3.17.2008

3 Months old

A couple Friday's ago on 3/7, Owen turned 3 months old.
We took him to the doctor this week and we're in the process of some interesting discoveries. He may be allergic to milk.Ever since he was born, he's been a grunty baby. He's been cranky, uncomfortable, and until recently never seemed to just chill.
Well all last week he had messy diarrhea diapers and had the reddest little bum I've ever seen. He was even bleeding in spots. When we showed the doctor his diapers, she had it tested and discovered some blood in the stools (sorry for the all the details). So, she gave us a different formula (Similac Alimentum - it's still milk, but the proteins are completely broken down and easier to digest) and sent us to the allergist.
The allergist doctor did a skin test on his back with various substances: cow's milk, soy, the Alimentum formula, corn syrup, and other variables. They pricked his back with these substances and we let them sit there for 20 minutes to see if he had any allergic reactions. He was great the whole time and didn't cry or squirm. And he didn't have any reactions, but the dr. wasn't convinced of anything yet. He said it's harder to get a reaction from children so young. So the results are inconclusive. He wants us to keep him on the Alimentum for a month, do another stool test for blood and then come back to see him. We'll reassess and possibly try a soy formula on him. The only bummer is that this new formula is about 3 times the price of his old one: $26 for the smaller sized can. But I want my little guy to be happy! It's no fun when your insides are gurgling and rumbling all day long.
And thus far, he's been pretty good. The diaper rash is going down and he seems happy! Here are some 3 month stats:
* Weighs 12 lbs, 8 ozs (30th percentile)
* 24 inches long (45th percentile)
* Slept for 8 hours! (but he's only does this once) 6 hours is more common.
* Drinks 3-4 ozs at a time
* Does a full body smile with kicking legs and flailing arms. So cute.
* Attempts to laugh
* Likes his bouncy chair
* Watched Baby Einstein the other day for 45 min and seemed to like it. Yikes.
* Seems to calm down when I say his name and look him in the eye
* Wants to be social. Lights up when someone smiles at him
* Had his first haircut a couple weeks ago! We shaved it off. The back looked like an old man, so I cut that off. Then it looked like a military cut, so I shaved off the rest.
* Still spends most of the day and night sleeping. Is awake for about 6-7 hours a day.

Here he is in action:

8 comments:

teresa and the boys said...

Aaawwww, so sorry about the cranky baby, the sore bum, and the expensive formula. On the bright side, he's adorable beyond belief, and here's hoping it works and he gets all sorts of happy!

Suman Family said...

man...inconclusive!? that's a hard result. hopefully next time you find out something for sure and hopefully you won't be using that formula for too long. little owen is so sweet - it's sad that he's been in discomfort. and yeah, i totally understand about the bum issues. it's so no fun. on a lighter note - i looooove that smiling picture and it is so fun when they start smiling with their whole body. i love the flapping of the limbs...you just know they are so happy!

Sara said...

I am glad to hear he is dong a little better and hope you get more results! He is so darling! When he is smiling all huge in that picture he totally looks like Lucy did at that age. I absolutely can't wait to meet him next week! YEAH!

the bates motel said...

poor little guy! hopefully they can figure what's up. carter was on soy pretty much from the beg and he had to take the enfamil version of the WAY expensive formula for a little while too! no fun, but hopefully it won't last long! he's getting bigger and bigger every time you post! we are excited to see you guys next week!

La La Land said...

So sweet! He is such a good little guy! I can't believe he slept all morning while we were being crafty. I hope he gets better and you can find out for sure about his allergies. I had fun today, we should do it again!!

gunnfam said...

Sorry you had to go through that. But alimentum is great for those fussy tummy's! He's getting so big. We're in utah this week so we'll see you at storytime next week!

Nicole said...

Poor little guy, I hope they can figure out what causes him such discomfort, soon!!

The Facks of Life said...

You could always do what my mother-in-law did with my husband. He was allergic to everything so she bought a goat and milked it every day and fed him the goats milk! Ha ha! Ok, not really, but I hear goats milk is great. Good luck with that cute baby boy.