9 month check up

On December 10th, which was the actual date of Lakelyn turning 9 months old, we had her 9 month check up! We got to see Dr. Benji Rodgers this time thankfully! We absolutely LOVE him! I can't say that enough. Not only did we get to see him, but daddy got to go with us! The only other appointment he has been able to go to is a few weeks ago when she got her flu shot. We didn't see a doctor though. We just ran in and got the shot and were out of there within 10 minutes.

We didn't really have many concerns this time. The only thing we had questions about were about a month ago she had really bad diarrhea for about 2 weeks. She was acting normal, eating, playing and sleeping normal and no fever so we figured it was just teething. He said that it most likely was because they start to produce more saliva which they swallow more of which makes that happen. Anyway, she got a really bad diaper rash from that obviously since we were changing her like 10 times a day. We let it air out, used diaper rash cream, tried to not wipe her much and she basically lived in the bath tub for those 2 weeks. which she was perfectly fine with. The rash got better quickly, but we noticed there were and still are a few little red bumps down there. We thought it was the rash not going away, but he said it was some kind of medical word that I cant remember, but basically its not diaper rash, and its not any kind of yeast thing either. Its basically an irritation from the little fine hairs. He said it shouldn't bother her (which it doesn't) and to put some 1% hydrocortisone on it and some diaper rash cream on top and also continue letting it air out and it should go away.

The other thing not only we were wondering about, but Dr. Rodgers brought it up as well was her sleeping at night. She has gotten a lot better since the last time I posted with her sleep regression, but she still wakes up about 2 or 3 times a night. I told him that last time I was there the dr. I saw said to not go in there and basically let her cry it out and she will eventually sleep through the night. He knew I was not really ok with that and I explained I started in small increments of like 5 minutes than 10 and one morning while getting ready I did not go in there for an hour. (keep in mind she does do a real cry, its just a whine with her eyes closed while rolling all around her crib otherwise I would NEVER let her cry that long) I told him that I tried it once and it didn't work and i wasn't doing that more than that one time. He said absolutely not. He said that didn't work and all its doing is causing heartbreak for you. He said I don't recommend that.

He asked what times she wakes up. We told him she usually wakes between 1-2 and then 5-6. He said the waking up between 5-6 is most likely her thinking its time to get up for the day, but we can just go in there, let her know its ok, maybe cuddle her for a minute and then lay her back down and she should go back to sleep for a little longer. Which this is what she does pretty much anyway. Although, normally we'd give her some juice at that time we have now cut that out and just give her a paci and she goes back to sleep if she even wakes at all.
The 1-2 oclock wake is what he said we are going to work on getting her past and sleeping through. He said she's not waking because she is hungry and its her waking out of habit. She is wanting to see the last thing she saw before she went to sleep that night (which is me holding and rocking her with a bottle) and she is crying until she has me nursing her back to sleep. He said when putting her to bed at night to make sure she isn't sleeping before i lay her down. I already do this during her naps and she does great, so i don't know why i didn't start doing this at night too. I guess i just loved that cuddle time with her since we don't get to cuddle her while she sleeps anymore :(. But to lay her down drowsy so she will soothe herself to sleep. Then when she wakes up at 1-2 to go in there and do not make it a big deal, do not pick her up, but to sing to her, rub her head or back, give her a paci, let her know its ok until she falls back to sleep. He said if she is still wanting to nurse or have a bottle give her a bottle of water. She will realize its not milk or juice and its just plain water and she will throw it down and go to sleep. He said she may wake up quite often for the first 3-4 nights of doing this, but it will train her and within a week she should be passed that wake up time.

