Smiley Face

About 2 weeks ago, Luke went on his first plane trip to Pennsylvania.  He was only 9 weeks old at the time but already a world traveller.  Even though our plane trips to and from PA were during his evening fussy time, he did great.  We could not have asked for more from a baby, and I am sure the other passengers were equally as pleased.

Yesterday Luke went for his two-month checkup with the pediatrician.  He was again pronounced to be healthy and developing well.  He weighed in at 11 pounds, 7 ounces (50th percentile) and was 23 3/4 inches tall (75th percentile).  That was a big jump in height, and I don’t think it was completely accurate since the nurse had to yank on his leg to get it straight, and he pulled away from the head mark a litttle. So, he might be more like 23 1/4 to 23 1/2 inches, and I won’t be surprised if he drops back down to 50th percentile at 4 months.

The two month checkup means a lot of immunizations.  Luke got 2 shots in each leg (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, haemophilus influenza B, hepatitis B, polio, and pneumococcal) and one oral immunization (this new rotovirus vaccination that is recommended).  He screamed but calmed down easily, and his fever and irritability are not as bad as I remember Brooke having with her first set of shots.  Of course, we are used to Luke’s screaming and irritability, so this is just another day.

Luke slept through the night for the first time last night…from 8:30 pm to 5:30 am!!

Tomorrow Luke is two months old, and I can report that the screaming continues with no change. Well, more frequently he will scream so violently that he throws up on himself. There have been no improvements on that front. He is, however, doing well sleeping at night. It is now more usual for him to sleep at least one 4-5 hour stretch at night. So, we have no complaints about his nighttime behavior.

In the 6 weeks so far that Luke has been screaming, I have found that everyone wants to offer their advice. In the beginning it was nice to get ideas that maybe we had not heard or tried, but at this point we have exhausted just about every possibility and tried everything. So, unless you have something really innovative to offer (like the ladies at the gym that suggested what we needed was for the doctor to prescribe a nerve pill for me), I really don’t have the strength to listen. Here is top 5 most irritating suggestions I continue to receive:

5. Have you tried walking him in the stroller? (Yes, I have tried this. Yes, he continues to scream the whole time. We have not tried this again since it did not work in the air conditioned mall or in the neighborhood where it is 95 degrees in the afternoon. Hence, this is not being tried again. Yes, there are babies who don’t just fall asleep in the stroller. Yes, my pediatrician is aware of this and said he would probably scream and that the neighbors would stare at me…as would everyone in the mall.)

4. Have you tried changing his formula? (Evidently some people think babies only get colic if they are allergic to the formula or have gas. And then I have to explain that there is nothing wrong with the formula and that the pediatrician does agree with me.)

3. Have you tried a bouncy seat?

2. Have you tried a pacifier? (Hmm…do you not think this is one of the first things we tried? Oh, what a novel idea! A pacifier!?! Why didn’t I think of that?)

1. Have you tried rocking him? (Seriously, people think they are offering some deep, dark mothering secret with this one?)