A few weeks ago, Alex had a bout of diarrhea, or so I thought. Turns out it was just a brief reaction to my having given him formula. At the follow-up check up - which was on Apr. 26, Alex was estimated to weigh about 6 lbs, 10 oz, which would have been a 6 oz gain in a week's time. At the time, he was just hitting about 3 oz per feeding, with a lot of them being 2.5 oz. He's not due for another check-up until the end of May, which will be his 2 month old physical and when his immunizations begin.
Over the past three weeks, his appetite has grown by leaps and bounds and it appears that he's grown with it. He's currently up to between 5 and 6 oz with each feeding which can STILL occur every three hours sometimes. Last week, known as a "growth spurt week" (6 weeks), he was regularly drinking 5-6 oz with 3 to 3.5 hours inbetween. Last night was the first night he took seven ounces. But, we estimate that he weighs only about 8 lbs now. That kind of drinking is a pig-out for an 8 lb baby if he were to keep it up. I can tell that the growth spurt is working. He's finally reaching the end of wearing his preemie clothes and now fitting into some outfits that I received as gifts. Well, three onesies to be exact. He must be using all of that food because his solid waste diapers have slowed down considerably from about 10-12 a day to about 5-6 a day. Also normal, I was told. It means he's getting taller and his intestines are growing longer along with him. It also means he's using more of the food we give him.
I'm hoping this feed-a-thon doesn't last into blimping him up. Due to the quick jump, I've had to use more formula to supplement because I can't produce that much milk. I'm really hoping I can stimulate enough production to catch up, which means nursing in the middle of the night instead of using bottled pre-pumped milk. With this kind of eating, I can't keep the pre-pumped milk on the shelves long enough to supplement any feedings with extra.
I'm also suspecting that he's allergic to the milk-based formula. He's had a rash on his face that started to spread to his neck and he's getting nasal congestion. I switched to the soy milk based formula yesterday and, so far, he's had just as much of that as he's had of breastmilk today. I hope to see if the rash and congestion clear up from the switch. I know that he has less gas already.
On the fun front, Alex now smiles and laughs spontaneously and in response to us. He definitely reaches for toys and other things he wants to hold (like my hair) and sometimes gets upset when he can't reach them. His vision is much more far sighted now, judging from the things that I've noticed will catch his attention. He's staying awake for longer periods in the mornings and days - with only two occurrances of wanting to play at 3 AM (so far). He can hold onto some round link toys and he loves them. He doesn't seem to like to turn over any longer, but his neck is getting stronger anyway. Now, when on his stomach, he always lifts his head at least 45 degrees. He's been showing some ability to lift his upper torso up on his arms too. He's shown a love of music already. He will fuss in his crib if I don't turn on the Munchkin iPod player Mildred gave me. It has a special mix for him with soft pop tunes and some new age Celtic music.
He'll also sleep in his crib very easily. He doesn't seem bothered at all by its large space size or by the fact that Dan and I are not in the same room with him all the time anymore. We still keep him in the bassinet in our room for over night and Dan is still sneaking in some co-sleeping in the early mornings. (Sigh).
Enjoy the pics!
May 15, 2007
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