We started his advice that very night and its working great! We continue her routine of dinner, bath, lotion, pjs, some cuddles and then instead of feeding her her last bottle in her room we give it to her in the living room with us for some last cuddles. Then I take her in her room, turn her fan on like always, sing to her, rub her head and give her kisses goodnight and then lay her down and give her a paci and rub her head/side of her cheek for a few seconds and then walk out of her room quietly. She goes right to sleep and doesn't put up a fuss (which before she never really put up a fuss even if i laid her down without being asleep). The first night she woke up like clock work at 1:30, i gave her the paci, rubbed her head and did not pick her up. She still cried. I gave her some water she took a few sips, threw it down and took her paci and fell asleep not long after. She woke up not long later and i went in there gave her a paci, rubbed her head and she went back to sleep until about 5-6 and Tyler did his normal cuddle routine with her without a bottle and she went back to sleep. The next night was kind of the same except she woke around 1-2 and  only took a few sips of water, took the paci and went to sleep and didn't wake back up until she woke her at 7 to leave the house. The next night she woke only once (if i remember correctly) and went right back to sleep and then last night she woke up once at 5:30 and went right to sleep with a paci.

So we are making progress!! We are hoping his advice continues to work!

He said she looks great, she is healthy, her hemoglobin was good at 11.1and that was to check her iron to make sure she isn't anemic. Also to just to make sure when Tyler comes home from work if he has done any soldering to change and shower before cuddling her just to make sure of the lead intake. He said our house should be good since its only 5 years old.

She was 16 pounds 1 ounce which is the 10-25th%
She was 28 inches long which was about 75% (he said taller than 6 out of 10 girls her age)
Head circumference was 17.4 which is 50th%

She is growing perfectly and he has no concerns with her weight. He said her growth curve is still right on track like it has been although her height one has actually took a little spike which is ok. She is just tall! Must get that from Tyler because I am NOT tall.

She did not get any shots this time just the bloodwork. He was happy she had already gotten her flu shot (I'm an pro flu shot anyway). He said she's doing perfect and on track with clapping hands together, waving, standing and eating. He said to start giving her a sippy up (which we've done, but not really well) so we will up our game there.  He said he will see her back at her 12 month check up!

8 months old!

I cannot believe my little baby is already 8 months old! I haven't been able to post as much on here lately because she keeps me busy! She is a crawling expert now and standing up every chance she gets! She is the most precious little thing I have ever seen in my life <3

At 8 months old Lakelyn is doing everything a baby her age should be able to do including:

• bear some weight on her legs when held upright
• feed self a cracker
• rake with fingers an object and pick it up in fist
• turn in direction of a voice
• look for a dropped object

 

She is also doing all the things a baby her age will probably be able to do including:

• pass a cube or other object from one hand to the other
• stand holding onto someone or something
• object if you try to take a toy away
• work to get a toy that's out of reach
• play peekaboo
• get into a sitting position from stomach

 

Lakelyn does all things that a baby her age may possible be able to do including:

•  creep or crawl
• pick up a tiny object with thumb and finger
• pull up to standing position from sitting
• say "mama" or "dada" indiscriminately

 

Lakelyn can some of the things that a baby her age may possibly be able to do including:

• play patty-cake (clap hands) or wave bye-bye (she knows how to wave bye-bye but usually chooses to smile and laugh instead, she also claps her hands together unless you want her to do it)
• understand "no" even if she doesn't always obey it. 
• stand alone momentarily

 

she cannot walk holding onto furniture/cruising (I am posting this 8 days after she has turned 8 months old and she has started doing this, but I will include it in her next month post)

 

• She still loves to take baths and will go crawling straight to the bathroom when she hears the water running
• we have officially taken her baby seat out of the tub
• She loves standing up
• she smiles constantly
• She loves looking at herself in the mirror or phone or anyway she can see herself
• She is super photogenic
• She still does not have teeth
• She still does not like to get dressed
• She does not like putting a diaper on

We celebrated her First Halloween. She dressed as a witch in a little witch hat headband, black onesie and black pants. We pulled her around the neighborhood in her wagon.

 

 

She also went to the pumpkin patch and picked out her first pumpkins and we carved them. She loved playing in the mess and tried to eat it. She carved a Minnie mouse!

