Lil Almost-9-Month Pedi Appointment Update!

Just got back from the pediatrician! Despite the fact that Lil is 4 days shy of 9 months (CRAZY!), since we went prior to 9 months, it's technically her 8-month well baby check. Whatev.

Before we get to all the fun pediatrician stuff. I should tell you about our morning. I planned to leave Bible study early this morning in order to get Lil home in time to have an early lunch and nap. And to hope she fell for that trick. I moved everything up by an hour. (Naps are a must. They keep MOM sane.) Keep in mind also that Lilleigh refused to take a morning nap this morning. (I'll explain that part later.) Basically this morning, she slept all of 10 minutes. Great start to my planned out day. Missing morning nap is always a ticket for trouble.

So I left Bible study early. I was on the elevators going downstairs to walk over to childcare, when I heard two staffers talking...

Man: How's it going over there day today?

Woman: I've actually been over here looking for a mom whose baby won't stop crying. She's not answering her phone, and we can't find her.

Great. You know how this is going to end right? I wasn't sure if I should hang my head and walk quickly away or make a joke... I mean surely she wasn't talking about Lilleigh right? They hardly ever call a parent, so that child must really be screaming... 

I jumped in the convo, laughing, Oh no, I hope that's not my child!

The lady quickly turned around, What's your name? 

Ashleigh.

Lankford?

Shooooot. Yes...
I'm the mother of the crying baby. The one who doesn't answer her phone when child care calls. Oops. :) 

Back to the appointment...

Her stats:
28.5 inches long - 85th percentile TALL baby! (Not my genes...)
18 lbs exactly - 38%
17.75 head circumference - 83%

And our doctor had some advice for getting Lil to sleep through the night again. He thinks he issue is that on top of building new skills (near crawling, etc), she's discovered object permanence.

Weren't paying attention in developmental psychology when your prof went over that term? Let me break it down. Object Permanence: When Mom and Dad leave the room, Lil has connected the dots that we are still around. Still in the house. AND that if she cries, we will come back. So a little cause and effect also.

This makes sense because she has recently started pushing down her crib bumper and peeking out over the top, looking out the door for us to walk by. Then if she sees us, she starts crying and won't stop. She actually might cry even if she doesn't see us. She just knows. So there have been several naps where she's cried herself to sleep lately. And then we've found her asleep on the crib bumper. Whatcha gonna do?



So the solution to this object-permanence-wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night issue? Dr Naidoo (our awesome pediatrician) says to go in but not nurse her (shame on me for doing that... I missed the boat that I was supposed to stop that long ago) and to lay on the bed we have in there. We aren't to communicate with her. But just lay there, so she knows we are there and is comforted. I'm expecting a fight, since she's used to getting nursed. (Grrr bad mommy habit) He said not to let her cry more than 15 minutes and then to nurse if she's still crying. I'm expecting to have to do this for several nights. But Dr Naidoo seems to think that after awhile of this, she'll stop. Fingers crossed...

Comments

  1. Mommies who comfort nurse their children are not bad. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. She is a baby. Babies need their mommies. They have such a limited understanding of their worlds and at this age, it's not about manipulation, it's about realizing you and she are different people and it's scary to be all alone! It's about being there to fulfill our children's needs and to let them know we will always be there for them. She will outgrow wanting you in the middle of the night one day. It makes me sad when moms feel this way because they're not doing anything but responding to their children's needs.

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