4 Month Doctor's Appointment

Grace's doctors appointment yesterday went very well. She got her second round of shots, although she didn't like that very much at all. She calmed right down as soon as I picked her up afterwards though, until she got a glimpse of the nurse, and that bottom lip stuck right back out.

Back to the beginning. She weighed in at 15 pounds 13 ounces (90th percentile). I thought she'd hit 16, but apparently my scale at home rounds up (or her diaper weighs a few ounces). I don't weigh her naked at home. She is now 24 1/2 inches long (just above average).

I had a lot of questions this time. I started off asking about our sleep issues. I told the doctor our normal schedule, including that she sleeps with me after waking, and that I haven't been feeding her at night. She thought it was good that Grace goes to sleep without being rocked, held, or while taking a bottle, but she thought the fact that she usually falls asleep on the couch with us rather than her crib is a problem. She isn't used to going to sleep in her crib, so at night when she wakes up, she doesn't want to go back to sleep in her crib. She told me to change up our evening feeding schedule, so she eats just before bedtime around 7:30 or 8:00, so when she's done we can just put her straight to bed. We're eliminating the 9:30 p.m. bottle. I'm not sure exactly how we're going to do it. I think she may need to start eating more at other meals or something, because it will be hard to get an extra bottle squeezed in during the day. We've also been given the go-ahead to start trying to get her to sleep in her bed (including a little crying). We've decided to start tonight. No more sleeping with Mommy. I've bought Dr. Ferber's book and haven't read it yet, but we're going to "Ferberize" her. According to the book it should work in less than a week. We'll see.

Next I asked about starting cereal. Dr. H thinks Grace is "thriving" on formula and is eating just about what she should at this time, so she's in no rush to start it. However, she thinks we'll need to before her 6 month appointment. We're supposed to watch for cues like eating more frequently or larger amounts at a time. She currently eats between 30 and 36 ounces a day. If she gets up to 40 or so, it'll be time for cereal.

We asked about the flat spot. It's normal and shouldn't get much worse now that's she's sitting up more and is generally more active. We're supposed to keep her from spending too much time on her back while awake by using a swing, bouncer, jumper, etc.

A couple of weeks ago we saw a weird spot under Grace's tounge. It almost looked like a hole. She already has a big enough hole in her mouth, so we didn't want anymore. There isn't one. It was just the bottom of her mouth, but looked like a hole because of the position of her saliva glands.

Grace has a couple of dry spots on her tummy. They are just dry skin and should get better with the weather. They don't irritate her, so no worries.

I can't think of anything else, but it was a very good visit. I'll have to update after our weekend sleep project. Wish us luck!