4 month Check-up and Updates (Long!)

Well, we've definitely had a different baby on our hands lately!  Robby is officially on full formula and he's doing great.  Once we started seeing how well he was doing with the supplemented formula (he also was doing much better with my altered diet, but there was still a noticeable difference in him after he ate breastmilk versus formula), we decided to take the plunge.  It was sad for Mommy to be done nursing because we both really enjoyed it, but I didn't think it was fair to continue nursing him when he clearly felt better on the hypoallergenic formula.  The first few nights of bottle instead of nursing before bed were rough getting him to sleep, but that is quickly getting better.  The reflux is basically gone- he still gets Zantac before bed as a precaution, but I think very soon that will be eliminated as well.  He's been back to his happy, HAPPY self... cracking up hysterically at everything, smiling just because Daddy and I are talking out loud... and sleeping at night has generally been great.  He is inconsistent as we're trying to figure out a 'schedule' for feedings.  Sometimes he sleeps all night, sometimes he wakes around 1am to get a small bottle.  But the first night he got a full bottle before bed... he slept 12 STRAIGHT HOURS!  Mommy got 8 UNINTERRUPTED hours of sleep for the first time in almost 5 months!  It was wonderful. 

As we were figuring all this out, we made an appointment with a pediatric GI in St. Louis, which we went to on our way home to Chicago the day before Thanksgiving.  While we were glad went just to cover all our bases... it was the most pointless doctor's appointment we could have been to.  She basically didn't believe in dairy allergies (or true reflux) in babies... which is crazy due to the evidence to prove the contrary (questions?  Ask my friend Dana- she'll fill you in!! :) ).  So I was back to figuring this out on my own- nothing new there.  Like Nick said after the appointment- one thing we really learned from this?  Trust our own instincts.  They've gotten us this far.

Next was home for Thanksgiving!  We had a great weekend- even though Robby was extremely overwhelmed with such a busy weekend and so many new faces to take in.  He didn't want Mommy to put him down at night... AT ALL.  He wasn't quite his happy self, unfortunately.  He's a sensitive baby for sure.  But we had a wonderful weekend despite his bipolar attitude :)

Tired boy in the dr's office

On our way back to Springfield the Monday after Thanksgiving we had a pediatric urologist appointment in Kansas City (yes, BUSY weekend) to run more detailed tests on his kidneys.  He got an ultrasound on his kidneys first, then they did a VCGU- which is more detailed than other tests he's had.  Robby... was... EXCELLENT.  He laid there so well for the tests, didn't make a peep, and let them do everything they needed to do!  He got a catheter for this test, poor guy, but NO IV!  With how that went last time... we were thrilled no IV to say the least!  The doctor explained that the right kidney is still dilated, but nothing abnormal was found.  He said it could just be that as the 'tube' connecting the kidney to the bladder was forming in utero, it wasn't quite wide enough to fully let the urine through, so the kidney stretched out.  As the tube grew and the urine was able to drain more efficiently, the kidney just stayed stretched out.  So that was good news.  However, there IS reflux on the left.... ?!  Didn't see that coming.  On a scale of 1-5, he was rated a mild 3.  Basically, since he has not had any UTI's or complications with the kidneys/bladder, we are just going to continue to monitor the kidney.  He will go for ultrasounds every 4-6 months until he's 2 years old.  As long as it doesn't get WORSE (staying the same is good), we have nothing to worry about.  If it gets worse or he starts getting UTI's, we will have to consider surgery of some sort.  So as of now, no major concerns, which is good.

Robby had his 4 month check-up with our regular pediatrician last week (he was really just a week shy of 5 months though).  He weighs... wait for it... 17lbs, 1oz!  And he's 26.5in long!  What a big boy.  He's in the 75-80th percentile for height and weight.  He got two vaccines- rotavirus and DTaP... which he of course did great with.  The doctor had no concerns- developmentally, the doctor said he's doing well!

