First Pediatrician Visit

Riley’s first doctor’s appointment was scheduled for Friday but we ended up taking him in on Thursday on account of his horrible first night at home. He just seemed to want to suck incessantly, and we weren’t sure whether it was because he was uncomfortable for some reason or if he was hungry or what. We were trying not to give him a pacifier until breastfeeding was more established; however, after getting some reassurance from one of Dr. B’s nurses the next morning, we gave in pretty easily and it worked like a charm. Giving it to him earlier would almost certainly have made that first night better! Oh well; you live and learn.

Dr. B wanted him to come in on Thursday so they could weigh him and see if he was gaining anything. He weighed 8lbs 9oz at birth and got down to 8lbs 3.7oz when we left the hospital. He weighed in at 7lbs 14oz at the doctor’s office on Thursday. Long story short, the doc told us to start supplementing with formula at every feeding until my milk came in, just to make sure he got what he needed. He also reinforced the pacifier use: in his words, “If it calms him down and keeps you sane, pop it in there!”

Aside from the feeding issues, Riley checked out just fine. We actually took him back in on Friday so they could get another weight on him after a number of supplemented feedings, and it was good news: he got up to 8lbs 1oz overnight! And my milk is now in, so we’re not needing the formula much anymore. He’s gone from eating 1-1.5 ounces at each feed to 2.5-3 ounces. Yay! He goes back to Dr. B this Friday for his two-week-old appointment.

The only other thing of note is that he failed his hearing test in both ears at the hospital. Dr. B (and Ashley) said that this is fairly common in post-term babies and not to worry too much. (Also according to Ashley, he may actually have been tested too soon after birth, not giving his ears adequate time to clear out the amniotic fluid.) He goes in for a re-test with a pediatric audiologist in a week, so we’ll see. He seems to respond to noises since he’s been home, so Kenny and I are thinking that the first test gave bad results. Fingers crossed that turns out to be true!