pediatrician appointment

Went to the pediatrician today for the 4-week appointment. Our boy is 8 pounds 3 oz. Go baby grow!

I brought with me our whole long list of concerns — Are we overfeeding him? Did his belly button heal okay? When should I pump breastmilk? How often should we be doing “tummy time”? What about that one toe that doesn’t go with the others when he curls them? Should we be doing anything else about his gas? He only burps sometimes; is that bad? What about spitting up? Spitting up when lying down? Sleeping in the car seat? Am I a bad mother? …

The answer: Everything is fine. We’re doing fine. He is perfect. Feed him when we want. Don’t worry too much about pumping right now. Gripe water and Mylecon are okay to use if we want but it’s not necessary. Babies have gas. That makes them cry. No big deal. He’ll be fussy in the evenings from gas. That’s normal. There’s no evidence that babies have to have scheduled “tummy time.” Just make sure he’s using all his muscles…

After the appointment, Baby J needed a diaper change, and then he needed to nurse, and then another diaper change. For a 9:45 appointment, I didn’t get out of that little room until after 11. Good thing it has such a nice view.