Ju is almost 9 weeks old and growing like a....well, he's big. At his doctor yesterday he weighed in at 6.6kg and measured 61.5cm. Compared to the other babies in the room, he looked like a giant. It's a myth that his size has to do with half his genes being German. I'm serious. Every Caucasian parent I've spoken to so far has had a baby smaller than mine at birth and smaller in size month-for-month compared to Ju. So race has nothing to do with it and neither does diet, since I am still thinner than most of the mothers around me who had smaller babies.
Speaking of weight, hoisting Ju up and down every day has given my wrist a strain or sprain from the pain I have. It's likely due to his weight because most babies his size are at least 4 months old and can hold up their heads. Ju's neck, on the other hand, has not strengthened, so I have to pick him up with the babyhold (supporting neck and butt) and this really puts a strain on the wrist. Not to mention it looks a tad ridiculous cradling a baby this big in my arms like an infant. So I'm crossing my fingers his neck strengthens REALLY soon.
In other news, Ju got his shots and it was hilarious (to me anyway). He got the oral Rotavirus vaccine first, but because it was sweet and he hated it, he coughed and choked and started screaming in rage. The injections on each of his chubby little thighs went smooth sailing since he was bawling at the top of his lungs anyway. I've never heard him scream so badly before and I did feel a little sorry for him. So we gave him his bottle afterwards to calm him down.
His cradle cap is still looking rather bad, and the doctor gave us a shampoo for his scalp. I rubbed olive oil in his scalp before his bath yesterday and Daniel shampooed him. Afterward, there was lots of skin flaking off and I spent the next hour or so picking it out of his hair. Gross. I hate dandruff. But as they say, the condition is quite harmless and bothers the parents a lot more than the baby. We'll just have to wait and keep treating his scalp, hopefully it will improve in a week.
Meanwhile, I sw my gynae a final time and had a pap smear. It was less invasive than I feared but then again, I haven't been penetrated in a while. Doc confirmed that breastfeeding really kills your libido and makes the whole place dry as a desert. He recommended some contraceptive options for me, but I declined. Dan would agree that the chances are slimmer than slim that we would get pregnant again. As a matter of fact, even though your period doesn't show up, you're fertile after the second month, even if you're breastfeeding. My doc informed me that my ovaries were "waking up". Good news lost on me I guess.
Breastfeeding is going a lot better, and I finally put my Medela pump to good use. I got 100ml out in a couple of minutes last night, but that was a good 7 hours after the last nursing. Pumping and feeding it to Ju from the bottle is a lot more effective but in the day, I don't bother as I don't get quite so much out with the 2 hourly feeds. Ju still needs a bottle of formula after nursing from the breast. I doubt mixed feeding is responsible for his weight, he doesn't look overweight, just big. I suspect his bones got a power-packed dose of calcium from me in the womb.
There's also one thing I learnt about breastfeeding: drink lots of water before and during the feed. Dehydration does nothing for your milk flow and it might even have detrimental effects on your body as it needs to generate supply for the baby. Water is therefore essential.
1 comment:
RE libido: The pope probably has more sex than I do.
Post a Comment