PUCCI FAMILY: Hungry, Hungry Baby!

Well, we had our three-month check-up with the pediatrician today. Three months isn't a standard appointment, but we went in so we could chat with Dr. Collins about Duncan's reflux, physical therapy for his neck, and SLEEPING (I added that last one to the list). :)

As it turns out, Mr. Duncan weighs in at a quite healthy 15 lbs 10 oz. As far as percentiles/charts go...according to the Doctor he is "off the charts." We didn't get a height today, as it wasn't a "real" well-baby appointment so we will wait for the 4-month checkup to see how tall our little man is. However, Dr. Collins did use the word "tank" to describe my littlest several times throughout the appointment. The good news is that his reflux is WAY better and the Zantac is helping (we knew this). More good news is that his neck is getting better and his flat spot is nearly gone (we also knew this from physical therapy). More good news is that although Dunc is a "tank," and he is off the charts weight-wise, he is not gaining too much weight and is not chunky...she said he is a solid & proportionate guy who just has an appetite due to his rapid growth. This led into our discussion of his dislike for sleeping at night and apparent need to CONSTANTLY eat. Her opinion was - he's hungry. Gee that was easy! Her suggestion was to try rice cereal. Now, I am a follow-the-doctor's-advice type of mommy. I followed the pediatrician's advice to the letter with Griffin. And with Griff, I was told to start him on rice cereal at four months...and no sooner. And when I was told this with Griff, I was also given the schpeel about new recommendations for starting babies on solilds even later...as some docs were saying six months to start. So, I fed Griff rice cereal at 4 months and went from there. Given Duncan's sleeping problems and very large appetite, rice cereal had crossed my mind. And, you know who you are (MOM)...I was told more than once during a frustrated phone call after a looong night to give cereal a shot - that it may satisfy his tummy and help him sleep longer. I responded to this advice that I wouldn't do that until he was old enough to have solids. Our new pediatrician, who I believe I have been very clear about (LOVE her!) gave me the go ahead. Would I try it? Yes, PLEASE!

So I stopped on the way home and bought some rice cereal. And I checked on the blog back to the day we started Griff on the cereal (love this blog for many reasons...not only does it make for awesome baby books for the boys...but it is also a great tool for me to go back and remember what I did with G, when, and what worked/didn't). My post about Griffin's first solids brought back the memories -- Griff hated the cereal and it took us a few tries to get him to even get it down. So after Griff was in bed I set out to give Duncan his first taste of some solid food. And guess what? He could not get enough of it...as you will see from the pictures below (snapped, sorry, with my cell phone so they are not the best) he was angry. And not because he didn't know what the cereal was...not because he couldn't figure out how to get it down...but simply because I was not feeding it to him FAST enough. When I would take the spoon out of his mouth to get more...he would shove his hand in his mouth in an attempt to get the excess. Then he would cry until he got more. And let me tell you...I haven't made rice cereal in a while (clearly), so I had to keep adding more cereal, then more formula, then more cereal...you get the picture...until I had made it the right consistency. So the end result was that I made a LOT of cereal. I kind of chided myself beforehand for "wasting" so much of it. HA! Duncan ate it all. In record time. And after, he was so stinkin' angry that there wasn't any more I had to immediately feed him his bottle on the spot, without even taking him out of the high chair.

And following the epic belly-stuffing, he and I exchanged a lot of smiles and coos. He didn't spit up a single drop. I changed him into his jammies...put him in his crib...and after about 45 seconds he was asleep.

Can you tell I am extremely hopeful?

I am also scared my optimism is going to jinx it all..and that he will be up with a stomachache all night.

But I haven't heard a peep and as I type this he's been out for an hour and a half. So...here's hopin. You can do it, my "little" tank. And Mom, I really hope you were right...and as you are well aware, it takes a LOT for me to say that. ;)