My Children's Good Health

 Thankfulness Day 16

Yesterday the kids all saw their doctor for a check-up---Jackson for his five-year check-up, Madelyn for her 3-year check-up and Owen for his 18-month check-up.  They all are healthy kids!  I know that good health isn't a given.  I thank the Lord that He, for the time being, has blessed my children with good health!

Jackson covers his ears as Owen gets 5 shots.  They did them quick and Owen forgot about it in about 10 seconds, but they is never fun to watch or hear.

All the kids' percentiles.  Owen, for now, is pretty short.  No wonder his pants are too long! (Correction on the percentiles-  I just recalculated Owen's and Madelyn because they seemed slightly off.  Owen is in the 51 percentile in weight, not the 95th, and in the 14th percentile in length, not the 9th.  That makes more sense!  Madelyn's was slightly off.  She is in the 77th percentile for weight and the 55th for height.)

Baby Led Weaning

At just 5 months of age, in an attempt to get Owen to sleep more than an hour and a half at a time, I started feeding him pureed food.  He had shown interest in eating and we, quite honestly, needed sleep.  Badly.  To my frustration, and Owen's, when I tried to feed Owen the pureed food, I could never feed him fast enough, and he would want to shovel it in himself.   I would end up dreading feeding him because of the mess it would make and the fuss he would make when his *large* bowl of pureed sweet potato/brown rice slop was gone.  Have you ever tried to clean dried sweet potato puree off of a high chair leg?  I then remembered that my sister in law, Robyn, did something called Baby Led Weaning with her daughter and it seemed to have worked out pretty well.  The first chance I got, I asked Robyn more details about Baby Led Weaning (BLW).  She gave me some pointers and I started Owen on BLW the next meal!


In case you were wondering, Baby Led Weaning is when you forgo the traditional pureed baby foods and exclusively let your baby feed themselves finger foods.  When I first heard of this approach, I thought, "What?!?!  Won't they choke?!?"  But, as I observed my niece's eating habits, I realized that as long as you keep an eye on your child as he or she eats, it is highly unlikely your child will choke.  Basically, the finger foods you give them at first are soft and "gum-able."  I was very surprised with the variety of foods Owen can chew with his gums!  He is a few days away from 9 months and still has doesn't have any teeth, yet he eats everything from broccoli to beans to turkey and everything in between.  Not only does he like a variety of foods, he eats more than I have ever seen any other baby eat!  I've introduced him to so much more than I did with my two other children who were on pureed food.  I am starting to see that Owen is not picky about what he eats, and my guess is that this is because he has been given the opportunity to try so many different types of food.  His favorite foods are broccoli and blueberries.  I don't know many 9-month olds who LOVE broccoli!  


Along with the convenience of BLW, i.e., letting your infant feed his/herself, there are heath benefits, as shown in a recent study.  A study published in the BMJ Open compared a group of infants who followed the BLW approach to feeding with the infants fed with the traditional pureed food.  The study showed that the BLW infants seemed to like carbohydrates more than sweets, and that the pureed-fed infants seemed to like sweets more.  The study also noted that the Body Mass Index (BMI) of the BLW infants was lower than the pureed-fed infants at the end of the weaning period.  (Find a summary of the study here.)  The website www.babyledweaning.com, recently requested a statement from one of the doctors that participated in the study and she was kind enough to comply.  Dr. Ellen Townsend summarized the study as follows:

“We conducted a survey-based study with parents. Some of whom had used traditional spoon feeding and some who had used a baby-led approach. We asked them about their child’s food likes and how often they ate 151 different foods.

We then compared the groups on their liking for foods in the major food categories (carbs, proteins etc). What we found was that children weaned using a BLW approach like carbohydrates more than the spoon fed children. (In fact they liked carbohydrates the most as compared to the spoon fed children who like sweet foods the most.)

This is interesting because carbohydrates form the building blocks of healthy nutrition (being found at the bottom of the food pyramid). We also looked at health outcomes and found that BLW children generally had lower BMI compared to spoon-fed children. There was a small incidence of underweight in the BLW group but a larger incidence of obesity in the spoon fed group.

