So Leo is shrinking. Not really. He's just slipping down the growth chart. At birth he was in the 90th percentile. At two months, the 75th. Now at 4 months he's at the 50th. The doctor tried to pretend she wasn't concerned while at the same time being concerned. A lot of shoulder shrugging and "we'll see how he is next time." She said he's definitely not a failure-to-thrive baby--his height and weight are proportionate and he's happy healthy chubby lovely. But for some reason, this isn't enough. It puzzles me. Why isn't it enough to be meeting milestones and being obviously well fed and cared for and so forth? Could it be that he was just huge at birth and now he's leveling out?
My friend Cathy allayed my fears of pituitary deficiencies by pointing out that different doctors have different bugaboos. My doctor has been lovely and normal and non-hysterical so far--we changed to this office about two years ago when our doctor moved to Arnold, which was just too far to consider. So I've never had a newborn. Maybe this is just her thing and this is where I'll have to put my foot down. I'm fine with that. I just would rather not have to.
But I can't make Leo any bigger than he is. I can make him FATTER but not longer (when do they stop being "long" and become "tall"?). I know different tricks to help with simple weight gain, things I've shared with moms during my tenure as a LLL leader. But his diaper count is fine; he has subcutaneous fat and sleeps an adequate--but not too much--amount. He nurses 8-10 times a day. He falls off or falls asleep at the end of nursing. I just don't think I can fix this. So maybe he won't be 6 feet tall. His dad isn't.
And to top it off, he has an ear infection. No outward symptoms. Different ear from last time. Dang it. With this, the doctor was truly nonchalant. "Oh, I guess he's just an ear infection baby. You're doing all the right things--nursing, no smoking--and he's not in daycare. Genetics."
Damned genetics. So I'm on acidophilus and he's on acidophilus and we have watermelon flavored pink medicine in the fridge. This is getting old. He's becoming a hard baby--not his personality (Sophia was a hard baby that way)--but in all these other things. Clamping when he nurses; ear infections; growth chart slides. I started to get really focused on Me! Me! Me! as I left the doctor, and then over the next six hours was told stories like this:
*"Well, we didn't get home from the ER until 3 this morning." (My mom; heart palpitations but it's ok)
*"His classmate's father hung himself last week in the front hall after his wife left." (My neighbor told me this one)
*There was a triple shooting on the corner next to his house" (someone else on Worship Commission talking about her neighborhood)
*"They're moving to Hawaii" (this doesn't sound like a bad thing, but it would be if I was the one doing it)
And so I got over myself. So often, I probably think this song is about me...that it's nice to get kicked in the tuckus and be reminded that oh, how lovely my life really is.
Leo isn't happy about the vaccinations he received today, but otherwise? I'm betting he levels off at 50% and hangs there a while. Either way, I'm thinking he's fine.
78. Quilt #4 I think 2012
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I think this is the 4th quilt of the year. This one is a baby quilt, about
45x45, for the school auction/dinner/thingy coming up next week. One of the
ele...
3 days ago
7 comments:
I totally concur on the leveling out. It's too bad about the recurring ear infections, though.
I got a lot of hassle about my kids being tiny. They weren't at birth, but they quickly leveled out to something around (sometimes below) the third percentile and stayed there. At one point a doctor prescribed pudding, since it was the only thing she wasn't already eating. A chat with my mother produced family stories and pictures. We have big babies, mostly - my brother was almost twelve pounds - but aren't big people. (He ended up at five four as an adult and isn't fat.)We also have babies who don't gain much weight at all the second six months of their lives.
It took my husband pointing out that three percent of the population will fall below the third percentile and asking "Is she healthy?" in a pointed tone to get the doctor off my back.
We then moved and the pediatrician at the MIT health services said that growth patterns are genetic. He confessed he'd put every asian baby he saw on skim milk until it occurred to him that the asian babies were butterballs but he'd never seen a fat asian toddler.
thanks for that.
My suggestion, like you need advice!, is to just ignore the percentiles. Who decides on that stupid chart anyway? You are exactly right - a good number of diapers, good sleeping, decent eating, etc. That is all you need to worry about.
I actually think that while babies take a lot out of us, they are really easy to read. Is he happy? Does he cry all day or does he have a lot of time where he's content? If a baby is sick or hungry, YOU'D KNOW because he'd be crying all the time.
Trust yourself. You know him better than his doctor does.
Plus, (and yes coming from one math person to another) consider that 90% of 8 pounds is a lot different than 90% of 20 pounds. So, if he was only a couple of ounces heavier or lighter at birth, that would've REALLY changed the percentage, but not so much now.
I'll say it again, Trust Yourself.
good point on the few ounces here and there--I was looking at the WHO chart and saw that, yeah, it does make a big difference at birth compared to now.
He is so happy and cozy and good eating and all that. Dang doctors.
Just remember -- YOU'RE THE MOM!! The mom is it!! And he's beautiful and healthy and happy and yours!!
My middle one was the largest baby, but now strugles to stay on the growth chart. Why him? The other two hang around the 30-50th. It is just him. I have let go of the worry - he is happy and healthy, rarely sick. He is just small and that is just how it is. Nothing I can do about it. I do hope, though, Leo's ear issues get better! Poor baby.
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