Emily went in to see the doctor today - we were concerned about the shape of her head and the shape/size of her abdomen. Her head is kind of elongated toward the back and her tummy looks a little swollen compared to the size of her chest. It turns out both of these things are very very common with preemie babies and they should clear themselves up with time. She was not concerned about Emily at all. We can start putting Emily in the bouncy chair and I can take her out shopping and we can take her to church. The doctor recommended that I carry Emily in a carrier up against me (we have a sling and a Baby Bjorn) so that people won't be tempted to touch her and give her their germs. Shane and I are germ freaks and it really scares us when people touch her without washing their hands (you'd be surprised, it happens A LOT) so the doctor validating our concerns about germs makes me really want to stick to my guns. :)
Emily is 5 weeks old today and has just reached her "due date." That is so crazy to me! She weighs 8 lbs, 1 oz and is almost 21" long. She is at the 50th percentile for length (yay!) and 25th percentile for weight. Those percentiles are for 5 week old babies, and it doesn't take into account that she was preemie at all. I am VERY happy about that! We have stretched out her meals and instead of waking her up to eat every 3 hours we go about 3 and a half or even 4 hours. That may not sound like much of a difference to you but in the middle of the night it is a BIG difference. :) And because she is gaining weight so well, we are sort of waiting for her to tell us when she's hungry and not just offering a bottle because it's time for one. (But don't worry, we don't let her go more than 4 hours. A growing girl's gotta eat!)
The current debate in our house is about getting Emily's ears pierced. I would like to have them done sooner rather than later. Shane wants to wait until she is 8 or 9. And only if she wants to have them done. I asked the doctor about it and she said that it is so interesting because in the south many people think that the baby gets her ears pierced as soon as she gets out of the womb. (She's from the Midwest so that was a real shock to her when they moved to San Antonio.) I had no idea that piercing a baby's ears at a certain age was a regional thing! Anyway, the doctor recommends to either do it when the baby is very young (2-4 months) but not before she gets her first tetanus shot or wait until she is able to understand that she can't mess with her ears and she needs to clean them everyday for a while to prevent infection. Dr. McNair had her daughter's ears pierced in Kindergarten. My fear is that if we wait until Emily is older she might get one done and then get so freaked out that she won't want to have the other one done! Maybe that's just my fear of needles but I can tell you I am grateful to my parents for having mine pierced so young. I was only two days old and I am so glad that I have my ears pierced! I'm glad it was done and I don't remember any of it! So, I will work on Shane. This will probably be as difficult as trying to convince him to get a cell phone. :) I will still try. After all, Emily already has a pair of beautiful diamond earrings courtesy of Grandma Margaret and Grandfather, Sir. (Probably doesn't help my argument with Shane though.) Ha! I wonder what Shane will be like about makeup and dating! :) Poor sweet Emily.
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4 comments:
(Just my opinion, but you asked for it...) Wait on the ear piercing! It'll be a great source of bribery later in life. She'll behave, clean up her room, etc. knowing that if she does that, she'll be able to get her ears pierced. You could get several months of good behavior down the line out of waiting. Miss you. Hope you are doing well. Glad you are getting 'a little' sleep.
Admittedly, I know a lot of people have strong feelings when to pierce a child’s ear. “Let them decide” is being replaced by parental decision when mommy intuition knows, “earlier is better” from either personal or friend’s experiences of unpleasant childhood ear piercing.
I think it just depends on your own personal choice whether or not you wish your baby or little girl to have pierced ears. Some feel perceived gender of their child is important while others find it a cultural tradition where all infant girls have pierced ears.
I pierced our oldest daughter’s ears when she was two months old and our youngest at just days old. We found an experienced individual where they specialized in infant piercing.
Our oldest daughter just turned two and has never had an infection, pulled them out, and she’s never even played with her earrings (which is amazing in my book).
My mom pierced my ears when I was 2 weeks old as and I’ve loved it….I think earrings on little girls are adorable! If you don’t know how she’d look at any age, then hold up a pair of your studs to each ear and decide for yourself. Many moms including myself like the look of earrings on babies and little girls for no specific reason, but like how light plays off a simple gold ball on a bald baby girl or small gold hoop poking through the hair of a toddler.
Cerebrally, as mothers of girls of all ages, we know it celebrates their femaleness and femininity. After all, they are little girls, right?
Growing up I remember many of my little girlfriends were not allowed to get their ears pierced. I could never understand it…but when their parents did finally let them, it always seemed they’d get infected because they were constantly touching them or trying to change out the earrings before they were supposed to. Many said it was painful, but all cried having a great deal of angst leading up to and including the actual ear piercing. To each their own but I think the earlier the easier.
If we have another girl, I will pierce her ears early as well. I asked our pediatrician and she encouraged me to go ahead before she aware of her surrounding or developed a pincer grip to play with her ears. She gave me some suggestions for moms having their daughter’s ears pierced. They seem to apply to all ages.
If you decide to do it as a newborn or infant, then I promise she’ll thank you later!
Amy
amyswor@hotmail.com
Great to hear all is well with Emily! I'm sure that is of great relief everytime the doctor thinks everything is well and she is moving right along! As for the ear piercing... I think I was in Kindergarten as well. I wanted them though. You'll have to ask my mom about that. Good luck either way!
so I'm just now catching up on your blog. I was 4 months old...and we did Brooklyn at 6 months. If we have another girl, I will probably do her at 4 months. She has gotten a little squirmy-er w/ age and I think the more they sleep, the easier they would be to clean.
My cousin got hers pierced when she was 5-7 and wishes her mom had of done it earlier b/c she ALWAYS had problems b/c she couldn't keep them clean.
When they are so little, you are in charge of keeping them clean...easy to do while you are feeding her...and then they are completely healed by time they get older and don't have to deal w/ them closing up or being infected!!
Anyways...that is my two cents! If you want someone to go with you...let me know!
I had to twist Brooks' arm too...but he is glad, he thinks she looks cute.
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