Carbohydrates are an ideal first finger food – so what we may be seeing here is an ‘age on introduction effect’ where BLW children are exposed to these foods in their whole food format earlier on. In relation to the BMI findings it could be that BLW learn to self regulate their intake because they are given control of the feeding process. We need longitudinal studies now that can tease apart our findings further.” (www.babyledweaning.com)

I actually saw a brief news segment on this study before I looked it up online.  I was glad to see Baby Led Weaning go a bit more public.  Owen and my niece are the only children I know who did BLW. Owen thoroughly enjoys mealtime because it is fun for him.  On top of three very full meals a day, Owen still nurses every 3-4 hours during the day.  He is also the healthiest of all my children at this age in regards to bowel movement.  My first two children would regularly have problems with constipation.  Let's just say that Owen is very, very, very regular!  As for sleeping longer, he is just starting to 

regularly sleep decently and he only wakes up once to feed between 3:30 and 5am.

I would absolutely recommend the Baby Led Weaning approach to any parent!  Not only is my child a healthy eater, but my bank account isn't feeling constrained by large purchases of "jarred" baby food and my time isn't being consumed with making the purees myself.  Owen basically eats what we eat at every meal.  And he is happy with that.  Everyone wins!  

If you would like more information on the Baby Led Weaning approach, the following sites are excellent resources:

http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/babyledweaning.htm
http://www.babyledweaning.com/  
http://www.baby-led.com/

Owen @ 7-8 Months

My sweet, little Owen!

This may be a little late, but as they say, better late than never! My little Owen is just that...little! At his 6 month check up, he was is the 3rd percentile for height and the 9th in weight. I visibly noticed him getting a little on the skinnier side and also noticed our scale at home wasn't budging, so took Owen into his doctor for a weight check around 7 1/2 months. He had gained 1 pound and he had gotten a bit longer, which is why he looked skinnier. Now, to be clear, this little boy eats like food is going out of style. I have never seen a baby eat this much! We are doing the Baby Led Weaning with Owen , so we don't feed him puréed food. He just feeds himself finger foods. He absolutely loves feeding himself and he is good at it---very accurate! I will blog about Baby Led Weaning in another post because it really deserves its own post. Back to Owen!  

Now that he is approaching 9 months, he seems to finally be growing out of the last of his 3-6 month clothes and some of his 6 month clothes.  Yea!  He actually seems to be getting longer because some of his 6 months PJs fit him perfectly now and they were a bit big when he got them at Christmas time.  So, even though he eats like he has a bottomless pit for a stomach, he still stays a bit on the small side.  The doctor said he may not be growing much because he doesn't sleep well.  Although, his sleep as really improved in the last month.  He usually only wakes up to feed once at between 4 and 5:30am.  Sometimes he cries a little during the night, but then goes back to sleep.  BUT that is a HUGE improvement from what he was doing.  Perhaps that is why I have noticed growth!  The doctor also said he probably has a fast metabolism.  Hmmm....wonder where he gets that from!  (Certainly not me!)

His favorite place to stand, especially if the DVD player is on!

At 7 1/2 months, Owen started crawling, and now, at eight months, he is trying to stand and he is cruising on furniture.  He walked with his walker/push toy yesterday for the first time.  In hindsight, I should have gotten a photo with that!  He is very active and likes to be in the action when it comes to being with our family.  He wants to wrestle on the floor with his daddy and siblings.  He loves any attention from his brother and sister.  He adores them.  It really is, well, for the lack of another word, adorable!

I may had said it in previous posts, but I have to say it again:  Owen is such a sweet boy.  He is patient and happy and loving!  His smiles brighten up the days of many!  He thrives in social atmospheres and loves to "talk" to people.  (Hmmm...does that sound familiar?)  He is such a blessing to our family!

Tub time!

At 7 & 8 months, his favorite things to do are:
Smile at anyone and everyone
Eat
Play with his brother and sister
Stand
Pull up on furniture
Take baths with his brother and sister
Help daddy work on his computer
Cuddle with mommy, and anyone else if mommy isn't within eyesight
Crawl
Chew on remotes
Open cabinets
Pet the kitties

At 7 & 8 months, Owen's favorite foods are:
Broccoli
Chicken Nuggets
Sweet Potatoes & Sweet Potato "Fries"
Whole grain blueberry waffles
Blueberries
Bananas
Cheerios (Trader Joe's O's)
Cheese
Cooked apples
Almost anything we put in front of him...

Owen's first Christmas (At 7 months)

Owen with two of his favorite people.

The happy boy, himself!

