Noah's first Dr appointment

Noah is now 1 week old. It's crazy how fast it has gone by. They really are little for a short time, as they say. Knowing this Sean and I are soaking up every single thing about being parents to a newborn. Its silly how excited we get over the smallest thing he does but thats ok because thats what parents are for, right? Good news is that we are getting used to the sleep schedule required of us. Noah sleeps 2 to 3 hours at a time and we either wake him up or he wakes himself up for a feeding. Amanda suggested this genius idea of bottle feeding him once during the night so that Sean and I can each get a good 4 hours guaranteed of sleep. Don't worry its not formula he is getting breast milk exclusively. I pump in the mornings after his first feeding then store it in the fridge for later in the night. I feed him before Sean and I go to bed and then when he wakes up the first time Sean wakes up and lets me sleep and gives him the milk from the previous morning. Then the next time Noah wakes up I wake up and let Sean continue to sleep (usually while I'm feeding Noah, Sean likes to be near us so he can bond with him as well). We carried out this plan for the first time last night and have both agreed it is perfect for optimal sleeping. Noah still gets his breast milk, and we get our sleep. Sean and I both have our energy back and feel great today. We looked it up and found out that by 3 months Noah go to 4 or 5 hours in between eating and by 6 months he will sleep through the night for 9 to 12 hours and eat throughout the day.

Noah's doctor appointment was set for today because its usually set for when he is a week old. We ended up going yesterday because he woke up with a puffy eye and there was gunk crusting over it.

Doesn't that just make your heart sad? Poor little guy. It wasn't really bothering him other than that he couldn't open his eye. He wasn't fussy over it but he did grab at his eye a lot. This made us worried so we called the doctor office and they told us to just come in that day instead.

 This is our little family ready for our first outing. Even if it was just to the doctor it was the first time I had left the house since Thursday and I was happy to get dressed and look pretty. 

Our pediatrician is Gilbert Pediatrics. I just have to say that I love them there! We have only met one doctor so far but if the others are like ours from yesterday then we will love them all. I think the whole office is LDS doctors, if not most. I know for sure the one we saw was. His name is Dr Auxier. They weighed Noah and measured him. He has already grown so much! He is 6lbs 10oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Our little guy is still tiny but so much bigger at the same time. haha. Also funny part of the day, Noah peed on their scale. He was leaving his mark :) After doing an exam on how well Noah is with his neck muscles and other such things Dr Auxier declared him perfect. He said "Well I'm sure as parents you already think this but now its medically proven, Noah is a perfect baby" He then went on about how he is a healthy baby and has great muscle control. He also told us the 4 things that can prevent SIDS. These were: Breastfeed, No Smoke of any kind around him, Only let him sleep on his back, and use pacifiers. Now here is where I admit I was wrong. Sean and I had previously decided that we were not going to have Noah use pacifiers. Our reasoning behind this was that we didn't want him to become attached to it and only sleep when he has one. Also we both think its ridiculous when you see a 2 or 3 year old with one because they have made it their only comforter. Then when the doctor told us that it was better for him to have it when he sleeps and that it is beneficial to him we immediately changed our minds. We want what is best for Noah and will do anything to keep him safe. That includes admitting we were wrong and maybe didn't research enough about pacifiers before making that decision. We still don't want Noah being one of those 2 year olds with one so we will just make sure we take it away before he is 1. The doctor said that when toddlers still have them its not because they have just become attached its the parents that allow it. It's just lazy parenting to give your baby a pacifier every time he cries. That is what makes them attached to it.  He is doing so great at sleeping in his crib. We love and hold him til he starts to look tired and then before he even falls asleep we put him in his crib and he falls asleep in there. He sleeps well with the pacifier and we can tell he loves it. This has also cut down on the comfort feeding. One night he woke up twice and ate for a full hour each time. He wasn't even hungry, we know this because he kept spitting up the milk, he just wanted the comfort from the sucking.

Dr Auxier finished the appointment with some really good council. He said, I like to end my first week appointments by getting on my soapbox for a bit, I hope you don't mind. He went on to say that our marriage needs to be strong for our baby. That things get tough when a baby is added into our relationship and that we need to remember to treat each other with love and respect. I loved how he said "Remember the first time you heard him cry when he was just born, remember how nothing in the world was more important. Family is the most important thing and nothing else compares. Later on you both might start thinking of other things like wanting a bigger house, needing more money or other things alike but remember that first cry and how family was the most important thing." Then he said that another important thing was that mom be home when he gets home when he is older. "Even if it isn't now you need to work toward being able to live on one income by the time he is a teenager. If it isn't for 5 or 10 years, its still something you should plan for and try to accommodate. It's hard to live on one income but for your family you need to work for it." I felt like I was speaking with a bishop. It was such sweet council. Sean said he really likes the doctor and that he loved the council as well. We are excited for next week for Noah's 2 week old appointment. Dr Auxier isn't going to be there on Tuesday so we are seeing Dr. Jones. We shall see how this one goes.

He said that the eye gunk was being caused by a clogged tear duct and that it is a very common issue with newborns. Melissa (our sister in law) said that her baby Alden had the same thing and that they didn't even go to the doctor for it. They just did the warm compress. We went though because we had the week appointment already so it wasn't an extra appointment. The duct that is clogged is the one that washes tears away so it gets infected when its clogged. we need to massage the corner of his eye 3 times a day and use a prescription eye drops 3 times a day as well. Also whenever his eye gets gunky we just wipe it with a warm washcloth and hold it there for awhile. Its only been a day since using the eye drops and his eye already looks better. It still gets gunk in it but not hardly as much. I'm so relieved that it wasn't something more serious and that there is an easy fix.

So that was our appointment. It couldn't have gone better.  :) Today has been great as well. Sean and I have so much energy and Noah is just as cute as ever. He is sleeping great and eating better. He still has a hard time latching on with out the shield but he does do without it sometimes. He will get better. It just takes a lot of patience from me. Its a good thing I have Sean to be such a good support and to give me encouragement. Sean loves spending time hold and talking with Noah. He is starting to recognize our voices really well now. When I talk he kind of turns his head my way and same with Sean, even when others are in the room talking. Now for some beautiful baby pictures. I know you all want to see them.