 

 

 

This little girl makes our world go around! She's the most amazing thing I've ever laid eyes on. I'm not sure how we ever lived life without her!

 

 

Lakelyn's 6 month check-up

We had Lakelyn's 6 month check up on September 30th! We originally were supposed to go in on September 21st to see Dr. Benji Rogers, but I had to work that day and had to reschedule and ended up not being able to get in to see him so we saw Dr. Sudheimer (I think that is how you spell her name). So we were a little bummed. Not that she isn't a good doctor because she is we just prefer to see him.

Anyway, my concerns at this appointment were:
-I had a cold a couple of weeks ago and she had a runny nose for about a week and would get fussy at times and started pulling at her ear again when she got tired or fussy (she stopped doing this for the most part so her doing it again concerned me) So I wanted to make sure she wasn't getting sick and maybe it was more of her teething. I did not notice any kind of fever.
-My cycle came back when she was about 3-4 month old and now every time its about to start I notice a huge decrease in my milk supply. Because of this we have been having to supplement with formula more than I want to (about 2 bottles a day). She doesn't really like the formula at all. She does better with the already mixed formula than she does with the powder stuff, but she just doesn't like it and spits it up a good bit even with all of the different brands that I have tried.
-She also had a spot on the roof of her mouth that I was worried was thrush starting back up again
-Her sleeping at night was HORRIBLE. waking on average 4-5 times a night. There was a couple of weeks where she was waking every 30 mins to an hour. Not necessarily to eat, but just wanted to be picked up for a minute, given a paci, or nursed just to nurse.

The doctor looked at her ears and nose and stuff and said there were no signs of an ear infection so it could be teething or a little cold or maybe a mixture of both. She said its hard to tell at this stage and its treated the same. She said as long as there is no fever and she seems fine not to worry. If she gets fussy like she may be in pain or starts to run a fever I could give her Tylenol.

The spot on the top of her mouth was a little cyst thing that she said a lot of babies get. its nothing to worry about

She said her weight and growth chart looked awesome so she had no concerns with her eating. She is getting what she needs and to keep doing what I'm doing.

As for the sleep at night.. she said she should NOT be waking up at night and she shouldn't be hungry she has just learned that she can nurse and be comforted when she wakes instead of falling back to sleep on her own so that is what she is doing. She said for me NOT to go in there at night when she cries. Basically the "cry it out" method. This is something I was not all that happy about. I understand some people can do it, but I just cannot let my child cry and cry when she just wants a quick snuggle. If she is just fussy or whining I usually let her do that for a little bit to see if she'll go back to sleep and sometimes she does. However, sometimes it turns into a real cry with tears or she'll be sitting up or on her hands and knees stuck in the corner of her crib and not able to figure out how to roll back over to the middle of the crib or something. And I'm not going to sit there and let her do that. I will go in there pick her up for a minute, settle her down, give her a paci, lay her down and she usually goes back to sleep. There are some nights where she knows its me and wants to nurse and I will nurse her. We have gotten better since this appointment and I have only been nursing her maybe once in the night. I have had a night where it was 2 times, but Tyler has been stepping up a lot and helping get up with her at night which I think has helped her fall back asleep without me and without nursing. Sometimes if she is still really fussy and crying we'll give her a little bit of juice and she falls back asleep again. So its a work in progress, but it is progress and its been good progress so I will not be doing the entire "cry it out" method.

And a little off topic of her actual appointment, but I have to rant for a second. Every time I go in there some little kid with a runny nose and hands in their mouth touching everything running around like a wild hyena comes up to my child and tried to get all up in her face touching her. Like back the HECK up and parents control you child! I mean how rude and annoying. My child is not sick and I'd prefer for it to stay that way. I mean I literally had to lightly push this little girl (her shirt was soaking wet with who knows what and she had her hands all in her mouth trying to touch lakelyn in the face) and tell her "no, you need to back up and don't touch her" then the mom with her other 2 children and baby said "come her insert name here". I was so annoyed!