Madelyn's 9 Month Check-Up

Madelyn had her 9 month appointment this morning. She turned 9 months on Wednesday. I can't believe time has gone by so fast! I don't know why I am surprised either because the same thing happened with Jackson! She weighs 18 1/2 lbs and is 26 1/2 inches tall, which puts her in 50 percentile for weight and 10-15th percentile of height. She's short---just like me. :) As far as her blocked tear duct goes, Dr. Berry is referring us to an ophthalmologist. She sees him on June 7th. Everything else looks healthy!

Creative Food Attempt

This morning I made Jackson some Mickey Mouse shaped toast with fruit for breakfast, and, guess what? He ate it...well, most of it! All that is left was the ears and the bananas on the ears. I used two different sized biscuit cutters to make Mickey and used apple slices and bananas to top it off. I put dried cranberries and Cheerios on the side so Jackson could make Mickey's face. He enjoyed it and so did I. Oh, and there were no painful pebbles in his diaper today! :)

My Little Pear

As a mother, I can most definitely say that I get great joy out of my toddler eating fruit and veggies. I wish it was easy, though! One week Jackson will love green beans. The next week, he won't want anything to do with them. Last week, he loved this pear. I can't seem to get him to eat a pear this week. If he had a choice, Jackson would live on Chicken Dinos and fries, with fruit snacks on the side. Unfortunately, all that diet will get you is a few painful pebbles in a diaper...I'll spare you any of the other details. Do any of you mothers have any clever tips on how to get a picky and un-predictable toddler to eat his share of fruits and veggies? If so, I'd love to hear them, so don't be shy!

Birthday Boy!

On Friday, Jackson turned the ripe old age of 1. The time has gone by so extremely fast! He has become such a little boy is so little time! He is walking everywhere...no crawling for him! He says a lot of words, but his favorites lately seem to be "oh, wow" and "uh-oh." He is a smart boy. I will ask him at any time if he wants to sing a song and he will start to sing "row, row, row..." It is quite possibly the cutest thing!

Jackson had his 12 month check-up yesterday. He weighed in at 23 lbs and measured at 30 " tall. He is just above the 50th percentile in both areas. That is quite an improvement from 6 months ago! I am so glad he grew! Jackson also got five shots yesterday. I think that is one of the hardest things for a parent to watch. He did have a reaction to the Chicken Pox shot he got. It was just a rash around the area that the shot was given. It was almost gone about thirty minutes after the shot was given. The doctor had never seen a reaction like that before, so he asked us to stick around, and after 30 minutes, Jackson was given a clean bill of health! Speaking of health, Jackson got his first cold. He is a bit on the miserable side right now. We suspect it was from being around so many kids----and perhaps some sick ones----at his party. The doctor agreed that was where he most likely got it from. Green, snotty noses and little coughs are no fun---for either of us!
Well, enough about that...Jackson has been such a tremendous blessing this past year to both Troy and I. Troy posted a good blog on that subject. He mentioned four things he has learned this first year of Jackson's life. I have a list of my own:

1. God is so merciful, generous, and gracious in so many ways.
2. My husband is an amazing daddy.
3. Having Jackson to care for can make me forget about my needs. My spiritual, emotional, and physical needs matter, and I need to take time to tend to those needs in order to better tend to my family's needs.
4. There is no such thing as sleeping in once you have a little one (8 hours of sleep is a privilege!)
5. There is nothing that can melt my heart more than a little child showing that he loves me (giving me a big hug and smile, while affectionately patting me on the shoulder).

So there you have it. Now, to get to the fun part of the blog...the photos! Here are some photos of Jackson's birthday weekend!

Jackson with his one of his birthday presents from his mommy and daddy...a shopping cart!"Hello?" Jackson talking on his new cell phone.Jackson's favorite present......was so kindly given to him by our neighbor, Genny, who happens to have the same birthday.Jackson had a blast with the wrapping paper in bows!Jackson's was a bit worried about the whole birthday cake situation...

...but he soon got over it!

"All done!"

Uncle David and Jackson playing Jackson's first educational video game.
On his birthday, Grandma, Grandpa, Nonna, Uncle David, Aunt Robyn, Uncle Mike, Aunt Gen, Uncle Tim, and Genny all came over to celebrate with us. He got a lot of great gifts, and even some that we can benefit from as parents...such as an amazing umbrella stroller (Thanks, Robyn!!!). Who knew who convenient those things can be??? Jackson slept hard that night and woke up the next day to another "birthday"...