Currently, Robby continues to LOVE to stand and jump with our support.  He wants so badly to sit up on his own... he doesn't like to lean back anymore.  He either likes to lay on his back to play with his toy bars or sit up with support to play!  Tummy time still isn't his favorite, but he still does it... and while he is capable of rolling from tummy to back... he refuses to do it for Mommy and Daddy.  He'll only do it for the sitter or as soon as our backs are turned, and in a nano-second he'll roll over and lay there smiling when we turn back around.  Stinker.  :)  Robby never stays still anymore.  He loves to scoot and slide around- constantly turning himself 180 degrees on both his playmat and in his crib.  So many times, we lay him in his crib for bed, and when we wake up, his head is where his feet used to be and he's sound asleep.  We still swaddle him, so he's really quite talented!  On his playmat, he likes to turn himself around and get the toybar between his legs.  He cracks us up.  He constantly tries to roll from his back to his tummy as well- not quite strong enough, but he gets about half way!  And he's getting really good at 'talking'... he makes all sorts of noises and sounds with his mouth and tongue.  He has learned to click his tongue and will just lay there amusing himself by doing this for stretches at a time!  And while we won't start solid foods until 6 months, Robby has recently started sitting in his high chair to get used to it and exploring utensils- spoons, cups, and his teething toys.  He loves it (for short stretches at a time)!  Our little chunk has been in size 3 diapers for some time now... and has recently graduated to size 6-9 month clothes! 

First time in the stroller without the car seat!

Starting to hold his own bottle

Beautiful day... in December.

Robby's first Christmas will be here before we know it!

If you've gotten this far... Bravo!
Carrie



Poor Baby

(And poor Mommy and Daddy.)

The week after we increased Robby's reflux meds, all of his symptoms started getting worse again.  It was then we realized the Zantac just wasn't working for him anymore (it's common for Zantac to stop working).  I brought him into the doctor to make sure nothing else was going on as he just screams so much of the day and won't sleep at night.  The doctor decided to have us try Prevacid (the solutabs that dissolve in his mouth).  We tried it for a few days... but Robby just kept getting worse and worse.  He was screaming so frequently and forcefully... he was clearly in pain.  After doing some research, I realied that the form of Prevacid we were using has an inactive ingredient derived from MILK.  Robby has a dairy allergy.  So he was reacting horribly to the meds.  We stopped the meds and after all this, have come to realize his dairy allergy is more than just straight dairy- he has milk protein intolerance.  This is the inability to digest the proteins found in cow's milk- for Robby, it causes reflux, fussiness while eating, rash on his cheeks (and now tummy), colic-like behavior, mucousy poop, and horrible sleeping habits.

Our options from here are for me to completely eliminate all milk protein (and possibly soy protein as well, many babies that don't tolerate milk proteins also can't tolerate soy proteins.  so far I haven't noticed anything with soy for Robby, but I haven't had much of it).  This means totally changing my diet as most foods have milk proteins.  Not only would that be difficult for me (but if it's what he will do best with then that of course isn't an issue), but if I accidentally eat something with the allergens in it he will react to that (not as badly as he is now though). 

Or we can try a hypo-allergenic formula that has the proteins already partially broken down so it's not so hard on his GI system- this would be consistent with no chance of him accidentally getting allergens in his system.  The problem here is that there is no guarantee he'll do well on the formula because it does still contain traces of milk proteins (they're just partially broken down), it's CRAZY expensive, and many babies have a hard time taking it because it has an awful taste.

Unfortunately, there is no way to know which is best for Robby.  Some babies do better with the breast milk from the altered diet, and some do better going onto the formula.  And it would take a couple weeks to even see the effects from either as the proteins have to leave both mine and Robby's systems.

For now, I plan to alter my diet and continue breastfeeding Robby and see how he does with that.  In the meantime, I may have to supplement with some formula as my supply has significantly decreased from the stress and lack of sleep.

Wish us luck!
Carrie

3 Months and Growing

Growing we are!  At 3 and 1/2 months, our "little" baby weighs over 14 pounds!  He's still in 3-6 month clothing and size 2 diapers, but we don't think he will be for very long.

For a while, Robby was doing great.  Just before he turned 3 months (the week after his reaction to the shots), Robby was not a happy guy.  He spent most of the day screaming (our poor sitter) and still would not let me put him down at night.  We decided to go ahead and try reflux medications to see if that made a difference for him.  And boy did it ever. Apparently our little guy has got some pretty painful reflux going on.  Within days of starting the meds, exactly on Robby's 3 month 'birthday', we got an awesome gift......  Robby slept in his pack 'n play all night long!!  From 9pm- 9am, eating at 3am and 6:30am.  It was wonderful!  He continued to do pretty well sleeping at night for the next couple weeks.  Naps on the otherhand... still were a battle.  This kid just wants to party and then gets so overtired he doesn't know what to do with himself!  We started trying 'Interval Training'- which is letting him cry for 5 minutes, then going in and calming him down, letting him cry for 6 minutes, then going in and calming him down, etc.  Do this for at most 20 minutes at his age.  This would work every now and then, but overall, he would become so upset nothing would calm him down unfortunately.  We're still working on napping...!

