Two Week Check-Up

Yesterday was the first benchmark of infancy for Nicholas--the two week checkup. Apparently the American Academy of Pediatrics has recently suggested that babies go in before this two week mark, so Leah, Nicholas, and I were actually on the grounds of the Pediatrics East Bartlett office on Friday, 11/25--3 1/2 days after his birth. Personally, I think it's some dark medical conspiracy to fleece me out of yet another insurance co-payment under the pretense of checking out my kid earlier than what they've been doing for the last bazillion years. But anyway, the 2-week appointment holds several goals, one of which is that the baby should be back at birth weight (or close to it). For the uninitiated, babies actually lose weight--beginning practically immediately--during the first days on earth. Before he left the hospital, Nicholas had dropped 5 oz and on that Friday he had dropped another 2.

So the goal of sorts at the 2-week point is to have re-attained birth weight. Well, almost. Nicholas tipped the scales at 7 lbs, 12 oz, a full 98.4126984% of his weight at birth. No big deal. He still has a little bit of congestion, another thing that is absolutely normal and simply a byproduct of his former environment and his transition to his new one. Everything else looks and sounds like it's supposed to, and Dr. Scott said that we would see him at 8 weeks (the dreaded onslaught of shots!).

We also discussed the inherent inner struggle to dealing with a crying child. On several occasions, Nicholas is full, has a clean diaper, and probably should be napping. Instead, he seems to be a bit fussy (not overly so--just a bit restless or maybe discontent). Often, picking him up and holding him close usually shuts him up. Although it is said that you can't spoil a newborn, Leah and I wanted to know where we should fall in the spectrum between keeping our son satisfied and starting very bad habits. We believe whole-heartedly that Nicholas should learn to fall asleep on his own, in his own bed......It's just that getting there might be tough. Tough for him, but probably much tougher on us. Dr. Scott mentioned the Ferber method, which I'm sure I'll look into a bit more (He admitted that he actually didn't believe in it until he met somebody who fit the mold perfectly). But the bottom line is that "tough love" starts now, and unless we plan on coaxing our son to sleep for several months and years to come, we better get on the ball. Babies need to learn to calm themselves, and fall asleep on their own. Obviously there is probably a list a mile long of parents that disagree with this approach, but that's the one we've chosen. That's why there's chocolate and vanilla ice cream (And strawberry & homemade vanilla, mine and Leah's new favorite).