"Growth-Chart Anxiety"

I am angry. I'm angry at my daughter's "Pediatrician"(it wasn't her normal one, it was the nurse practitioner) for scaring me so badly. I'm also irritated that some people didn't really take my fears seriously.  But back to the stupid pediatrician.  At Camry's 6 month appointment she came in right around the 10th percentile for her height and weight, 25 in, 13 lbs 3 oz. She had gained 3 oz and 1 inch since her 4 month appointment.  I had noticed that she wasn't gaining pounds since her last appointment, but she was hitting the milestones with no issues, right on time! So I figured that there wasn't any problem. Then the NP comes in, and tells me that if she hasn't gained 2 pounds in the next month, that I need to bring her back. She acted as if it were very urgent. She acted as if serious harm could be done to my child by her not gaining weight. She acted as if it would be my fault, that it was already because of her low weight gain so far.  She tells me to start her on solids immediately (I had to ask how often and what kind of routine. She would have just walked away if I hadn't and I would have been even angrier). 
So, I go home and start her on solids.  Basically, immediately, her poop goes from nice and mushy to adult poop.  And it HURTS her. She screams and cries and doesn't want to poop, and then constipation causes her more pain. And she isn't getting the proper amount of liquids because the dumb NP didn't give me any info about that.  So, I go back to the beginning and give her food 1ce a day and start giving her bottles of water and juice (it took us a bit to figure out that she does NOT like cold drinks or food).  And she gets much better about eating and pooping. 
Now it's been almost 6 weeks and she weighs about 14 lbs 9 oz.  If I were still worrying about what that stupid NP said, I'd be terrified because by now she should be weighing at least 16 lbs.  She eats 3x a day, gets water/juice 2-3 or 4 times a day and nurses twice. She is happy and healthy and teething (grrrrrrrr!).  But she's still under that weight goal the NP gave us.  How the heck can you expect a sweet little baby to gain that much weight like that? She's small, her parents are small. It has nothing to do with how she eats, she LOVES meal times, and lets us know if she wants anything to eat or drink, just like she always has.  She loves sweet potatoes and applesauce, and HATES green beans (which is hilarious to watch, but frustrating as a parent striving for a healthy diet). 
So tonight on twitter I saw this link to an article from BabyCenter called "Do you have growth-chart anxiety?".  And I read it. And it's awesome! It explains that there are actually 2 growth-charts, one from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and one from WHO (World Health Organization).  The CDC one is 50 years old and focuses on formula-fed babies, while the WHO one is much more recent and focuses on breast-fed babies.  According to the WHO one, Camry is right on schedule.  I feel so much better! I'm angry that there is such a screwed up system in place. I'm angry that these people are allowed to scare new mothers into thinking that there is something wrong with their precious, perfect babies.  Because that is exactly what Camry is, petite, precious and perfect.  So for all you ladies out there who read this with petite posterity, have no fear.   Your baby is just as God intended.

5 month old baby, finally time to blog!

I haven't blogged in a very long time.  I guess having a baby either makes me busier (of course it does!), or I just prefer super easy updates that take 2 seconds, like posting pictures to Facebook or twitter.  So anyway, here's what's up with us.

Camry (since she's #1 in my eyes): She's 5 months old now. I know, crazy, right? My friend Liz just had a baby, and I swear Cam could never have been that small, but I know she was. She was actually smaller. She's about 14 lbs now.  She laughs and smiles. She's a sleep champion. I'm going to regret putting this on here because she'll decide to prove me wrong, so I'm not boasting.  For the past 3 nights, she's slept nearly 12 hours straight, from 7 to either 6 or 6:30. It's awesome! You realize that if I would go to bed at 9 or 10, I'd be getting 8 hours! But, I'm a loser, and don't usually get in bed until 11 or 12 (partly because I have to take showers at night, because she won't let me take them in the morning when K isn't here).  She's trying to sit up by herself.  She's very successful on laps, but on the floor, her legs get in the way and she tips.  She's so good at reaching out to take things from you (and immediately put into her mouth).  She likes touching (read: scratching) our faces.  She loves the cats, touchings, yanking, and watching them as often as possible. She gets that from her Mummy! :)  She has hilariously fat thighs, arms, and cheeks, perfect smiles, and gorgeous eyes!  I'm sure every parents looks at their kid and is positive that theirs is the cutest in existence, but I know that for sure mine really is and I say it multiple times a day. She can now roll both directions, which is helpful, because for a while she could only roll from front to back and she is not a fan of laying that way for any real period of time.  She loves music. Most of all, she loves the band One Direction. We've tested this.  She will be screaming in the car, and if I put them on and turn it up a bit, she immediately quiets down. Every. Time.  I'm okay with it. I like them, too.

Kenny (he's also #1): Not a ton has happened, I guess. He's hilarious and super sweet, as usual.  He's ready to move "home".  He loves and dotes on Camry.  He loves his truck.  He's excited about Summer, except the heat.  He's beautiful, amazing, and just plain awesome! He and I are going to start running (hopefully within the next week if we can), because we signed up for a 5k for November and we want to be prepared.  We need to be healthy anyway (his doctor actually told him to start exercising for his health) to be just happier, and to feel better about ourselves.  Also, we want to be good examples to our children and exercise is actually pretty darn important.  So, goal: Be able to run that 5k and keep up with our health and be happier!

Me (I'm #1 because I'm just awesome): I'm a stay-at-home mom.  I'm okay with that phrase.  I am also a home-maker.  I spend all day making sure Camry sleeps and eats, has clean diapers, is entertained, and safe.  She is so much happier when she has a routine (thank goodness, because me too!).  I keep the cats out of trouble. I watch "tv" and movies.  I clean, do laundry, dishes, cook dinner (K and I switch out), and craft. At the moment I'm in the middle of a blanket (crochet) for my sister, and a rope table for our new screen room.  I also got my wisdom teeth out last Tuesday (1 week ago).  I have been proving to myself that I have a pretty darn high pain tolerance.  I only took 1 lortab after they released me (it wouldn't let me keep food down, so to me, it didn't make sense to keep taking it, pain or not).  After that I took Tylenol whenever I felt like I might need it.  Now, the only pain I've got is from the fact that my mouth doesn't open very wide and they had to stretch it way out and so my muscles and the joints hurt. Also, I have a temporary crown (cap, whatever) in my mouth that hurts pretty darn badly! I can't chew on that side at all because any pressure makes the tooth ache for hours.  I'm supposed to be getting it replaced with permanent one soon (like in the next 2 weeks), but I haven't heard anything about it. I'm going to definitely mention that chewing is pretty darn important and if they don't fix it correctly, I'm going to be super darn mad!

So here's some pictures, I guess: