Ruth's 2 Week Well Check-Up

Ruth had her first two doctor's appointments recently. When she was 11 days old, and then a follow-up on Monday, when she was 17 days old. How'd they go?

Ruth's growing well - but not as fast as the doctor would like. However, I remember having similar issues with Nathan & Faith not gaining their birth weight back by 14 days of age (newborns typically lose up to 10% of their body weight shortly after birth). So I've not been concerned - she's still growing. She was 8lb, 10oz at birth. And 7lb, 15oz when we left the hospital, two days later. She was 8lb, 3oz when she was 11 days old. And 8lb, 9oz on Monday - just one ounce shy. (I should have left that dirty diaper on... lol) Like our previous pediatrician, they have to document that the child has reached birth weight - so we'll return for a weight check next week. But I'm not worried - she's obviously gaining the 1oz a day that is suggested for babies this age. And she sure is pooping and peeing like a champ! :)

So where does Ruth fall on the growth chart? She's still right smack in the middle - she's in the 50th percentile for both weight (8lb, 9oz) and height (21inches).

At her first visit, the pediatrician noticed she was still jaundice (another thing I knew, but wasn't concerned over - Nathan & Faith were both much worse and they didn't need anything but sunlight and lots of nursing). Sure enough, Ruth's jaundice wasn't need for concern - but the doctor still wanted to watch it.

Dr. Cuming also noticed that Ruth had a slight heart murmur - something big sister has, too. But apparently a different kind. The doctor was confident that it was the type of murmur that apparently shows up in a lot of newborns, a few days after birth - so the hospital staff never hears it. He said it disappears as quick as it starts. And, sure enough, at her 17 day visit on Monday, the murmur was gone.

Other than those minor issues, the doctor declared Ruth in perfect health. She's doing great! We'll go back in a couple days for a final weight check, just to prove she's reached birth weight. And to get her first vaccine - we couldn't get it yesterday because the hospital records are lost... yeah... lost.

Our time in the hospital was slightly disorganized. It was a holiday weekend, and so all the new staff were stuck working the shifts no one else wanted. And some staff never even showed up for work. This caused some problems... like we never got birth certificate paperwork in the hospital... my pain meds got messed up in the computer (so the nurse thought I had to wait 8 hours instead of 4)... and I never did get that post-natal massage they try to entice moms-to-be with on the L&D tours.... With the obvious lack of organization, I declined getting Ruth's first vaccine while in the hospital. I was nervous that something would go wrong. And I was right.

The nurse at the pediatrician's office told me that hospital's often give the shot to all babies, even if it's without authorization. (that alone makes me mad... but that's a whole other conversation)  Anyways, the nurse called the hospital to be sure Ruth hadn't gotten the vaccine while there. But apparently, the hospital LOST Ruth's record. They have no record of her being born there. Wonderful. Jacob's hoping this means no bill... but I'm confident that the finance office will find her record one way or another.

Anyways, so we left the doctor's yesterday without getting Ruth a shot. There was no reason to risk giving it to her a 2nd time, I opted to wait and see what the hospital says when/if they find her record. It's all a little frustrating... but we have a healthy, happy baby. And everything will work out in the end :)

Ruth is doing great. She slept for 7 hours last night!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!! It would have been much more enjoyable if I didn't wake up every 20 minutes just to be sure she was still alive. lol

She's nursing awesome - it's going soooo much better than it did with Nathan & Faith. Well...except for the fact that she seems to think I am her personal pacifier... I'm still hoping she'll start taking a pacifier soon and learn that there are other ways to fall asleep than by nursing.

But otherwise, nursing is going great - a big praise! - and so far there's no reason to think we'll need to supplement. Which makes our budget happy. And makes Jacob happy too - cause that means he has no reason to get up in the middle of the night with a baby. lol

All in all, we have a perfect baby. How on earth did we get so blessed?!?!

Oh, and the photo above? I've got a few more photos to post of Ruth soon - photos I've taken during some mini-ameatuer newborn photo sessions over the last 2 weeks. I'll share them all soon... still trying to find time for a little editing... :)