Baby Helms

Elsa and I went to see Dr. Owen yesterday for Elsa's six-month appointment, and things seemed to look a bit more positive this time around. Elsa weighed in at 14 pounds, 8 ounces -- an increase of 11 ounces. She is still around the 25th percentile in terms of her weight, but she is leveling off on this new path and not dropping anymore, so Dr. Owen is not concerned. She thinks her body is just figuring itself out. It seems the measurements for her head circumference and length were off, but I don't fault Dr. Owen -- Elsa was having a hard time at the appointment yesterday. She was extremely tired and cranky, and basically just squirming and screaming her head off while on the exam table. I guess we will wait and see what those measurements are like in another month. She received two more shots, which just made her all the more happy -- both of these were just secondary doses of vaccines she received at previous appointments.

The good news is that Dr. Owen thinks the yeast is gone, and now the little red dots/rough patches that are left on Elsa's diaper region and over various other parts of her body are eczema-related. Because the eczema is still present, the doctor does not think it is related to a dairy/soy allergy since I have avoided both of those since the last appointment. She said it is not a bad enough case to be overly concerned at this point, and that we just need to keep an eye on it and make sure it does not get any worse, especially as we introduce new solid foods into Elsa's diet. I personally think the eczema has improved somewhat, so I am going to remain off dairy and soy at least through the next week (especially since I have already planned out the menu for the week), and then possibly reintroduce soy into my diet first and see what happens over the next week. If things still seem okay, I will reintroduce dairy and see what happens.

As for Elsa's food, I am fairly excited about letting her try new things. We are going to start with some vegetables, and since I am going to the Farmer's Market today, I think I might start by pureeing something on my own. My friend, Natali, let me borrow a cookbook, Feeding Baby, which contains recipes intended for grown-ups, babies, and, in some instances, both. I doubt I will have the time and/or energy to make all of Elsa's food (we'll see), but I think it will be fun to at least attempt. I will probably end up buying some jarred food from the Earth's Best line as well -- especially for when we travel. I asked about introducing a sippy cup, and Dr. Owen said that when it gets warmer I could start trying to offer water in either a sippy cup or a small cup, but she said it was not a big deal to start this right away.

The only other news I can think of related to the appointment has to do with me. I asked Dr. Owen if my weight loss could have any affect on the milk I am producing and, therefore, Elsa's weight gain, and she said no. But she did say she noticed that I have lost quite a bit of weight. I am pretty sure I weigh the least amount I have ever weighed in my adult life, and I am eating -- I promise you that. So we decided it would probably be good for me to make an appointment for myself just to get things checked out. She mentioned hyperthyroidism, which I looked up and read about online. I fall inline with several of the symptoms, but am definitely not experiencing all of them, such as trembling/shaky hands, which is apparently a big one. Who knows. Anyway, I scheduled an appointment for a physical at the end of April, which was the first available appointment I could make. That is quite some time off, so obviously if things get any worse, I'll go in sooner, but things seemed to have leveled off. For now I'll just continue to eat my snacks of bread smothered in peanut butter. Hey, I could have worse problems, right?