Four Month Checkup

Today was Baby's four month checkup. Instead of dragging in her carseat (that thing is getting heavy), I just carried her in. However, I didn't think things through. When I checked in I was given a checklist to answer about her development at home, and I wasn't sure how to write on it and hold her at the same time. The nurse only gave me a flimsy piece of cardboard to write on. Luckily it was just a bunch of boxes that I had to check yes or no on so I juggled my way through the list.

Here are a few:
My baby is breastfed-yes.
My baby sleeps through the night- no.
I feel tired and sad all the time-no.
My baby reaches for things-yes.
Normal activities no longer interest me- no.
My baby laughs and coos at me- yes.
Etc.

Funny how they add in the depression questions to see how the mom is doing.

Baby was called in and I stripped her down. She likes to be naked, so she was all smiles. She weighs thirteen pounds now and is two feet long. I really thought she would weigh more since she seems huge to me, but she's not as chunky as she was. Since she's so active, she's really thinned out. Then the nurse left us to wait for the doctor. While we were waiting, Baby decided to show off and roll over a couple of times. I told her to wait until the doctor came because she was only showing off for me.

The doctor came in and showed me her charts with the growth curves. So far Baby is staying within the same percentiles, which is exactly as it should be. She is almost in the 50th percentile for weight, she is in the 50th percentile for height, and her head growth is in the 25th percentile. I guess maybe she doesn't have a big head compared to the rest of her?

Since she kept arching her back to get up and grabbing at the paper on the exam table, I held her while the doctor checked her out. She listened to her heart and tummy, checked her ears and flexibility. She even laughed hysterically at the doctor and the doctor said she was happy to end her day with us (we were the last appointment of the day).

I asked about Baby taking a bottle (I do have to go back to work in August), and the doctor said Baby won't starve herself. She just might have a couple of days of crying that the daycare will have to deal with before she caves in and drinks. I asked about using a sippy cup instead because I had heard people say that worked for them, but the doctor said sometimes sippy cups are harder to get the milk out of, so she preferred the bottle. I gave baby a sippy cup to play with the other day and she started to figure it out, so I think I am just going to skip the whole bottle thing and go to a sippy cup.

I asked about the whole sunscreen issue, and she actually said it didn't matter the age of the baby. It is important to protect their skin from the sun. She says just use a trusted brand, and ones usually labeled "Baby" are just marketing ploys. I'm not sure how I feel about her answer to that question. Baby did freak out at the pool for some reason, and I was pretty sure it was the sunscreen. I'll have to test it out again and see what happens. Maybe just a dot somewhere and see how she reacts, then I can wash it off real quick if she freaks out.

I also asked about starting solid foods. Apparently formula fed babies start solid foods a little sooner, and breasfed babies tend to wait until six months. However, the doctor said if Baby is actively watching us eat and reaching for it, then we can go ahead and start feeding her a small amount of barley cereal mixed with breastmilk and see how she does. Then we can slowly start introducing fruits and vegetables a little at a time. We are supposed to wait five days in between each new food to see if there is a reaction. However, the doctor said there is no nutritional benefit for Baby eating solids now. It's purely for her to practice eating and swallowing. I think Husband will be excited to finally be able to feed her. I'm anticipating some messy meals!

That was the extent of the appointment. I was going to ask about Baby's nap schedule, since lately she's only been taking a bunch of short naps instead of long ones (I put the swing away, so she is no longer rocked in her sleep). However, I forgot to write it on the question list that I had brought with me.

The doctor said it looked like I was doing a great job and that it didn't seem like this was my first baby. She said to keep up the good work. Yay me!