Most Valuable Babies: June 2010

At the end of May Brody had his 4 month wellness check-up. I originally scheduled it for the same week he turned 4 months. Then realized we'd be taking him on a road trip the same day, which probably wasn't a good idea since he didn't do so well after his 2 month shots. So, I rescheduled.

My favorite part of the appointment, growth stats: weighed in at 14lbs 6oz (25th-50th%), 26 inches tall (75th%) and a head circumfrence of 42 cm (50th%). So in reference to the charts, his weight is lower, his height is a bit lower and his head is becoming more average. I've never taken too much stock in the growth charts, but it's always nice to see where he fits in. Even though his weight looked on the lower side, he went to the doctor again 3 days later (another post on this later) and he already gained a couple ounces.

We talked with the pediatrician about his soy formula and he recommends keeping Brody on it. He's been doing pretty well and although he still doesn't digest it as well as nutramigen, there doesn't seem to be any evidence of an allergy.

Next step...solid food! (Well, you know, that pureed baby food that looks nasty but I hear tastes alright)

This will definitely be a new adventure for us. The doctor recommended we start rice cereal for about 2 weeks and then move on to veggies then fruits. He expects that Brody should be eating solids about twice a day by his 6 month appointment. This did surprise me a little since some babies don't start any veggies or fruit until 6 months. However, these are only guidelines and I'll be following Brody's cues as to whether or not he's ready. For the first year of Brody's life, he will continue to get formula, since it includes many important nutrients that he'll need.

I talked to the pedi about how much Brody is eating of formula each day. I've read mixed opinions about formula toxicity, which is when actually having too much formula can be bad (who knew?!?) Apparently it has to do with the amount of vitamins in it. He kind of looked at me like I was crazy and said I don't need to worry about too much formula right now. At Brody's 30ish ounces a day, he has no concern. Also, since he'll be phasing in "solids" soon, he'll end up eating less formula.

On a side note, does anyone else think it's weird they say that he's starting "solids" when it's actually mushy and not very solid. Anyway...

His pediatrician saw pretty quickly how much Brody moves around and made sure to do his safety lecture. This is nothing new, he goes over safety stuff at every appointment (back to sleep, rear facing car seat etc.) But this time he was very clear to say, keep your eye on this guy, he can roll off of something in a second. While I obviously already knew this, I do have to remind myself every once and awhile. I have gotten a little too used to leaving him on his changing table for 2 seconds while I grab a diaper. Now, 2 seconds is all it takes to fling himself over.

End of appointment = vaccines. Same ones as 2 months, same screaming from Brody. I also thought it would be a great day to go shopping with Brody since I was off all day, but that didn't last too long. He ended up getting pretty fussy when we left the mall because I hadn't given him any Tylenol yet. Unfortunately I still had to run to the store to buy generic Tylenol because all we had was the recalled name brand Tylenol (thanks a lot!) Once he had some pain relief and a nap, he was great the rest of the day.