Back to her appointment:

The nurse came in and got all of the concerns and her weight and length and stuff:

She weighed: 14 pounds 9 ounces
She was 25.5in long
Her head circumference was 16.25 cm

She was getting two shots in her leg and one oral. She also got the first part of her flu shot making it 3 sticks in the leg again :(  With each appointment it gets harder and harder. This was the first time she looked at me and cried and wanted me when another person had her. She did ok with the nurse getting her measurements. She did ok with the Dr. for a minute, but was looking at me kind of sad and then when she laid her down that's when she started to cry and reach for me and after that she didn't stop until I picked her up. And then when the shots came she screamed. You could hear the pain in her cry and it broke my heart into a million pieces! I grabbed her as soon as she finished and just held her and gave her the rest of her bottle (she was also hungry and sleepy by the time she got the shots so that didn't help) But she calmed right down until I had to get her dressed. After that we was good to go and passed right out the second I put her in her carseat. Again, we weren't even out of the parking lot when she fell asleep.

So overall, she is a perfect healthy little girl that just wants her momma <3 I'm not complaining either!

Lakelyn is 7 months old!

My baby girl turned 7 months old on October 10th! These monthly pictures are getting harder and harder to take! She is such a little busy body and all over the place! Gah, I just love her to pieces!

 

 

 

At 7 months old Lakelyn can do mostly all of the things a baby her age should be able to do including:

• feed self a cracker
• coo or babble when happy
• smile often when interacting
• makes a "razz" sound

 

 

 

She can do all the things a seven month old will probably be able to do including:

• sit without support
• bear some weight on legs when held upright
• object if you try to take a toy away
• work to get a toy that's out of reach
• look for dropped object
• rake with fingers an object and pick it up in fist
• turn in the direction of a voice
• babble, combining vowels and consonants such as ga-ga-ga, ba-ba-ba, ma-ma-ma and da-da-da
• play peekaboo (she laughs and watches when you do this so I guess that counts, but she doesn't hide her own self or anything)

 

 

 

 

Lakelyn can do a couple of the things that a baby her age may probably be able and may even be able to do including:

• pass a cube or other object from one hand to the other
• stand holding onto someone or something
• get into sitting position from tummy
• creep or crawl 
• pull up to standing from sitting position
• clap hands or wave bye-bye

 

 

 

She cannot yet do the following things that a baby her age may probably or may even be able to do:

• walk holding onto furniture (I don't know about this one really because I don't let her get that far before I grab her, but I don't think she is quite there yet)
• say "mama" or "dada" indiscriminately

 

 

 

Some other things about my lakie bug:

• Started crawling the first week of October
• pulls herself up on everything that she can. Momma is her personal jungle gym
• eats almost anything. We were told only things not to give her were strawberry, egg, and honey
• loves the water and bath time
• babbles a lot and its the cutest! Still isn't saying ma-ma yet though
• always smiling
• starting to get some hair
• starting to sleep on her belly at night. She will start off on her back when I lay her down and then she will roll over on her belly with her butt in the air and kick the blankets off. She is a wild sleeper and is all over her crib.
• I had to lower her crib mattress because she was standing up in her crib trying to climb out.

 

The only thing she really does like is getting dressed. There are times when she doesn't like for me to walk away from her when I put her down to go do something. She is starting to get attached to me and I will admit that I love it! I love that she wants me, her momma!

 

Whenever we are in the car and she starts to get fussy and cry (and even at home) I can turn on Thomas Rhett's song "Beer with Jesus" and she immediately calms down and just listens to the song and sometimes falls asleep. She loves that song.

 

 Baby's first boots!

 

 Drinking from a sippy cup for the first time (which she doesn't like)

 

 Baby Starbucks!

 Standing up!

 

 

 She got busted playing with the dog toy on the dog bed. She loves their toys for some reason!

 

 

This babygirl means so much to me and my love for her is so deep that it literally hurts! She is our entire world and I love watching her grow and learn new things. We love you so much baby girl words will never be able to describe how much!