Soren's two-month wellness check-up

Since Soren is eating well and visibly getting bigger by the day, I wasn't too concerned when he had his weigh-in at his two-month wellness check-up.  At 11 pounds, 10 ounces and 23 inches long, he's in the 50th percentile.  (His head measurement is 15 1/2 inches, 45th percentile, for whatever that's worth.)

So far Soren hasn't been afraid of the doctor.  He gazes around and maybe whimpers or lets out a cry if he gets cold or is startled, but otherwise, he's calm.  Such a contrast to Oliver who has pretty much screamed through the entirety of every doctor's appointment since birth! 

Wellness check-ups are prime opportunity to ask the pediatrician questions, especially the little stuff you're curious about, but wouldn't bother calling the office to ask.  At Oliver's appointments, I often had a litany of questions written out ahead of time so I wouldn't forget anything.  Given that Soren is healthy and this is the second time I've been through this stage, it was a rare moment that I didn' have a single concern about something that was going on with my kid. 

That's not to say that I had nothing to pick the doctor's brain about.  I really wanted to know her opinion about "cry it out." The topic of crying it out is a very contentious topic among moms groups, and even though I believe letting a baby cry in certain circumstances helps them learn to fall asleep on their own and isn't detrimental to their overall well-being, every time I state my opinion on the matter, I wince and wait for the backlash. It's one of those topics, it seems, where people aren' t going to agree to disagree.

I explained to the pediatrician that I've encountered a couple of circumstances in the evening (prime over-tired and fussy periods for babies and young kids) where Soren is clearly tired, but doesn't settle down to try to sleep.  He's been fed and changed, so hunger or a soiled diaper isn't the problem.  Sometimes he doesn't want to be held in our arms and will arch his back and cry out in frustration or will repeatedly spit his pacifier out.  Soothing techniques like rocking or shhing may only work as long as we keep at them.  His only problem is that he is over-tired and can't sleep.  So I bundle him up in his pajamas and sleepsack and put him in his crib and hope that my endurance to listen to him scream is stronger than his will to fight off sleep. 

She assured me it is not only fine to let a baby cry under the circumstance I described, but good to allow him the chance to learn to fall asleep on his own.  Nonsense was her response to my comment about how there are a lot of opinions about when one could start using "cry it out" with a baby, such as when the baby has reached a certain age or weight.  She felt bad for the poor mother who was waiting until six months, or whatever age she'd heard it was okay, to let her baby learn to sleep, just so she could get over her own sleep deprivation. 

You always hear that only you know your kids best and you should do what you think is right for them, (but then are criticized if doing what's right for them isn't what the other parent agrees with) so in my gut, I know that letting my kids cry and learn to soothe themselves to sleep is what is going to work best.  But it sure is nice to hear some validation from a doctor.