Monkey’s 4 month doctor appointment & first attempt at rice cereal

Yesterday was Monkey’s 4 month doctor appointment.  For some reason I was really nervous about the shots.  So nervous that I asked my husband to accompany us to the doctor’s office (he didn’t go to the 2 month appointment).

Monkey’s first set of shots at his 2 month appointment were awful.  His face turned bright red & he cried (or rather screamed) for some time.  It broke my heart.  I wasn’t sure what to think about this next round of shots, hence my asking Tarzan to come with us.

Monkey’s 4 month stats:

Weight: 15 pounds 10.4oz (50-75%)

Height/Length: 26.5 inches (95%)

Head: 16 3/4 (50-75%)

Surprisingly Monkey did fabulous with the shots.  Tarzan & I sang to him while the nurse pricked both of his thighs.  He cried for a second & then started smiling.  I’m guessing it was his dad being there… which made Tarzan feel good when I told him that.  Of course you know that Monkey had a rough night last night & threw up… Not sure what caused that, but I need to call & tell the pediatrician’s office tomorrow… Just so they know.

Monkey’s pediatrician said that his torticollis has improved & I should keep doing his neck exercises.  He also said that his flat spot was no more (yay!).  I said, “Does this mean he doesn’t need a helmet?” & the pediatrician said that he wouldn’t need one.  Yay!!

He asked if Monkey had started rolling yet & I told him that he started rolling from his back to belly.  He said that he was doing it the “hard way” since most babies roll from their bellies to their back.

He asked how much formula Monkey was eating & I told him it varied between 43 – 48.5 ounces.  He said that we should start Monkey on rice cereal.  I told him that I had hoped to wait until Monkey was 6 months old, but that he wasn’t seeming satisfied because he has been eating every 2 hours (when awake).  The pediatrician gave me some information about starting solids & I just kept thinking, “Oh my gosh, Monkey is such a big boy now.”

I also asked if we should limit the amount of time that Monkey is in the Bumbo or the Jumperoo & he said no.  He also said that Monkey should be sitting unassisted any day now since he seems well on his way to trying to sit up.

This afternoon we tried the rice cereal.  Tarzan had the video camera in one hand & the regular camera in the other.  I followed the directions on the rice cereal & mixed 1tbsp with 5oz of formula.  It was super watery.  Like instead of rice cereal it should be called rice soup.  Tarzan kept saying that it was going to take me 3 hours to feed that liquid in a spoon to Monkey.  I just laughed it off… initially.

I put the first spoonful of rice cereal into Monkey’s mouth & he made a priceless face.  Of course most of the liquid ran down his chin.  After about 10 spoonfuls of this happening, I came to the conclusion that perhaps I mixed it wrong because it was so watery & if I didn’t mix it wrong, then Monkey simply isn’t ready.  I think he still has the tongue reflex thing to prevent foreign objects from entering his mouth & to prevent him from choking.

I think I’ll try rice cereal again next week.  I don’t want to force this solids thing on Monkey; I simply want him to be satisfied with his meals.

Anyways, it was pretty priceless to see him try to get the hang of a spoon & make the most adorable faces ever.

You might also want to read:

1. Question about solids for babies, more specifically rice cereal & oatmeal
2. Monkey’s two month old vaccination appointment
3. Furniture shopping on Christmas Eve: A tale of two monkeys
4. First Pediatrician appointment: Questions I asked our Pediatrician and Monkey’s progress
5. 23 weeks pregnant: Doctor appointment today

Tagged as: baby, four month old pediatrician appointment, Pediatrician, rice cereal