker ever!

Ian got his first "tub" bath today.  Unfortunately, both Kristin and I were hands-on for the event, which means there was no one to take pictures of him in his whale tub.  Rest assured as we get more comfortable and confident holding on to slippery babies, we'll be able to get those pictures for posterity!

I added several pics from the event to the pictures page.  There is also a small slide show running to the right. But here are some of the more noteable picures:

I Loooove this face!!!

Kristin braving the eye of the storm.

Best tushy ever.

And what bath would not be
complete without a lotion bath!

We had a great time singing this to Ian as he was bathing: Singin' in the Bathtub

Gettin' Heavy!

Resting on the morning of his doctor appointment.

It's been a while since I've been able to post!  Lack of sleep does that I suppose.

Ian had another checkup today at the Doctor's office.  This time we met with Dr. Dave Rinzler, who I sang with when I was a member of the Mystic River Chorale.  It was another great checkup.  Ian's weight was 7lbs 10oz, which is up 5oz from his last visit and still right on track.

Dr. Dave was VERY thorough with Ian and I was quite pleased and impressed.  The last doctor we saw just sorta looked Ian over and that was it.  Dr. Rinzler broke out his tools and checked Ian's ears, eyes, nose, throat and other bits.  He checked Ian's step reflex (he has one) and a host of other things that, in hindsight, seemed like things that last doctor SHOULD have done but just didn't bother.

What struck me most about Dr. Rinzler was his willingness to stay and answer questions that we had. He not once seemed rushed to get to his next patient, and not once seemed frustrated with our "first-time parent" questions.  So kudos to you Dr. Rinzler, and thank you!

The good Dr. would like to see Ian again on Tuesday to check his weight, since we have questioned whether or not we need to continue with the high-calorie formula supplement.

Splish! Splash!

The preparation.

Ready for cleaning!

Ahhh... lotion!

And clean hair.

Today Ian got a sponge bath! Not one tear!
Click here for more pics.

Second doctor visit

Ian had his second visit to the doctor today!  His weight was 7lbs 5 oz! That's an ounce a day and right on target.

I also learned a few things at the doctor's office.

1. Pediatrician office's keep you waiting FOREVER.  Most likely because of the crapload of sick kids running around the waiting room.  Luckily, Gales Ferry Pediatrics has waiting room just for newborns, which happens to be where I learned...
   
   
2. Home-schooled kids are socially awkward.  Don't get me wrong, I think home-schooling is a wonderful alternative, takes a tremendous amount of dedication and can produce brilliant children.  But 12-year old "Ruth", who was waiting for her newest little sister to come out from her checkup, has a mom that has unfortunately reinforced the stereotype way too much.  "Ruth" felt it necessary to offer her unrequested knowledge the second we sat down:
   
   Dressed in a floor length organic cotton dress with her hair in a bun, "Ruth" told us all she knew about: midwifery; where to buy organic foods in CT; the science behind why organic food is better for us; why fat free diets are really not bad for us, but rather high sugar diets are; her older sister's new period and the home remedies her family uses to help relieve such "growth sprees"; why she was not allowed to watch the TV in the waiting room (mother said so); and lastly, how she and her 4 sisters know that her mother will be pregnant again because God had promised their mother a son (wow).  After the wait (see item 1), we finally got into the room, where I learned...
   
   
3. My son has incredibly hairy ears.

How did I not notice these!?!?

Are all visiting nurses creepy?

On Tuesday and Wednesday, at the hospital's suggestion, we had a visiting nurse come to check up on Ian.

Personal opinion: Totally worthless.

During the first visit, I watched Kristin nearly crawl to the ceiling as she watched the nurse suddenly stick her finger in Ian's mouth and casually comment, "Oh!  Well, he's got some good suction!"  REALLY!?  Maybe this is a common technique, but I thought it very odd.  To be fair, I witnessed this nurse sanitize her hands when she arrived—Kristin had not.

So after all her measuring and consulting, she was wondering if we wanted her to come back, but seemed more concerned about the copay we would have.  Lady, if there's a medical need for you to come out, then by all means do so... don't let a stupid $30 copay stop you!

How do we know these people aren't just freaks that go out and buy a set of scrubs and a stethoscope!?!?

First Checkup at the Doctor's office.

Getting ready to meet the doctor.

Ian had his first Doctor's appointment today!  It was really just intended to meet the doctor, register Ian as a patient, and see the office.  We also got a baseline weight for him on the office's scale.

He weighed 7lbs. 1oz, which is no change from yesterday, the day of his discharge, but I wasn't expecting it to go up.  Just as long as it didn't go down.

The doctor said he looked good though!  His circumcision is healing just fine, as was his diaper rash from the jaundice treatment.  She said we could stop applying the Vaseline and gauze for his circumcision and just to use A+D Ointment on his tush.

We had been using a product called Ilex for the rash, something that the hospital gave us, because the rash really was bad.  Let me tell you, this is some crazy stuff.  It worked great, but it's a pain in the butt (pun possibly intended) to use.  It literally forms a permanent barrier, like a film, on the kid's butt!  You have to put Vaseline on top of it so that the diaper doesn't stick to it.  It's designed to stick to broken down skin only, and peel away (with soapy water) from healed skin.  This worked pretty much as expected, but it was like peeling dried rubber cement.

So that's it... a good first appointment!  Oh, and I forgot to bring the camera, damnit.