4 month doctor appointment

Today we went to see Dr. Heller.  You weighed in at 15.1 pounds.  You gained 3 pounds from 2 months ago.  The doctor said you are only “slightly” above average in weight.  Two months ago, you were also only “slightly” above average in weight, so it’s a consistent increase.  I asked the doctor if you were “fat” and the doctor replied, “Absolutely not!”  Your Daddy teases me about having a fat baby all the time.  I know he’s teasing, but I just wanted to make sure I’m doing the right thing for you, my little boy.

You measured 26.25 in length – an increase of 3 inches.  Dr. Heller said this IS definitely above average in length!  However that doesn’t mean you will be tall, just that you are above average in length for this point in time.  You might have just hit a growth spurt and next visit you’ll be average length again.

So, you gained 3 pounds and grew 3 inches.  It was obvious you were getting longer.  It’s cute to see the changes in you.

We had some questions for your doctor.  I’m was worried that he’d think we were nuts, but we had to ask because it was an “issue” between your mommy and daddy…  “Is it OK to hold the baby when he cries?”  Dr. Heller said that any holding of the baby when they cry before 4 months is NOT spoiling the child and even holding him after 4 months isn’t spoiling him.

The problem comes in when a baby wakes up in the middle of the night – at this age between 4 and 6 months, a baby gets separation anxiety.  If the baby wakes up at night, then do the “cry it out” method rather than rocking the baby back to sleep.  Nip this problem in the bud otherwise it can be a big problem if the baby doesn’t learn to self soothe in the future.

Right now, you are doing very well with sleeping at night.  I don’t jump at your first cry at night any more and I listen to if you go back to sleep.  I might not be able to go back to sleep, but at least I know you are OK.

Oh and Dr Heller said, “My wife couldn’t stand to hear our baby cry either.  Because I didn’t want a divorce, she held the baby.”  I looked at your daddy.  Because yes, I will hold you when you cry during the day.  Not always, I’ll let you cry when you get a little cranky or if you are talking or getting fussy to get to sleep.  But I don’t want you to cry to the point of inconsolable.  Besides, I’ve read about CIO method and it’s never recommended to just “let the baby cry” – it’s a method of showing the baby you are there, then walking away.  Coming back, letting the baby know you are there, walking away… and yes, at some points in the beginning, to hold the baby and then put the baby down.  It’s a slow process, not a cold turkey let the baby cry it out.  I’m prepared to do this if need be at night and even during the day, because mommy has a house to clean too. 

(I have to add, it’s not that your Daddy doesn’t want to hold you, because he absolutely loves to give you hugs, but he worries when people say that I’m holding you too much and that this might cause problems in the future.)

Ok, let’s get back to the appointment.

You are going to meet “the spoon!”  Oma and Opa bought a spoon for you from their Ireland trip.  I think we’ll give that a try.  The doctor was against the idea of adding formula to the bottle.  He said to mix the rice cereal in a bowl with the milk formula to a liquid consistency and to feed this to you from a spoon.  Dr. Heller warned that you might not take to this right away, that plenty of babies don’t start the spoon until 6 months, but that we could try this once a day and see how you like it.  Once you take to the rice, we can start you with veggies and then fruit.  (I’m all for tips on how to feed a baby from the spoon!)

I’m so sorry about the shots, sweety.  

The doctor said you had to get two this time, but oh my gosh, that was a big needle on the second shot.  No wonder your face turned bright red and you screamed!  I was cringing.  Thank goodness your Daddy was there to soothe you. 

We also had a bottle and that helped you to focus on something other than the pain.  It’s a trick I read online and so far, it’s worked.

When the nurse went to hold your legs to give you the shots, she said, “His legs are STRONG!”  I have bruises on my legs when I sit you on my lap and you kick me hard.  So yes, you might have chubby legs, but there’s muscle in there too!

You cried all the way home in the car and when we got home… you were tired and exhausted and cranky and so was I.  But right now, you are sleeping and I just put my hair up in a ponytail.  It seems that you like to grab my hair and it wraps around your fingers and toes.  I mentioned this to your doctor and he said, “This can be a problem, because the hair can form a tourniquet around the toes or fingers and can cause a lot of pain.”  I read about this before and that’s why I’ve been so nervous about my hair getting on you.  I was glad your doctor confirmed what I read so I don’t feel silly being so nervous.

Sleep my sweet baby and know that you are loved.