Daddy is our Hero and a Great Two Week Appointment!
Last night, Bethany had an unusually fussy evening. Marcus and I were trying everything to calm her down and get her to sleep since she had been awake for a few hours. (We are fans of "Happiest Baby on the Block" and the Cuddle Cure.) Even with our "Happiest Baby" knowledge, however, she was still fussy and still awake. She wasn't hungry (she was flat out refusing to eat) or wet. We were holding her to soothe her. We tried the rocking chair. We tried gentle bouncing. We tried burping her. We tried the Cuddle Cure. Nothing was working! Finally, she settled down in my arms and was calm and quiet . . . but still VERY awake. Daddy went and turned on our shower and then took her in his arms. He held her close standing in our bathroom and let her listen to the water . . . . and just like that . . . she went to sleep. She was definitely asleep-asleep, too. We lifted her little arms to see if she'd just let them drop before settling her into her bassinet.
Daddy was definitely Mommy and Bethany's hero last night! It's also good to know that if we want something to help our little girl sleep that she enjoys the sound of the shower. All of her activity definitely tuckered her out, though, because her 2:30am feeding was super easy. She ate for 20-minutes and went right back to bed. Bliss for Mommy!
Today was Bethany's two week appointment. At two weeks and two days of age, Bethany is almost 22" long. She's actually 21 inches long plus 3/4 of an inch (90%). She weighs 8 pounds 8 ounces (50%), and her head circumference 36.7 cm (52%). She's a growing girl! She received a lot of praise from her excellent pediatrician, Dr. Middleton. (Dr. Middleton was recommended to us by Marcus's boss at work.) Bethany's weight gain is great. Since it's so good, we can let her sleep for four to five hour stretches at night instead of three. As a mommy, I also felt good because Bethany's getting all that she needs from breastfeeding. No need to supplement! I'm not going to lie, it made me feel like kind of a rockstar. (Haha.) Her pediatrician did recommend trying to get her to go at least two hours between feedings during the day to develop more of a rhythm, however, instead of constantly feeding on demand, especially since she is gaining and growing so well. I know she'll do great! She hasn't cluster fed in awhile.
I really appreciated how her pediatrician was super patient and answered ALL of our questions. (As new parents, we had a lot of questions!) The only one I forgot to ask was when to introduce a bottle. Marcus and I are thinking that we're going to wait until she's a month old before we try pumping and giving bottles. We hope that she'll be more receptive to a bottle when she's a month old than she was while in the hospital!