4 Months! And Relactation Journey: Day 20 - How's it going?

My baby turned 4 months on the 13th! To celebrate, we had our 4-month appointment, where we got his stats:

Height - 24" (10th percentile, 6" up from birth)
Weight - 12lbs 15.5oz (5th percentile, 6lbs up from birth)
Head Circumference - 42cm (58th percentile, up about 6cm from birth)

So basically, big head... tiny body. ;)

He can now roll from tummy to back and is working on the other way around. He can get onto his side for now! He babbles all the time, including consonants like "B" and "G" (i.e. "agooooo!" and "aaaaabah!"), and angrily does so when he's tired (I prefer that to crying, lol). He stands supported, taking a few steps in place -- we're going to have an early walker! -- and bending his knees to jump high! His hands are constantly in his mouth, and he recently found his thumb, which is SUPER fun. Drool EVERYWHERE. He's still in and continues to rock physical therapy, and he's so much happier and back to his normal self now that we're not continuing helmet therapy. And these smiles all the damn time. :D







Sigh. I love his little face. <3

In other news, I'm continuing the relactation process, and so far, it's going well! I'm actually able to get some milk when I pump now, and I have to admit that the hospital-grade pump rental was a VERY worthwhile investment. I ended up with an Ameda Elite, and not only is it so much quieter than the Purely Yours, but it's much more efficient, too. I'm not sure how, but I'm liking it!

To that end, some pictures of progress:

[caption id="attachment_1967" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Yesterday's afternoon pump. First time I got something![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1968" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Today's morning pump.[/caption]

It doesn't look like much, I know. But it's something!! I have been so stoked by going from nothing to getting something now every time I hand express or pump. The former is and probably always will be more effective, but pumping is easy, haha.

This is my current regimen, if anyone is interested:

• Pump/express 7x/day (plus extras if I'm feeling spunky), plus one at night.


• Domperidone, 20mg 4x/day


• More Milk Special Blend capsules, 1 pill 4x/day


• Cuddling with Tycho without a shirt on

That's all I'm doing for now. I want to introduce the SNS soon, but I'm really nervous about that as he seems to have no interest in my breasts. If I dangle them over him, he might go for it, but he screams when I cradle him and coax him that way. Sigh. :(

But last night, I put my bare skin on his as he was falling asleep, and he cuddled up next to me, so... maybe? I don't know.

I think the SNS is going to help with motivation on his end, whenever I start implementing it. Since there's not much coming out even still, there's really nothing to get him to the breast. I'm scared that even having the SNS won't do anything -- after all, while we switched to wide-neck bottles, a bottle still isn't the same as a boob -- but there's no way to know until I try.

This WILL work out. I'm really anticipating an even partial breastfeeding relationship with my son, one that will hopefully last into toddlerhood. :)