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:
- Question about solids for babies, more specifically rice cereal & oatmeal
- Monkey’s two month old vaccination appointment
- Monkey, a bump, a trip to the pediatrician’s office, & lots of worries
- First Pediatrician appointment: Questions I asked our Pediatrician and Monkey’s progress
- Two Month Old Schedule: Three days in the life of little Monkey
= a post from Mommy Jane 
= a post from Daddy Tarzan
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Jane! Although I’m not a mmmy yet…. I have worked in an infant room at a Childcare center for several years. In my experience it helps to mix it a little thicker than the box says. Also…. The best way for a baby to loose the tounge reflex thing is to start solids. I love reading your blog. You seem like such a great mom. I’m 29 weeks pregnant now. I’m so scared that I won’t be a good mom. I’m good with kids……. But being a mommy is different!! Reading your pregnancy posts have really helped me get through this pregnancy!! Keep us posted on the solids issues!!
I’m by no means an expert, but I think you’re supposed to feed it thru a bottle like that. But I could be wrong. My little guy’s breast fed, so I’m only gathering this from things I’ve read.
no…don’t use a bottle MVP…that’s usually not recommended. Jane, we just started our son on solids, and we found that making it a little thicker helps…aim for the consistency of baby food. Always feed them sitting up in bumbo or highchair and from a spoon…they love it and he’ll get the hang of it very quickly.
Def. go for thicker. And just keep trying a little bit every day till he gets the hang of it.
I thought it was supposed to be watery like that at first so that your baby doesn’t choke.
That is the ratio if you are feeding it to him through a bottle. There should be other directions for spoon feeding.
We tried rice cereal with DD, and she never did want it until she was almost 6 months old anyway. I’ll likely wait with this one to closer to 6 months. They’ve changed some guidelines as well and are moving more toward 6 months.
Also, our DD never did take to Rice Cereal. I ended up switching to the Oatmeal kind, which she liked much better. We ended up giving away all of the Rice Cereal we bought.
And, the first time should be thin, you want it to have the consistency and taste of more what he’s used to eating.
Pediatricians no longer recommend feeding cereal through a bottle. Spoon feeding is always hard at the start! Good luck!
Our little guy threw up after his 4 month shots also – NOT FUN! He also got a rash at his injection site, we thought it was a reaction to food (which we also started at 4 mos) until my mom reminded me that’s where they injected him. He got a HUGE lump on his leg so I took him back to the dr and they said it’s totally normal. Hopefully, you won’t go through the same thing but a heads up so you don’t freak if it happens.
Like others, we found that making the cereal a little thicker helps a lot. Now that he’s used to it, we make it super thick and he LOVES it. We’re also working on veggies…try yellow/orange before green, that seems to work better. There was a good article in the most recent “Parents” magazine about starting solids that I liked too.
Good luck!