Look at my chubby legs with big 'ol bandaids on them.Ethan had his 4 month appointment with the pediatrician today. We made the appointment with the pediatrician we've gone to since birth, but we saw a female doc today who is in the same group. We actually somewhat preferred her because she showed us Ethan's growth charts and gave us percentages. We have been wondering how much our little BIG guy weighs and the results are IN. Ethan topped the scale at 16 lbs, 13.4 oz and 27 and 1/8th inches!!! He is in the 75-90% for weight, 97th % for height and 50% for head circumference. He is a TALL boy and nearly doubled his birthweight (which is normal for 4 months)! He took those shots like a man and only let out one little cry. He wasn't as fond of the oral rotovirus vaccine like he was at 2 months but still managed to get some of it in his mouth.
Dr. Vassmer checked to make sure Ethan was hitting his milestones and he passed with flying colors. She demonstrated the noises he should be making now and at 6 months. He is already blowing raspberries at 4 months which she said he would start at 6 months! He even demonstrated his ability for her. He is doing great with grabbing an object that is in front of him and demonstrated this with a tongue depressor. She gave us a special warning to NEVER leave him unattended on a bed or couch as she has seen MANY 4 month olds in the office with bumps on their heads from rolling off of things. This is something both Owen and I need to get in the habit of as we are both guilty of walking away from Ethan on the changing table to get something because he has not been mobile to this point. She said that is exactly why you can't leave them because you never know when they'll flip. So if we need to leave we have to put him on the floor.
I asked about toys that are good and bad for this age- RATTLES are great for this age! She doesn't recommend the exersaucer as they really don't develop anything while in there. They just lean forward and is someplace to but them where you don't have to watch them as closely. She said 10 mins max in that thing. She said the BEST place to play is the floor- it makes them use their muscles and learn to push up, sit up, and wiggle.
Since we haven't seen this doctor before I mentioned that Ethan had bad reflux in the beginning and that it has gotten better since we took him to the chiropractor. She was REALLY surprised by us taking him to the chiropractor. She also discounted the reflux, saying that "all babies have it and all babies spit up"...but if anyone was around Ethan the first 9 weeks you'll agree that what he had was not the "typical" reflux. He was miserable and I'm sure not ALL babies are like him! But I didn't get into all the symptoms with this doc because it's better. And I'd rather just keep seeing the chiropractor and talk with her about it since she is very understanding, knows the whole situation, has seen him improve, and most of all listens to me!
The last thing we talked about was when to start solid foods. We were relieved to hear her say the recommendation is to wait until 6 months if the baby is eating well and gaining weight, which as you can see he is! Owen and I had already decided that we were going to wait until 6 months to start any kind of food other than breast milk for a variety of reasons. We were first alerted to these reasons by the Dr. Tara (chiropractor) who told us that if Ethan accidentally swallows breast milk into his lungs his body will reabsorb it without a problem. If this happened with real food- it could make him very sick with aspiration pneumonia. She told us on Saturday that when the first tooth comes in (usually by 6 months) it means you can be sure that the body is making the enzyme amylase which helps digest solid foods. A lot of research has been done on this topic as 4 months used to be the recommendation for starting solids. There are health links between diabetes, obesity, increased risk of food allergies, from starting solid foods before their able to digest it properly. Exclusively breastfed babies have fewer ear infections and are protected from other illnesses as well. The biggest reason for Ethan is to let his digestive system mature a bit more especially with the reflux issues which should hopefully be resolved by 6 months. Refer to http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html#reasons for more information on this topic. Then there is the convenience factor of continuing what's easy -mom feeding Ethan or dad feeding Ethan with mom's milk. Why mess with a good thing? There are a few other good reasons too- such as me "needing" to eat an extra 500 calories per day to make the milk, and Ethan getting all those great antibodies from the milk. I asked the pediatrician about the myth that solid foods help babies sleep more at night and she confirmed that it is a myth. She said that babies sleep through the night regardless of introducing solid foods because that's what they do at this age. I am very happy with how much Ethan sleeps already! So, while this may be different it's best for us at this time and we'll look forward to those ewwy gooey food face photos at 6 months!
Dr. Vassmer checked to make sure Ethan was hitting his milestones and he passed with flying colors. She demonstrated the noises he should be making now and at 6 months. He is already blowing raspberries at 4 months which she said he would start at 6 months! He even demonstrated his ability for her. He is doing great with grabbing an object that is in front of him and demonstrated this with a tongue depressor. She gave us a special warning to NEVER leave him unattended on a bed or couch as she has seen MANY 4 month olds in the office with bumps on their heads from rolling off of things. This is something both Owen and I need to get in the habit of as we are both guilty of walking away from Ethan on the changing table to get something because he has not been mobile to this point. She said that is exactly why you can't leave them because you never know when they'll flip. So if we need to leave we have to put him on the floor.
I asked about toys that are good and bad for this age- RATTLES are great for this age! She doesn't recommend the exersaucer as they really don't develop anything while in there. They just lean forward and is someplace to but them where you don't have to watch them as closely. She said 10 mins max in that thing. She said the BEST place to play is the floor- it makes them use their muscles and learn to push up, sit up, and wiggle.
Since we haven't seen this doctor before I mentioned that Ethan had bad reflux in the beginning and that it has gotten better since we took him to the chiropractor. She was REALLY surprised by us taking him to the chiropractor. She also discounted the reflux, saying that "all babies have it and all babies spit up"...but if anyone was around Ethan the first 9 weeks you'll agree that what he had was not the "typical" reflux. He was miserable and I'm sure not ALL babies are like him! But I didn't get into all the symptoms with this doc because it's better. And I'd rather just keep seeing the chiropractor and talk with her about it since she is very understanding, knows the whole situation, has seen him improve, and most of all listens to me!
The last thing we talked about was when to start solid foods. We were relieved to hear her say the recommendation is to wait until 6 months if the baby is eating well and gaining weight, which as you can see he is! Owen and I had already decided that we were going to wait until 6 months to start any kind of food other than breast milk for a variety of reasons. We were first alerted to these reasons by the Dr. Tara (chiropractor) who told us that if Ethan accidentally swallows breast milk into his lungs his body will reabsorb it without a problem. If this happened with real food- it could make him very sick with aspiration pneumonia. She told us on Saturday that when the first tooth comes in (usually by 6 months) it means you can be sure that the body is making the enzyme amylase which helps digest solid foods. A lot of research has been done on this topic as 4 months used to be the recommendation for starting solids. There are health links between diabetes, obesity, increased risk of food allergies, from starting solid foods before their able to digest it properly. Exclusively breastfed babies have fewer ear infections and are protected from other illnesses as well. The biggest reason for Ethan is to let his digestive system mature a bit more especially with the reflux issues which should hopefully be resolved by 6 months. Refer to http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html#reasons for more information on this topic. Then there is the convenience factor of continuing what's easy -mom feeding Ethan or dad feeding Ethan with mom's milk. Why mess with a good thing? There are a few other good reasons too- such as me "needing" to eat an extra 500 calories per day to make the milk, and Ethan getting all those great antibodies from the milk. I asked the pediatrician about the myth that solid foods help babies sleep more at night and she confirmed that it is a myth. She said that babies sleep through the night regardless of introducing solid foods because that's what they do at this age. I am very happy with how much Ethan sleeps already! So, while this may be different it's best for us at this time and we'll look forward to those ewwy gooey food face photos at 6 months!
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