A few weeks after we started the reflux meds, he took some major steps backwards and was back to fussing all day, not wanting to be put down at night, waking up fussy in the middle of the night, etc.  We ended up increasing his meds (it's very weight sensitive and clearly he's getting bigger by the week) which again made a big difference.  Just in time for us to go home for his Baptism!  His Baptsim weekend was wonderful.  He did so good in the church- just started fussing as he was getting tired.  But mommy walked around and rocked him and he eventually passed right out!  We got to see our families over the weekend and everyone got to see how big Robby's getting!

Robby's really been getting interactive and aware of what's going on around him.  He loves to catch Mommy's attention and start talking- trying to get me to talk back to him, sometimes even at 3am!  He loves to watch the fan and starts smiling when we turn it on.  He also continues to love the light-up star that plays music on his play mat.  He likes to shove his whole fist in his mouth and suck on it- but he still loves his paci too!  He's rolled from tummy to back once- but it was while laying on a couch cushion on the ground (it had enough give that it gave him a bit of help).  He can't quite do it on solid ground yet, but he's really been trying!  He's also been trying to get his feet- you can see him trying to lift his feet and legs up but can't get them up high enough!

I'll leave you with some more pictures....
Carrie :)

 

2 Month Check-up

Robby had his 2 month check-up last week (at 2 and 1/2 months- or 11 weeks). 

He weighed 13lbs 6oz and was 24in long!!  He was in the 75th percentile for both... big boy!!  Any of the 'issues' we brought up to the doctor was met with "It'll get better..."  She said all our concerns (i.e. sleeping habits, evening fussy time, etc.) are very normal and will get better as his neurological system matures. 

Robby also got his first set of shots.  We are doing an alternate schedule so he only got 2 sets of shots this time.  He'll go back monthly for shots until he's about 7 months.  He did GREAT with the shots!  He of course cried when the nurse stuck him with it (I don't blame him- ouch!) but calmed down as soon as Nick picked him up.  When we tried to put his pants back on, he lost it.  So I nursed him for about 10 minutes and he was good!  No fever in the following days, just didn't want me to put him down AT ALL for an entire day.  If I was holding him he was just fine.  Typical of our little monster :)

Sad baby :(

A few days later, however, we noticed he was sleeping more than normal.  And in the following days, he started acting like he was just uncomfortable and had what is considered 'diarrhea' in a baby.  He just wasn't himself, it was clear he wasn't feeling well.  The nurse at the doctor's office said he probably caught a 'gastrointestinal bug.'  If you ask me, he got a touch of rotavirus from getting the vaccine- which is a live virus.  The doctor won't admit it has anything to do with the vaccine, but it's just too coincidental that he caught a stomach bug which is commonly caused by rotavirus... just DAYS after getting the rotavirus vaccine!  Regardless, poor guy was pretty miserable for the past few days, but mommy quite literally nursed him back to health after leaving work early yesterday.  :)  He's already doing much better today!

While Robby is still continuing to want to exclusively sleep on Mommy throughout the night, the good news is that he's been consistently having a 6-7 hour stretch between feedings at night!  If only we could get this to happen in his crib...  He has also discovered his hands and has been trying very hard to get them into his mouth!  He wants very badly to grab ahold of Sophie the giraffe and put her into his mouth as well, but he's just not quite coordinated enough to make that happen yet.  He's also started drooling... a lot!  And often blows bubbles so it looks like he's foaming at the mouth. Robby's really been doing a lot of "talking" lately... cooing, squealing, etc. and loves it when Mommy "talks" back to him!  I may be biased, but he's really quite adorable.  For some strange reason, he LOVES his changing table in his nursery.  He can be fussy, and many times, we'll bring him in there to change him and he'll just lay there, talking, looking around, smiling... little stinker.

He'll be 3 months a week from tomorrow... crazy how time has flown by!

Until next time,
Carrie

 

The Difference a Year Makes

Every morning I wake up and I could cry knowing I have to leave my baby in just one short hour.


