Peas, Beans, and Barley... but no Oats.

This past week has been super busy for Nate. And me - hence, the lack of updating. (I'm so bad about that.)

He's been introduced to LOTS of new foods over the past 3 weeks - after our episode of constipation (and yes, he finally did poop Friday! I had the enemas ready to go, but he did it on his own; he made it in just the nick of time and was SO much more pleasant afterwards.) I was determined to lay off the rice and applesauce and stick to P foods - prunes, peas, peaches, pears. We also started green beans today, and plan to start barley in the next couple weeks. I would have never though to feed him barley, but I saw it on the grocery store shelf next to the rice and oatmeal, and figured, why not? Especially since...

We're avoiding oats now. Nate had his first taste of oatmeal on Sunday and ended up with a rash on his belly that afternoon. I wouldn't have attributed it to oats, since they seem like such a mild food, if I hadn't remembered our rash episode when he was about 6 weeks old. I bought the Aveeno sensitive skin lotion, with oatmeal in it. I started putting it on after his baths and he started getting a bad rash on his belly and legs. He had a doctor's appointment that week, and I brought it up - the rash looked like eczema. I assumed that was what it was and switched to a different lotion, since the Aveeno didn't seem to help (and was, in fact, making it worse.) The rash completely cleared up within a couple days. I remember the thought being in the back of my mind that MAYBE Nate was oat intolerant, since it was such a mild lotion, but didn't think much of it after that day. But now, after doing a little more research, it seems that it most likely IS an oat intolerance, which is usually outgrown by the toddler years. So we're leaving oats on the shelf for now. We'll try again when he's closer to 1 and see how he does.

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We took him in for a weight check last Tuesday, the 10th, and found that he had indeed lost weight since his 4 month check-up. The doctor said to bring him back a week later and see if there was any change. We took him back in this Tuesday, and he hadn't gained at all. The doctor didn't seem overly concerned, since Brian was a teeny tiny baby and Nate was still above 50% for weight (he was 95% at 4 months). He's grown about 3 inches since that checkup, and just looks like he's stretched out. However, he wanted to do some lab work to make sure everything was checking out okay.

We got the results back the next day, and his liver enzymes are high - more than twice the normal levels. Today we went to the children's hospital for an ultrasound on his liver to see if we could find anything out by that. We're going back Monday for more detailed bloodwork - and we're still waiting to hear on the ultrasound results. We're hoping we'll hear back tomorrow, since it will be a LONG weekend if we don't.

Prunes

After a fussy night two nights ago, combined with something I stumbled across on the internet, I was reminded that Nate hasn't pooped in a while. Come to think of it, I don't even know the last time he pooped! The next one is going to be soooo much fun to clean up, I'm sure.

So I decided we would give prunes a try - I had a container of baby prunes in the pantry (from my sister). I mixed a little bit with applesauce; I just couldn't bring myself to give it to him straight. I expected him to make a face and push it out with his tongue - he hasn't refused any food yet, but he makes it pretty obvious when he doesn't care for it.

He LOVED it! He gobbled it down faster than he has ever eaten plain applesauce (his favorite). He even opened his mouth for each bite! (Something he doesn't really do until the spoon hits his lips.)

Now I'm just holding my breath and hoping this works... preferably, in the morning, so I don't end up having to change the sheets in his crib!

Sleep & Sippy Cups...

Two things we're doing a lot of these days!

Nate has become a MUCH better sleeper in just the last week. Two Fridays ago we moved him into his own room, in the crib - he was previously in our room in a pack-and-play. I was resistant to the move, but he had just started to roll and the PnP didn't seem safe anymore! That weekend was miserable - I didn't think it was related to the move, since he was sleeping okay at night, but he REFUSED to nap for 3 days straight. He didn't sleep well Sunday night either, and Monday was a very, very rough day in the Dunn household. Monday night we tried a new homeopathic teething liquid, and lo and behold, he slept!

Since then, he has woken, on average, twice a night. Just two weeks previously he was waking, at the very least, 4 times a night. One night he made it to 9 times and then I lost count. I really do think it's because of the room move - as long as the space heater and his classical music is on, he'll eventually go to sleep. And actually, last night, he slept for 7 hours straight!

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Nate has started drinking from a sippy cup. Well, not drinking, exactly - more like gnawing. Yesterday was the fourth or fifth time I'd given him the cup with water in it, and he gnawed on it for about 10 minutes. Then I happened to look over just as he figured out how to suck, and he got quite a bit of water out! He let it dribble down his chin as he stared at the cup in disgust, as though he was saying, "what IS this stuff?" (He's never had water before, except what he's drunk in the bathtub accidentally.) He sucked a few more drops, and then went back to gnawing.

A Blog for my Babies

At the suggestion of Danielle, I decided to finally start a blog for Nathan (and his little brother/sister coming at the end of May!) And as cute as the Wordpress layouts are... I decided to stick with Blogger so I can have everything in one place.

Nate was 4 1/2 months old yesterday, and he's getting to be such a big boy! When I hold him, I can't believe he was the little baby all swaddled up that we brought home from the hospital. He's almost doubled his birth weight (he was 9lb 7oz at birth - he's over 18lb now!) and if height as an infant means anything, he's going to be taller than his Daddy when he grows up. At his last checkup, a month ago, he was at the 95% for both height and weight.

Writing a first blog entry is always hard for me. So I think I'll just give some "Nate stats."

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Name: Nathan Patrick, but goes by "Nate" 95% of the time, unless we're calling his name and trying to get his attention. He responds to "Nathan" better.

Age: 4 1/2 months old

Likes: dogs, other people, applesauce and bananas, baths, being outside, his pacifier, chewing on his hands, grabbing his feet, rolling over, the taste of medicine, attention, being sung to, any kind of music

Dislikes: sleeping, laying on his back, being in his carseat, rice cereal, having a dirty diaper, sleeping

Longest vacation: Colorado at 4 months old.
Favorite part: being in the backpack on Daddy's back during hikes
Least favorite part: the train ride up to Pike's Peak when he blew out his diaper and he had to be changed in front of all the passengers since there was no bathroom on the train.

Best Trait: Very friendly, even to strangers.

What he's doing at this moment: Sitting in his high chair next to me. He just lifted his leg up in the air and I see that he has poop all over his pants. What a way to start the day!

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