So apparently we're NOT done supplementing Max. A couple of weeks ago, after his bottle, he threw it all up and was feverish for the next 24 hours. Since rotavirus was going around, I thought that was part of his problem. I took him in the next day and he had gained 4 ounces in as many days, so I decided to stop supplementing (he was just getting 2 oz in the evening).
Well, he turned into one cranky little bastard for the next couple of weeks. He was nursing a lot, peeing and pooping fine, but DAMN he was fussy. We just couldn't figure it out -- maybe he was just about to make a development surge (he did roll over for the first time today...), maybe something I was eating was upsetting him, maybe he was just recovering from being a little sick. Maybe teething, although no sign of teeth yet.
Well, the other night he was just SCREAMING so Jon decided we should just try giving him a 2oz bottle. Sure enough -- he's been like a different kid ever since. It's weird what a difference just that 2oz of formula seems to make. It can't be that he's been thriving on just that feeding, and he certainly nurses nonstop so I know he's getting a bunch. He clearly wasn't losing weight or going hungry when we weren't doing it, but I don't know -- maybe by the end of the day he's tired and wants something more, well, "solid" in his tummy.
Oh well. It's nice to have him back to his (comparatively) unfussy self. I was so traumatized, thinking he was only NOW starting to develop colic, or maybe there was a neurological disorder. You'd think by the 3rd kid I'd know not to imagine worst-case scenarios for everything.
Emily had her last-day-of-school picnic today. It was fun. She played most of the time with her two "boyfriends" (her term, not mine) Anthony and Caleb -- the two redheaded boys in the school. She is definitely more at ease playing with boys -- she certainly has the same energy level and need for constant motion and noise. ASSuming Max shares those traits, she'll make a good big sister for a little boy.
It's weird to think she's getting to the same age/stage Hannah was before she died. I am starting to think about all of that a lot more, as Emily gets ready for kindergarten. I think in a way it's going to be strange when Emily finishes that first kindergarten year and turns 6 -- we will finally be in new territory. I have been parenting kids 5 and under for nearly a decade now. I've mentioned before that this is a bit like the movie Groundhog Day, only instead of repeating each day I repeat 4-year cycles. Except this time we have a baby boy instead of a baby girl, and DH's job is not as likely to be at risk, it's almost the same circumstances -- been in new house/town 2 years, older dd finishing preschool, younger child turning from baby to toddler (or in Max's case, from newborn to just plain baby, what with rolling over and starting to grab at things).
Well, there's more, but I'm tired. More later.