One year ago, I would drive to work every morning, and I did cry.

I cried because I wanted a baby so badly.

I cried because everyone around me seemed to be getting pregnant.

I cried because I didn't know if I would ever get to have the one thing I wanted my whole life.

I cried because after close to two years, we were no closer to becoming parents.

I cried because life just wasn't fair.


Now, just one short year later, I drive to work every morning and once again, I cry.

I cry because I have to go to work and leave my baby at home.

I cry because I wish I could be with him every day.

I cry because, of course, I miss him.


But mostly?


I cry because he's here.

I cry because I have a baby.

I cry because life is wonderful.


It's amazing the difference a year can make.

Videos

Here are a few short videos of Robby from this month! 

Emotionally Unstable Baby

Loves the mobile on his swing!

Reaching for the toys on the toybar of his bouncer

Talking to and smiling at the musical star!

First Two Months

Life has been crazy here in the Thielmann household!  Robby has been doing great- eating well and getting big!  After the first few weeks, we were able to eliminate all supplemented bottles and he has been exclusively nursing since.  This is much less stressful for mommy thankfully!  I've had what's called a 'foremilk imbalance' that has caused much fussiness in Robby so I've been working with a lactation consultant and luckily this issue is getting much better.  We've also determined that Robby has a dairy intolerance so I've given up dairy- which has made him much less gassy, overall happier, and cleared up the baby acne he had on his face.  Robby is still what I like to call a 'high maintenance' baby- gets fussy easily and goes through many phases where he doesn't want to be put down.  He only likes to sleep in his bouncer or on us... which makes mommy very exhausted!  Despite all this, he is an extremely smiley baby!  Many times at night I can't get him to go back to sleep because he is laying there smiling at me every time I look at him... So even though many times I'm ready to lose my mind, he makes up for it!  I'll keep him.  :)


Robby's getting to be a little chunk- at not quite 1 and 1/2 months he weighed 9 lbs 12 oz.  He has his 2 month check-up next week so we will know what he weighs currently at that time.  We can sure tell he's getting bigger by the day- he's getting a double chin and thigh rolls!  He is currently eating about every 2-3 hours during the day and typically has one 4-5 hour stretch at night (then usually wants to eat more often in the early morning).  He definitely has a fussy period in the late evening (which is made worse when he is overtired!) but even this has gotten better since we eliminated dairy.  Robby has recently started reaching for his toys on his toybar on his bouncer and when laying on his play mat!  He loves to watch the mobile on his swing as well.  His favorite thing to do is to push up and stand when you're holding him and 'flex' his muscles- I like to call it his Muscle Man!  Kona has been very good with Robby- she's very gentle, gives him kisses... however, she really would prefer it if we would just return him. :)  She's still adjusting to not having all the attention on her and she gets upset when Robby has a bad day and cries the majority of the day.  I keep trying to explain to her that once he is moving more she will love him because he will play with her!  Soon enough she'll understand...  Robby went on his first plane ride with mommy back to Chicago the week before Labor Day weekend and got to meet our families and friends.  He did great on the plane!  Slept through take-off and landing, took a bottle halfway through the flight, and pretty much slept the rest of the time!  We were so excited to be able to introduce him to everyone.

Practicing flying while sitting on Mommy's lap on the airplane!

Robby had a renal scan done at 5 weeks to check the function of his kidneys and to determine if there was damage to his right kidney.  This would also tell us if further testing needed to be done.  Poor guy was only allowed to have Pedialyte one time after 3:30am and the test wasn't until about 9am. When we got there, they had to place an IV since he had to be sedated for the scan.  This unfortunately was horrible as they couldn't get it placed.  His veins kept either blowing or disappearing as soon as they tried to place it.  Three different people tried for a total of 9 times.  One of the nurses finally got it placed... in his scalp.  :(  We felt so bad for him- but were so glad they were able to place it so we didn't have to be sent home only to come back and do it all over again.  According to the doctor, his kidneys are functioning great- left at 54% and right at 46%, which is normal.  There is no obstruction or kink in what connects the kidney to the bladder, which is good.  However, the urine could be refluxing back up to the kidney.  We have been referred to a pediatric urologist in Kansas City for further testing.  This doctor thinks it's very possible his kidney is just swollen and that it will go away on it's own.  But he still wants to do the testing to rule out reflux and/or anything else not seen on the first scan.  Let's hope this is something he can just grow out of and no surgery has to be done!

