6 Month Check up

Another round at the doctor's office today. Oh how I wish these visits were more fun. They really aren't.

Last night I went ahead and put Rachel back in her diaper to sleep. And that girl SLEPT! I know she loves her crib, and who wouldn't? Comfy mattress, pretty colors, soft pillow and blankets...I'd love it too! Unfortunately, mommy couldn't sleep much. Getting rid of this diaper rash has taken its toll on me. Jason's been gone this week and I've been so concerned about making sure that rash didn't get worse that I kept her out of her diaper for several nights in a row = no sleep for mommy.

Since she was sleeping last night and I'm not used to it, when she woke up at 3:30 this morning I changed her diaper just to be safe and she went back to sleep without a bottle. I, on the other hand, couldn't go back to sleep. I've developed a cold (partly from lack of sleep, partly from a sick kid coughing in my face). Jason has graciously found a way to come home a day early. PTL!

I'd called the doctor earlier this week begging for another solution for the diaper rash. Her appointment today was a follow up on the diaper rash as well as her 6 month check up. It's a few days early, but the doctor is out all next week and I wanted to get it done before she was gone and not wait that extra week.

The diaper rash hasn't gone away, but it has gotten better. I'll take less diaper rash than worse diaper rash. Doctor says the treatments I'm giving her are just fine and she doesn't look bad otherwise. So we'll keep with the creams we've been using. I need to count how many different diaper rash treatment creams we now have in the house. I'm sure it's a ridiculous amount, but at least we now know what works!

Once the diaper rash conversation was over the doctor expressed concern and this part kind of upset me. Yes, Rachel was 5 weeks early and is a little behind developmentally speaking. But the doctor said she was concerned that Rachel isn't sitting up. At her 3 month visit the doctor was concerned that she wasn't rolling over. So for the next 3 months at home and at day care she's worked really hard on being on her tummy and just started rolling over last week. The doctor said Rachel should at least be able to sit "tripod", where she's hunched over and has her hands on the floor in front of her between her legs. This is where I felt like a dumb parent: I had no idea Rachel should be doing that. She sits up a LOT, because she loves it. But it's always in her Bumbo seat or the exersaucer. I have been trying to sit her up on her own on the floor, but she's so wobbly that I stopped. I didn't realize that I should be working on that. And I'm sure the developmental book I have (and haven't finished month five and into month 6 yet) would have told me that. So I feel like a complete failure as a parent. First the formula problem where I wasn't making the bottles right. Then the diaper rash and cold that just won't go away. Then the lack of tummy time and inability to roll over. Now she's not sitting tripod. The doctor positioned Rachel in the tripod pose while we were in there, and Rachel can do that for a few seconds before she totters over, so she's not completely incapable. The doctor's concern was that another patient baby she has that couldn't sit up had scoliosis. We obviously don't want that! So I was told that we have a month and a half to work with her on this and if she still isn't able to do this, we'll have to call in "First Years"....which I'm assuming is a group at Community Hospital that comes over and does physical therapy with the child to get them developed to where they should be.

And to put the pickle on the crap sandwich that was this visit, then they gave her her shots. *sigh*

I know we're first time parents and don't know everything. I refuse to read a ton of parenting books because Jason and I both have agreed that we don't want our parenting style to be influenced too much by all these books. But I should have been reading AHEAD in the developmental book I have and I haven't done it. And it's not that I haven't had time, it's that I just haven't done it.

Thankfully we at least have these awesome developmental toys that we play with. And she is doing well with everything else...reaching, responding to noise, focusing on people, etc.

I was also told that she's at the stage where she will develop "Stranger Anxiety". (PTL she's already started day care so we don't have to deal with that!) But she started crying when the nurse was listening to her heart beat, which was out of character for her. Oddly, she had no problems with Aunt Gail or Uncle Paul while they were here the last few nights. I think the stranger anxiety started TODAY. Weird. I'm also thankful she's already spent the night with her grandparents so at least that's not foreign to her and we can do that again.

On a happier note, she did look cute as a button going to the doctor's office. This little outfit came from her Grandma Terry:

Look at that cute bow on the back!!

I kept her home from day care for the remainder of the day as she typically sleeps for the rest of the day and night after getting her shots. So she's in there sound asleep right now, looking adorable as she sleeps peacfully. Tomorrow she'll begin working on her tripod pose. We'll get her caught up!