Four Month Checkup

Ricky isn't technically 4 months old yet, not until July 6, but he hit 17 weeks this past thursday. I decided to do his 4 month checkup today instead of next week. I wouldn't be able to go with him next week - Daddy would be there, but that's just not the same as Mommy.

Overall, things are going great. Ricky weighs a whopping 15 lbs 9 ounces and he grew about 2 1/2" in length. There was definitely some growth spurt action going on. As far as his head is concerned, well, he has a big head. Not like off the charts, but a big head. Doc said "We'll have to keep an eye on that." Keep an eye on what? I knew he was gonna have a big head. I have a big head, Dad has a big head. Not like Charlie Brown big, but big enough. His clothes fit and I can get them over his "big head" with no problem. He is developmentally right on track or even a little ahead (rolling over at a little over 3 months!). He is quite capable of holding his big head up, he even made Doc use a little muscle to check his ears because his big neck muscles are so strong. Just because you have a tiny head, don't go hating on my big headed kid....just means he has a big brain.

Oh, I got a little distracted there. Anyway, my little boy is changing so much - every day, more and more. Seems like yesterday he was teeny tiny and his head barely fit in my hand. I have big hands so I didn't notice the big head then.

A couple weeks back we started putting a little cereal in his bedtime bottle. This wasn't done to "make him sleep through the night" but was more an effort to help him keep his food down. I have actually found that it doesn't really help him sleep any longer at all, however he does sleep more soundly. We have started putting him on his stomach at night (he prefers this) and formula would come right back up but the cereal just helps things stay put. Ricky spits up. Alot. So much that he got a yeast type infection under his chin because it was basically staying constantly wet, even with numerous bib changes and wipedowns. Even if it is 2 hours after his last meal, if he gets too excited and bounces around too much, he spits up. I have so many ruined clothes. I used to sort my clothes "work" & "home", now it's what he can and can't spit up on. I have asked the Doctor on 3 occasions about the spitting up and since he seems to be thriving, they don't feel there is a reason to treat it medically (I agree) and suspect that once he is sitting up, this issue will clear up on it's own. Please let it clear up.

In the meantime, Doc said we could start giving him a small amount of cereal, up to twice a day (Wha!!!!). However, not in a bottle, via spoon. If that goes well, wait a few weeks and try him on some baby food. Some people don't look forward to the day their child goes on solid foods. I don't know if it is because I didn't breastfeed or what it is, but I am excited for him. This kid loves ANYTHING in his mouth - food, gas drops, baby Tylenol, even that Rotavirus vaccine. He sucked that thing up like it was ice cream. I think he likes anything other than formula, not that he minds the formula, it's just a welcome change. Can't say I blame him, I have tasted the formula - ick. I'm just excited to see him experience new things.

I suppose I can see now why my girlfriend's 6 month old is wearing size 12-18 months. My kid is going to be a whale.

As far as the shots, he handled them very well. He was all giggly and gurgling then Bam! Oh the shock! He gave me this look like "WTF was that you traitorous b****?!?!?!" But after about 2 minutes, he calmed down and was pretty much back to normal.

What's the weight limit for the rear facing carseat again? I can't carry this kid around for much longer.