4 months

Lucas is 4 months old and had his checkup last week...the Dr. is happy with his growth and our discussion about his developmental achievements but not happy with his bloodwork. Next month we will be going to Duke to see a pediatric gastroenterologist (say that 10 times fast, ha!) to figure out why his liver enzymes are lingering in the high range. Time for some more medical mystery detective work :/

Here are his stats:

Height: 25 inches - 72%

Weight: 13lb. 7oz. - 28%

Head Circumference: 41.5cm - 51%

I have a book that helps new parents with developmental questions month by month and I subscribe to a weekly email that does basically the same thing and I have noticed both of these are beginning to focus on one thing - infant sleeping. In addition to these sources, countless people bave begun asking me questions about Luke's sleeping (what happens at night, naps, patterns, location, training, etc.). I guess 4 months is the time when moms are supposed to recognize/begin a sleep pattern OR babies are supposed to settle into a pattern of their own. I was concerned that maybe I was missing something, so after Christmas we began tracking his days to see if he actully had a pattern...turns out he follows a 3-4.5 hour pattern of eating, playing, sleeping (with no playing at night) unless I have errands to run and then everything is thrown off. He does not sleep through the night, his naps are variable in length, and I don't let him cry himself to sleep. This is Luke's "pattern".

At his Dr.'s appointment I asked about sleeping and napping to see what was normal and it turns out that when it comes to sleeping there really isn't a normal. At this age some babies can sleep 13 hours through the night while others wake up every 3 hours to eat. Some babies have distinct nap times while others are variable. Some babies respond well to sleep training while others do not (I guess it is easier to train the night time sleeping than it is naps). Luke's pediatrician recommended following his lead until at least 6 months of age for night time sleeping because babies wake up at night for 2 reasons: 1. habit or 2. low glucose levels. Since Luke has had abnormal bloodwork, we are going to err on the side of caution and feed him when he wakes up at night. Even though this means less sleep for me, I am happier with this choice because it is more in line with what needs to happen for Erikson's stages of psychosocial development (which I believe to be true). According to this theory, infants are attempting to master their sense of trust or mistrust from ages 0-2. Hopefully Luke will gain a sense of trust by having his parents respond when he calls out for help. Oh, being a parent can be so difficult!