The past two months have been the most stressful and exhausting but also the most amazing two months!  We can't believe how big Robby's already getting and we love to see his personality starting to come out!  After everything we went through to get to this point, we are so grateful and amazed to finally have him here.

Here's some recent pictures of our little man!

Until next time!

Carrie

It's a Boy!

As I'm sure everyone knows by now...

It's a Boy!

Robert Lawrence was born on July 5th at 10:09am.  Robby weighed 6 lbs, 12 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long.  We are all doing great and adjusting to life with a newborn!

As I previously posted, I went in on Wednesday, July 4th at 7pm to start preparing for the induction process.  They inserted the cervidil at about 8pm that night (which was very painful as Robby's head was so low they had trouble reaching my cervix around him!) to start softening my cervix.  Before they inserted it, they checked me and I was 1-2 cm dilated and 75% effaced.  The nurse also saw that I was having contractions on my own before even placing the cervidil.  She asked the on-call doctor if she was sure they should place the cervidil because the nurse really thought it would make me go really quickly.  Monday at my doctor's appointment I wasn't really dilated at all, so since by Wednesday I had dilated to 1-2 cm, the nurse was sure this was going to be quick!  We didn't know how right she was...

We went to sleep that night, and I woke up about 2:30am able to feel the contractions.  They weren't exactly 'painful,' but they were uncomfortable enough that I wasn't able to sleep through them.  I was worried about not getting any sleep and then having to go through the whole induction in the morning.  The nurse assured me I would be able to nap after getting the epidural the next day- which put my mind at ease so I just dealt with the contractions I had throughout the night...

At 6:30am the cervidil was removed and the nurse again checked me to see how I had changed.  I had been having regular contractions all through the night that were anywhere from every 2 to every 9 minutes apart.  So we were all surprised when they checked me and I hadn't changed- still 1-2 cm dilated and 75% effaced.  Bummer.

At 7am they started the pitocin at level 2.  They explained that they would increase the dosage by 2 every 15 minutes and it could go up to level 30.  Immediately, I started feeling STRONG contractions.  I was extremely surprised as I figured it would take a while to get going before I would really start feeling them.  After about 15 minutes (pitocin had been increased one time to 4 at that point), the contractions were barely bearable and I knew I wouldn't be able to make it much longer... I was so disappointed in myself for needing the epidural so soon and when I was (what we thought) only 1-2 cm dilated- but the nurse explained that they didn't want me in too much pain due to my high blood pressure.  So she set me up to get the epidural, which included pumping me with fluids for a half hour before the epidural.  By the time she got the IV going... I was in excruciating pain with contractions that were coming in 'couples'- two in a row with no break in between, then maybe a 30 second break before the next couple.  I was barely able to catch my breath in between!  By the time the anesthesiologist placed the epidural, I was in so much pain I felt no relief from the epidural.  After 15 minutes it should have kicked in, and I still felt no relief.  The doctor couldn't figure out why as I should have been feeling a lot better by then.  At this point, it's around 8:45am and I'm starting to feel pressure with every contraction.  The nurse checks me.... and I'm at least 9 cm and ready to start pushing!  I went from 1-2 cm dilated to ready to push in two hours... That explained why I was in so much pain and why the epidural wasn't able to kick in!  The pitocin only got to level 6!

I started pushing and luckily the epidural started to kick in (I was still able to feel everything and move my legs but the pain was nothing compared to earlier!)- which made pushing actually enjoyable!  After about an hour of pushing, out came our baby BOY- screaming his head off!  It was so surreal...  Nick went out to tell our parents it was a boy- and all I heard from outside the room was screaming!  It was such a wonderful experience.

Robby had his two week checkup- which went great!  He was back up to his birth weight, he was 21 1/4 in long, and his circumcision looked great.  We are still working on exclusively nursing as we had to give him breast milk from a bottle when he first got home from the hospital because he just wasn't strong enough to nurse long enough and was getting dehydrated.  So now he sometimes gets frustrated nursing because it's not as easy as the bottle.  But he's getting there and he's gaining weight and doing great!  We also have an appointment with a urologist next week to check his kidney.  If there is anything more serious going on we will have to go see a urologist that specializes in babies in Kansas City.  Fingers crossed it's nothing serious!

Here are a few more pictures of our little man!

Carrie