Mom and I took Bethany to her second doctor appointment yesterday. Joe and I went for the first doctor appointment the day after we were discharged from the hospital. Bethany goes to the doctor once every two weeks for check up and growth charting.
Yesterday was the first time I (with Joe's company) took Bethany out of the house. It took me 10 mins to put her in the carseat (as I wanted to make sure she was safely strapped to the carseat) and another 5 mins to hook the carseat to the car base in my vehicle. The drive from our home to the doctor's office was about 20 mins and mom sat in the back with Bethany. It must be the moving motion of the vehicle that Bethany feel asleep.
When we got to the doctor's office, it was close to Bethany's 11:30am feeding time, so mom fed Bethany. We got call into the doctor's office at 11:50am.
1/ Bethany weighed 7lb 7oz yesterday! Last thursday, the public health nurse weighed her and she was 7lb 1.5oz. 5 days later, she put on 5.5oz! According to those numerous books I read, it is quite normal for a new born to put on 1oz per day. Though expressing milk / pumping has taken 85% of my day and I have been averaging around 1.5 hr of sleep every night, knowing that Bethany has put on weight and that her growth is charting normal, my exhaustion virtually vanishes!
2/ Bethany has a bit of rashes on her face. They started to surfaced on Saturday, and it had gotten a bit worse by Sunday. The doctor told me rashes on the face are normal, as Bethany's body still has my hormones, and thus the "new born acne". No cream or lotion is necessary as the rashes will go away in a week or two. When the doctor mentioned "acne", I was like, "NO! Please do not tell me Bethany has gotten Joe's acne-prone skin!"
3/ Skin peeling on Bethany's hands, feet and lower thighs. I googled about skin peeling in new borns on Sunday, and it is absolutely normal due to the fact that Bethany was swimming in my amnioitic fluid for the past 9 months. Before I put any lotions on her to moisturize her skin, I want to get the "green light" from the doctor first. The doctor suggested a thin layer of Vaseline, to be applied on her hands, feet and thighs after every bath. He also suggested Johnson & Johnson lotions which I hold a different opinion then the doctor. I read somewhere on the internet that Johnson & Johnson's products are pumped with tons of fragrances and some babies are actually allergic to those fragrances. The doctor agreed with my "findings". So for now, we are using Vaseline!
4/ Diaper rash -- Bethany has a bit of diaper rash. Doctor suggested Sudocream. I believe in an all-natural approach, and I bought All Jill's Thing Bum Bum Balm and Dimpleskin's Bum Balm a few months ago. Both balms are 100% natural and with no chemicals.
5/ H1N1 -- A lot of medical professionals have predicated with "back to school" just around the corner, there will be outbreaks of H1N1. Children under 5 and men around 40s are the two high risk groups. I asked the doctor if Bethnay should get a vaccination against H1N1. Doctor said that Bethany is too young to receive this vaccines (babies 6 months or older can get this vaccination). However, he suggested that both Joe and myself get the vaccination. During the first three / four months in a newborn's life, this period is very crucial as the immune system is not fully developed and often time a new born is prone to illness. In order to prevent any un-necessary illness, the doctor highly recommended that we do not take Bethany out to public, especially with the potential of the H1N1 outbreak, unless it is absolutely necessary. I strongly agree with the doctor, as according to the chinese culture, we do not normally take the baby out of the house during the first few months anyway.
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