Ryan had his 4 month check-up yesterday! And I left with way more questions than I went in with. It’s not completely the ped’s fault… Ryan decided he wanted to scream (it was past his nap time) and Steve and I could barely hear what the doctor was saying. Needless to say, it cut our question time a little short. Besides, I got the doctor’s opinion on what he thinks we should do… now I just need to figure out if we’re going to DO it. But first…
Weight: 16 lb 10 oz
Height: 26.5 inches (90th percentile. The nurse guessed that he may have been measured on the small side last time, and the long side this time–because that’s a growth of 3 inches in the last 2 months and apparently that’s a lot? But he was around the 90th percentile last time too).
Head size: 44 cm (17.3 inches)
Other comments: Ryan has a nicely round head 🙂 and apparently he has a temper. Yea, I was offended when the doctor said that… first of all, you’re a stranger and you touched his head. He’s silly about having his head touched. Second, it’s his nap time and you’re interrupting it. Third,…. he’s a good boy, really. So there. 😛
Maybe it’s just me, but it really bothered me when his first question when he walked in the door was “how long does he sleep at night?” As if there is a right and wrong answer. And I felt like what I was going to say was definitely a “wrong” answer. Ummm… 3 hours? It’s hard to tell because we co-sleep and I never really know what time it is when we wake up to nurse…….
Yea, it was the wrong answer. He should be sleeping through the night, I was told. He suggested I wean him from night nursing by letting him stay latched on less and less… if he eats for 5 minutes right now, unlatch him after 4 minutes… then 3…. you get the idea. Until he doesn’t need it anymore. That’s what I was told, anyway. Maybe I’ll attempt it, but if it doesn’t work, I won’t lose any sleep over it. Co-sleeping works for us and if Ryan is going to nurse, that’s ok with me, for now. He’s still a baby!! Right?!
His next suggestion was introducing rice cereal. Two tablespoons twice a day and working up to 8 tablespoons twice a day. Thanks to all the great comments on my previous post (feeding solids), we’re going to pass on this idea. We’ll wait until Ryan shows signs he’s ready… skip the rice cereal, skip the purees, and go right into real food. This is all leading me to believe we may want to find another doctor. He’s really a nice guy and he’s great with kids (apart from the whole head-touching thing, haha), but I think maybe our ideals are too different.
Another issue…. vaccines. He is on board with delaying them or even possibly not giving any. But… we had a discussion yesterday about DTaP and I’m going to write another post on that right after this one.
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Gahh, why do they have to try and give parenting advice? surely a Dr’s job is to keep your child healthy not to dish out all that. Sigh.
I personally think Ryan is really young to be night weaning, so agree with you totally there. I plan to gently night wean Seamus over the summer, once we’re settled into our new house and all, but he’s three years old! I night weaned my oldest at 18 months, but all kids are different and that’s entirely up to you no one else. If you’re happy co sleeping, that’s great!
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It’s actually better for infants to wake up at night because it drastically reduces their risk of SIDS. Also, I don’t know very many people with kids under 1 who sleep through the night…so it’s not as common as they want us to believe.
I always lie when the doctor answers that question because I don’t want to hear about it. He also doesn’t know we co-sleep 😛
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Generally speaking, when you try to take something away from a baby that they dearly love, they’ll want it more and more, no less.
Night weaning at 4 months? Really, they get a lot of nutrients through night nursing, and that is when your milk is the highest. Remove that crucial night time feed and in later months, the Dr will be worried if/when his stats start falling on the charts (not to say they will even if you do night wean, but it is common that gain slows).
If it aint broke don’t fix it.
I’d refuse to talk breastfeeding/sleep/food with a Dr, because really, it isn’t there concern unless there is an actual problem.
Sounds like your current Dr isn’t up-to-date on when to start solids, seems like he needs some continuing education on infant nutrition and the fact that solids are to be introduce after 6 months of age 😉
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Everyone is going to do what they think is best and that’s how it should be. What works for one family might not work for another. With that said, I exclusively breastfeed (and plan to do extended breastfeeding past one year) and exclusively co-slept for the first 2 months. I went back to work at 3 months and knew it would be better if Jack slept in his crib after that because I would no longer be going to bed when he does. I slowly transitioned him. I started putting him down in his crib for the first stretch (usually from 7:30-11:30) and when he woke up, would bring him to bed with me for the rest of the night. He woke up to eat at 11:30, 1:30 and 4:30. By the time I went back to work he was sleeping for 6+ hours (he eliminated the 11:30 feeding) and now? He sleeps from 7:30-4:30. I feed him at 4:30 and sometimes we fall asleep until it’s time to get up at 7. Most of the time I put him back in his crib though because we both sleep a lot better that way. I’ve noticed that when I fall asleep with him, neither of us sleeps as good. He is a big, healthy baby (95th percentiles for height, weight, and head size!) and he gets a great nights sleep. I’m not saying you should stop co-sleeping by any means. I loved co-sleeping but Jack is thriving. I definitely let him comfort nurse when he wants/needs but he isn’t nursing more than he needs to. Another thing I should mention is that his crib is in my bedroom so we’re still close to each other, just not in the same bed. Also, we’re waiting until 6 months to start solids. It’s going to be fun but I’m not in any rush!
I just wanted to let you know what has worked for me. I’m not trying to tell you what to do or that what you’re doing is wrong. I hope you don’t take it that way. If you are happy co-sleeping and nursing often and that’s what works for your family, then great. Keep doing it. As long as everyone is happy, healthy and safe that is all that matters! Good luck!
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Our ped told us there is no need to worry about sleep until around the year mark.
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Thanks everyone! It’s great to hear from people who have been in the same situation (especially when the reaffirm what I already think) 😉
Rene- I didn’t take it that way at all, no worries! It’s awesome that your babe is sleeping most of the night – Ryan used to do that! And someday, of course, I hope to get back to that! Thanks for sharing 🙂
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My daughter ate during the night until she was 6 months. Not all babies sleep through the night at that age. Do what you feel is right.
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Delaying solid foods worked great for us!! We had no problems with our son not gaining enough either. It was really nice to skip the messy cereal and runny purees, too. Now, my son is a little over a year and still breastfeeds, but he can feed himself 100% – he can even use a spoon to eat apple sauce. Delaying solids did not affect his ability to eat or anything like some would suggest. He started eating solids at 8 months.
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