Tuesday, September 10, 2013

23 Weeks

As of yesterday, Arlo is 23 weeks old, and I'm pleased to report that he's sleeping! He still can't quite make it through the night, but he's getting damn close. He's been waking up just once most nights—typically around 4. I'll take it.

I'm assuming he's sleeping because his higher dose of Zantac is really kicking in. He still shows signs of reflux—but not constantly like before. Having him in his bouncy seat in his pitch-black room is undoubtedly helping, too. We're getting closer and closer to discovering the perfect recipe.

We saw the GI specialist last week, and she seemed confident that he'll outgrow the reflux within a couple of months. In the meantime, she told us to start feeding him rice cereal, which we've been doing at dinnertime. This could also be contributing to the better nights. But who knows.

In the lobby, waiting to see the specialist.

She also told us that we need to feed him on demand, like you do newborns—that it wouldn't be fair to Arlo to attempt to put him on a feeding schedule. When he feels well enough to eat, he'll eat. If he can only handle an ounce at a time, we have to work with him. This is what we've been doing, so the reassurance was nice. Yes, most babies should be on a schedule now. Mine can't be because he's in pain.

Anyway, if the reflux is still around in 6 weeks, the specialist would like to have us back to schedule some testing.

I haven't felt this rested since before Arlo was born. I'm not saying I'm no longer sleep deprived—because I totally am—but I'm finally feeling ambitious enough to start exercising again. Thank God. I haven't lost the million pounds that I put on while I was pregnant, and my I-just-had-a-baby license is about to expire. We've been walking our butts off.

My walking buddy.

There's a little playground about two blocks from our house, and Danny and I finally took Arlo there the other day. Arlo's swinging session was probably the highlight of my week. This kid's turned me into such a sap that my eyes filled with tears as he swung back and forth a thousand times, just beaming as he experienced the sensation of the wind in his hair and took in all the new sights. His eyes darted from the sky to the trees to the ground—and always, back to our faces. I think he loves our smiles as much as we love his.
 
Weee!

We're a bunch of grinning fools, I tell ya. Life is so good.

2 comments:

Nicole said...

:) to the swinging !!
:( to the losing the weight...it doesn't come off automatically like the miracle of getting pregnant and having healthy babies is? ; )

Emmett Katherine said...

seriously, poor arlo. I'm glad things are improving for the little guy so he (and you & danny) can get some rest, I really hope it goes away soon.

man, babies love being outside, we put tavi in a baby swing for the first time this weekend and she loved it too.

good luck with the gym/working out, it takes a bit to get back into the swing of things but you'll get there :)