9 Month Check-up

Jackson had his 9 month check-up on Monday. He came in at 19lbs and about 27.5 inches long! He is now in the 35th percentile for his weight! I am overjoyed! All that hard work paid off! Jackson doesn't have any teeth yet, but the doctor said that the time when your infant's teethe come in is hereditary. I got my first tooth at 14 months (right, Mom?), so he may get that from me.

Oh, and if you look closely at these pictures, you will notice that Jackson isn't the only one with his shirt off. This is because Jackson peed on Troy's shirt! Thankfully, Timmy was with us and had an extra shirt in the car!

Arnica

Since Jackson had his first fall (into the coffee table), he's had several more. I've heard from experienced parents that this is completely normal. All you can do is watch them close and try to baby-proof your house as much as possible. I've learned though, that bumps and bruises can't be entirely prevented. In the case that Jackson bumps his head, I immediately put ARNICA on the area. It either prevents the bruise from showing at all or makes it almost disappear. Its quite amazing! Seriously...if you have an infant that is crawling, pulling up on furnature, or learning to walk, you NEED this! It is available at health stores such as Clark's in Riverside. You can also find it in some drug stores, or on websites such as Drugstore.com and Walgreens.com.

Jackson AKA "Bruiser"

Jackson and the coffee table met. This was the result. Needless to say, we are getting rid of our coffee table! He was a good sport through it all, though, and even smiled a short while after the tragedy. We gave him Tylenol for any throbbing pain caused by the crater on his forehead and applied Arnica cream to the bump. ARNICA actually worked and made the bruise not as purple within a few hours! Shortly after he smacked into the table, he was hugging it again! How soon he forgot!

Jackson Weighs In

By the way, I weighed Jackson today and he came in at 15 pounds, 13 ounces! This means he has gained 1 pound, 9 ounces since being weighed at the doctor's office almost three weeks ago. Yea!!!

Infant Online Games

Another thing I recommend for mothers of infants is Fisher-Price's online games for infants. Jackson loves to "type" on the keyboard, so I just go to Fisher-Price's website to the infant "Laugh and Play Peek-a-Boo" game and he has a blast! Every time a key is pressed on the keyboard, a character pops out of a shape on the screen and says "Peek-a-boo!" It is great for learning cause and effect...the infant presses a key and something happens!

Gripe Water

I just realized that I needed to share this wonderful stuff called Gripe Water with all the moms of infants who read this blog. Some of you may use it already. This stuff is great! When Jackson was a newborn, we used it for gas and just plain fussiness and it worked almost every time. My favorite thing to use it for, though, is hiccups. If I catch Jackson on the third or forth hiccup, and I give him a dose of Gripe Water, it completely takes away the hiccups every time! It is quite amazing. So, I just thought I would share this product with you. In the stores, it cost around 12 or 13 dollars, however, you can get it online at Drugstore.com for $7.99. We always purchase the Baby's Bliss brand (pictured above).

Jackson Weighs In

I decided to weigh Jackson accurately this morning. I usually just weigh myself on my scale, then weigh both of us, and subtract my weight from the total. I got my postal scale out this morning to weigh Jackson to the exact ounce. I'm going to keep close tabs on his weight for a little while. I put him a small basket and weighed him, and he really enjoyed the process! He had so much fun getting weighed in the basket, I decided to let him play in it! It made for some adorable pictures! By the way, Jackson weighed in at (minus the weight of the basket and his onesie) 15 pounds 4 ounces! This means that he has gained 14 ounces in less than one week! I suppose if I was able to loose 3 lbs in under a week, he can gain that much! I can tell he is getting fuller in his thighs and face. Yea...my little boy is growing! :)

Jackson's 6-Month Check-up

Today Jackson went in for his 6-month check up. It went well except for one major thing. From 2 months to 4 months, Jackson went from being in the 75th percentile in his height and 50th in his weight to 30th percentile in both. Now, at 6 months, he isn't even on the chart. His growth has almost halted. He only gained 10 ounces since his 4 month check up. He is now 14.6 pounds and 25 inches long. Small...I know.

This makes me very sad. He eats a ton of solids, and nurses 5 times a day. He loves to eat. I told the doctor I didn't understand why he isn't growing, and he said that he may not be getting enough milk from me and/or that he is burning a lot of calories (he observed that Jackson seems to be ahead in motor skills, and is very active as well). So, my desire of nursing him with no formula in his diet is out the window. It bums me out, but I want to do what is best for Jackson. He obviously isn't getting enough protein, and I am his source of protein. The doctor said to start feeding him a little meat, too. We gave him some chicken tonight and, of course, he loved it! The doctor admitted that this was a bit early to give him meat, but under the circumstances, it wouldn't hurt to try. He needs the protein.

