1 Month Check-Up

Well today was Pod's one month check-up. The doctor said he looks great! He weighs
10 lbs. 13 oz & is 21 3/4 inches long. Next month he goes for the two month check-up and has to start immunizations.... Poor Pod!

The doctor looked at the nodules on his little arm and said that he was impressed that they were going away. There are two gone and one is still pretty predominate. So he's going to call the pediatric dermatologist for suggestion and see if she wants to follow-up. She wanted to make a 3mm biopsy of the nodules when Pod was three days old, but Joe & I decided to wait and follow-up. Our pediatrian said he would keep an eye on them & follow-up with the dermatologist as he felt necessary as he feels they are subcutaneous fat necrosis. He put in a call to the dermatologist, but he hasn't heard back from her and neither have we.

The doctor listened to his heart and lungs. Checked his throat, ears, and eyes. Took off his little diaper and checked his groin area. Everything looked great. I asked about the stools. Pod screams when he passes gas or has a bowel movement. The doctor said that is normal and as long as the stool isn't hard, it should be fine. He's not concerned about it. The formula that Pod is taking absorbs into his system. Therefore, he won't have a bowel movement every single day. Some babies go up to 5 days without a bowel movement. So when there is a movement, it can be challenging for him. The doctor advised if I felt I needed to give him water, it was okay to do that, but nothing more that 4 oz in a 24 hour period. Also, after one more month of there not being any blood in the stool and my nursing, then we can also offer diluted apple juice, but no more than 1 oz. He really doesn't want him to have the apple juice right now because of the proteins in the apples and the fact that Pod was having explosive bowel movements prrior to us going to the ICU. He thinks that apple juice at this age is too early, especially with Pod's history.

I started nursing again, but expressed my concern with my low supply. The pediatrician recommended Fenugreek, which is an herbal supplement. I need to take it three times a day. I went to the local healthfood grocery store and found it for $25 a bottle! YIKES!!! So when I got home, I called my mom and she told me of a website to try. Thank goodness for mothers! I was able to order 2 bottles of capsules and 2 boxes of the herbal tea plus the shipping costs for less than one bottle at the healthfood grocery store!

Speaking of healthfood grocery store... Joe calls it the hippy hang-out.... anyway, I found a great blog with recipes for food I can eat. As I mentioned before I'm on a strict diet resulting from Pod's trip to the ICU... So I found some great recipes that are gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free. Tonight I made Rosemary Apple Chicken, Acorn Squash stuffed with apples and cranberries, pomegranate spinach salad with home-made advacado dressing, and apple crisp for dessert. Yes, I know, call me Betty Crocker. It only took me 3 hours to finish cooking the meal, cost way more than eatting out, but it was delicious. Lesson learned out of the experience???? I'm going to buy only the hard-to-find items at the healthfood grocery store and buy the rest of the stuff at the regular grocery. Why can't I buy the apples at Ingles or Kroger instead of at the healthfood grocery? I paid double for them I guess. Oh well, saved in gas for the trips to multiple grocery stores....

Speaking of gas... I paid $2.89 today per gallon!!! WOO WEE!!! I didn't think I'd see it below $3.00 again. That's awesome!

Well, I've got a headache so I need to go lay down. Hope all is well with everyone out there reading this.

I'll update more soon, until then....

Updates

It has been a while since I've posted anything other than pictures on here. I figured I better get everyone up-to-date. Things are going well now. Jace is happy and as far as I can tell, extremely healthy. He's been doing very well on the special formula he has to take. Unfortunately though, because the formula can only be purchased through the pharmacy, but doesn't require a prescription, our insurance refuses to pay for it. So, we've shelled out a ton of money for this formula already. Thankfully my mom suggested I look on-line to see if I could find it any cheaper since Pod is going through 2 & 1/2 cans a week. I found that I can order direct from the manufacture for 1/2 the cost of what the local pharmacies are charging. We've started back nursing, but since he's been on this formula, I've not been producing as much milk as before. I'm still supplementing with formula until my supply builds back up.

On another note, we were successful in finding a daycare for Pod when I have to go back to work. The daycare is right down the street from my office. It's literally 3 mins away from the office. The down side is that they do not do part-time. We have to pay for all five days regardless if he is there or not. I don't know how some families do it, especially single parents or families with more than one child in day care.

My mom came back down to visit and stayed with us for a week. We had a great time & she was a huge help. Joe and I were able to go on a date! We haven't been on a date since the baby was born. It was nice to get out and have a nice dinner & not have to worry about the baby. I knew he was well taken care of. Of course I did keep my phone beside me the whole time, but restrained from calling and checking in. Joe and I went to PF Changs and then went to see Eagle Eye in the Imax theater. That's a great movie, by the way.... Maybe Joe and I can keep up with date night once or twice a month. That would be nice.

Pod made his first trip to the Smoky Mountains this past weekend. We went to have some pictures made. Mom took some pictures and Joe took some pictures. I'm a horrible photographer so I didn't volunteer to take any. I've posted some pics above. (Yes, his eyes really are that blue!)

Well, other than that, everyone should be up to date now. Hopefully the weather holds out and we'll be able to make it home for Thanksgiving. I can't wait to bring the baby home to meet everyone. I may not be able to eat Thanksgiving dinner & will more than likely have to buy my own food, but that's okay, too.

I'll talk to everyone later!

Jace is one month old!