Benjamin and I have been very busy the past few weeks. Okay, not THAT busy, but busier than usual. We went to an infant developmental movement class (yes, for real, this is an actual class – a little “out there,” but fun) and learned that Ben’s favorite activity, standing (of course while one of us holds his hands), is actually bad for his development, so we have been focusing on more tummy time. He’s starting to hate it less, and dare I say, may be starting to enjoy it. Any non-scream-inducing, good-for-you activity gets a plus in my book.
Not crying during tummy time = success!
Today, we went to a local breastfeeding group, and Benjamin was the awe of the group from the moment we walked in.
Mom #1: “Wow! Look at that big boy! How old is he?”
Me: “Three and a half months.”
Mom #1: “WHOA. My son is five and a half months!” (our dear Benny completely dwarfed the other baby!)
… and later…
Mom #2: “Is he exclusively breastfed?”
Me: “Yup.”
Mom #2: “Really? Seriously?”
Me: “Yup, nothing else but me.”
Mom #2: “For REAL?”
Me: “Yes!”
I actually had way more fun than I expected at the group – everyone had little one-on-one sessions with the lactation consultants, I had some questions answered, and my mind put at ease in learning that you cannot overfeed an EBF baby. It was total nipple city, but once I was over the initial shock, it was fun to be with other moms in the same life stage, and with similar beliefs (similar in terms of breastfeeding… I’m still wrapping my mind around the discussion of placenta encapsulation – but hey, I can’t knock it unless I’ve tried it!).
Side note: imagine what kind of Google hits I will get now that this blog contains the words, “placenta encapsulation…” and, “nipple city…”
Mmm delish…
I also scored myself a badge for our first semi-public (semi as in, not in the middle of the street, but public as in, in front of people without a medical degree and people who I am not married to!) BF’ing excursion – something I never thought I would do. Okay, I swore I never would. But, with everyone else with their tops off, I figured I would be the black sheep of the group hiding under my pretty Udder Cover. (Why yes, mom, if everyone jumped off a bridge, I’d go too) Thankfully, I dressed for the occasion and Benjamin stayed focused, so I avoided any unnecessary exposure. We’ll keep that saved for spring break ‘04 (kidding, kidding…)…
The highlight of the meeting was that the leaders had a scale, so Ben was weighed for the first time since 1/27 (when he was 15 lbs. 6 oz.). Today, he was a whopping 17 pounds, 9 ounces, and I definitely lost my bet with Derek (I said he’d be in the 16s, he said the 17s). So, suffice it to say, he’s thriving off the apparent ice cream that’s coming out of my body :-).
“Who are you calling chubby?”
Hope everyone had a fabulous Super Tuesday!
Heather
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Oh my GOSH! He is GIGANTIC! lol
ReplyDeleteI love it!
Way to go!
I think I produce skim milk. Maybe even almond milk.
I went to a class like that they have with my hospital. Eli went with me. It was amazing to see him red and fidgety and called it the "Awkward class"
Bahahah
Did they weigh him before and after the feeding? It's always fun for me to see how many ounces they eat.
Why shouldn't they be standing up??? That's V's favorite! She loooves it.
Ack!
@Megan B.B.
ReplyDeleteHahaha thank you :)
Mmm - almond milk - V is lucky! :)
So funny about the class you went to - we had a similar experience. The instructor assured me in advance that ALL husbands/partners attend, but apparently on our night, only 2 other guys were there (and 10 moms-to-be!). Boy, did I ever hear about that!
I could have weighed him before and after, but it was too much of a hassle to fully strip him down twice, and he was demanding food NOW before I could even get him to the scale - I would be interested to know how much he's taking at a feeding, but one thing is clear: he's certainly getting enough hehehe!
As for the standing up (it's Ben's fave too - he gets so excited), it's pretty interesting, and makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Babies go from laying down, to rolling, to sitting, to crawling, to standing, to walking. At each of those stages, a different part of the brain develops, along with different skills. If you skip a stage (like kids who go from sitting to walking, without much crawling), the part of the brain that is supposed to develop during the "skipped" stage, never develops as well as it would have, if the baby progressed through the stages normally. Having your baby stand up and encouraging them to do so (we're sooo guilty of being all, "OH BENNY, LOOK AT WHAT A BIG STRONG BOY YOU ARE STANDING UP!") makes them want to do that activity more, and do the stage they're supposed to be in, less.
I thought it was all a bunch of hooey, like who cares, but the teacher gave an example and dropped two words that made me pay attention - reading comprehension. By skipping stages, the part of the brain needed for reading comprehension (among other things) won't develop as well, and Ben could have problems learning to read, and even with reading comprehension as an adult. Aside from that, I guess when babies fake stand (when they're not physically able to do it on their own), their legs are locked into place, and it's not good for their joints. I'm not sure if it's really THAT bad, but Derek has a genetic autoimmune disease that severely affects joints,and is more prevalent in boys, so, I'm worried Ben may develop this some day and thus the joint stuff gives me a little extra pause.
I guess baby apparatus (apparatai??) like Bumbo seats and bouncy chairs/exersaucers have a similar effect - for example, if your baby can't sit up on his/her own, you shouldn't use a Bumbo seat. Very interesting... We have a Bumbo but never use it, since Ben has a tendency to get annoyed and completely straighten out his body, and gets on the verge of tipping over backwards.
BUUUUT, with all that said... we still have him standing because he freaking loves it so much. I'm just trying to be more conscious about it and not stand him as much, and do tummy time more. I have far too many other things to worry about (isn't that the #1 requirement of the parenting job description?), and this is low on my worry list. So, I wouldn't worry about it too much! :)
V haaaaaaaaaaates her bumbo. She's a swinging kind of gal.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing- very interesting!