Other than that, Jackson is happy, healthy, and normal- praise God! I just need to give him some extra help to grow!

Yea for Sleep!

Jackson was having a hard time napping recently. He also goes to bed later than I would prefer him to, so to get some tips on how to fix those problems, I bought Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Dr. Richard Ferber. Some of you may be familiar with this book. It was first published in the 80's and contains the breakdown of the "Cry it Out" sleep method. Since it was first published, it has been revised with a gentler tone and more information on nap-taking. With just applying a couple ideas of Ferber's in one day, I noticed a huge difference! Jackson is going down right when I put him in his crib after his nap time routine. He also is taking one less nap and going to bed earlier. The next step with be trying to get Jackson to not depend on his pacifier to go to sleep. I recommend this book to anyone who is trying to get a good night's sleep for their baby and themselves! It covers absolutely everything and is not just for parents with infants. Parents with toddlers and older children who have sleep problems will get something out of this book, too. I thank the Lord for using this book as a means to fix Jackson's sleep problems, and as a result, keep me sane!

Sleep Update

For those of you who gave me advice on how to get Jackson to sleep in his crib...THANKS! He is now sleeping in his crib for his naps and at night. He is practically sleeping through the night, too! Troy and I are getting much better sleep and we are all happier in the morning. Jackson wakes up with nothing but smiles on his face! It is such a difference! It used to take him about an hour to wake up because he was fussy and he would go in and out of sleep. I'm so glad Troy and I had Jackson make this transition! Jackson has a schedule now and a routine. Yea!!! It makes our lives so much easier! Plus, Troy and I actually get to do our devotional and talk at night without worrying that we are going to wake Jackson up. I also get to sleep next to my husband. Thats always good for a marriage! Again, thank you for all the great advice!

Did you know...?

Did you know that bananas can cause lack of bowel movement? Did you know that for young infants 2 oz of 100% apple juice (no sugar added) can clear that blockage right up? Now you know. (Now I know.)

Disclaimer: I'm sorry if that was TMI...but I'm a mother now and those details are just life.

SLEEP S.O.S!

The time has come. I can't go much longer without sleeping next to my husband! Jackson must go to sleep in his crib. There is nothing that can put a damper on intamacy in marriage like a child sleeping in between you and your husband. We are looking into the "Cry it Out" method that has gotten some bad publicity, but it really isn't as bad as it sounds. It doesn't involve you leaving your child in his/her crib to cry with the door shut. This article on BabyCenter.com sums the method up nicely. What do you all think of this method? Does it work? Is there another method we can try?

We have tried putting Jackson in the Bassinet, but with no avail. If he sleeps in it, he will only sleep for a couple hours, and then he won't go back into after a feeding. We are going to move onto the crib. So, with that, I must ask...plea...with all you mothers/fathers who read this blog to comment. Please share your advice, even if you've never left a comment before! We can use all the advice we can get! Also, if you have tried rice cereal with your child to get him/her to sleep through the night, let me know how it has worked out for you!

Jackson's 4-month Check-up!

On Monday, we headed over to Kaiser for Jackson's 4-month check up (he's growing up so fast!). This time, Troy/daddy got to join us! We waited a while in the examination room before the doctor came in to see Jackson, so we had to entertain the little lad. Jackson enjoyed reading his favorite book while waiting!So, when the doctor came in, he informed us that Jackson weighs nearly 14 lbs and he is 24.5". His growing slowed down a bit, if you can believe that! He went from being in the 75th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight (at his 2 -month check-up) to being 30th percentile in both at 4 months. The doctor said he doesn't look that small. Thanks, Doc. Also, the doctor said that he STILL isn't teething! If all this drooling, chewing, violent attacks on toys with his mouth, and occasional grumpiness aren't teething...I'm not sure I want to know what is! Troy and I were convinced Jackson was teething! Oh-well...that's first timers for you!

Another issue that I brought up with the doctor was Jackson's ingrown toenails...poor thing...I thought I had plagued him with them. Turns out, its perfectly normal for infants to have them because their toenails don't grow out...they grow up at an angle. So, I told the doc that I had been soaking them in warm water with Epsom Salt. He told me I was doing the right thing. (Yea!)Little feet! Flat and long...just like his Uncle Mike's!