Miriam at 6 weeks

Tomorrow Miriam will be six weeks old. We met with Dr. Omar today and he weighed her twice.

“She’s 4850 grams!” he announced, handing her to Andrew and sitting back down at his desk to record the number, “Wait a minute. What was her birth weight?”

“3200 grams,” I said.

“Will you put her back on the scale for me?” he asked.

He and Andrew weighed her again. 4850 grams.

“We have a new record,” Dr. Omar announced.

She has gained 1650 grams—that’s like three and a half pounds—in the past month an a half. Amazing! She’s now about 10.5 pounds.

“I wouldn’t worry about it, too much. We tend not to mind if babies get fat on breast milk—if she was on formula I’d put her on a diet—but we’ll keep watching her; her weight should get back on track by around five months.”

So basically, you’re calling me fat.

I knew she was getting big fast. I’m glad to know it’s not just me.

Breast feeding is, obviously, going swimmingly. I wonder why no one told me about block feedings before. How many times did I go to the doctor whining about mastitis? How many times did I call the La Leche League? How many times did I beg the lactation consultant for help? And no one told me that making too much milk was a problem. It is, I assure you.

But block feedings help reduce milk supply and make for a happier baby. Instead of switching sides every time you feed, you stick with the same side for multiple feedings. That way the baby gets to the hind milk—the creamy, fatty part—and puts on three and half pounds in the first month of life.

It makes everybody very happy.

We never would have known about it if Andrew hadn’t asked me if green poop was normal. I said it was because Rachel had green poop, too. He said to look it up, so I did, and found a website describing over-supply and what happens to baby and mommy and how to fix the problem by block feeding.

And that’s why we ask questions. To Google. Because Google will answer our questions, whereas lactation consultants do not.

In other news, Miriam rolled over yesterday and I wasn’t even around to see it. We were busy making cookies and donuts and so I was running back and forth from the kitchen. At one point I set Miriam down for some tummy-time on her play mat—in the middle of the mat. When I came back from the kitchen she was on her back, almost falling off her mat.

“Oh, my goodness, Andrew! She rolled over!”

“Are you sure you put her on her stomach?” he asked skeptically.

It’s kind of hard for us to believe that she’s meeting milestones because she sleeps so much, but here she is, rolling over already. Granted, it was purely accidental and she hasn’t done it since, but still! She rolled over, by herself, on a hard(ish) flat surface.

She’s responding to our voices more and smiling more and is starting to be more “fun,” although she still spends most of her time sleeping…poor Rachel is still left wondering when they’ll be able to play together. One day, I’m sure, it will happen.

(PS. She also got her HepB shot today and cried angrily when the needle poked her, but when the doctor took it out she just took a deep breath and that was it. She was finished crying. She prefers talking to us to crying. She’s always “saying” stuff. It’s cute.)