Four Month Update

Today we had Julian's four month doctor's appointment. We have been looking forward to this appointment to see if he is "on track" with his development. Before I get into some specifics about his development/growth, I'd like to say a bit about growth charts. I realize that people want to know where their kid stands with regards to other kids...that's fine. All moms want to know if their kid is 'normal.' The problem I have with this as it applies to physical growth is that the growth charts- while there are ones that distinguish breast-fed babies and formula-fed babies- do not account for the variety of ethnicities out there. How can an Asian baby possibly be measured on the same growth chart against an African baby? I wonder how the growth charts used today will change over the next 100 years with all the new mixes of babies out there. *steps down from rostrum here* Moving on, here are some updates:

• Length/Height- I'm not sure when we start using the word "height" instead of "length" but for now he is measured at 26 inches. He has grown 4 1/2 inches since he was born!
• Head Circumference- I can't remember what his head was when he was born but as of today his head measured around at 16 1/2 inches.
  
• Weight- He weighs 17 lbs 15 oz. He has gained 9 lbs 2 oz. since his birth! We are very excited about this doubling in weight, we are wondering about when he's going to start sleeping for longer than 5 hours at a time at night (and that's on a good night). I'll get to sleep in a little bit.....

About vaccinations....We decided to go with an augmented schedule so that he does not receive more than 2 at a time. While there are no definitive links between vaccinations and their alleged (negative) impacts on development, there is enough research that told me not to take any chances. Since our pediatricians were okay with spreading out his schedule, we decided to do just that. Here is a detailed schedule of what we are doing for anyone who is interested in this kind of stuff:

• Birth- Hep B before he left the hospital
• 2 month- DTap & Polio
• 3 month- Hib & PCV
• 4 month- DTap & Polio
• 5 month- Hib & PCV

Other than this we will follow the recommended vaccinations by the American Academy of Pediatrics, but we are turning down Rotovirus, Influenza, and Chicken Pox.


Sleep....oh, that blessed, blessed gift. We were talking last night and since I was pregnant enough that I was getting up at night to pee (pretty early for me, about 4 weeks) I haven't slept more than 5 hours in one block. Good grief, I would give anything to be able to just sleep for a few days. Anyways, he is doing great. Our current night time schedule goes something like this:

• 7:15 PM- Julian starts showing sleepy signs
• 7:45 PM- Thad and I look at each other and wonder if it's time to start "the process." If it's bath night he'll have a bath now.
• 8:00 PM- We go upstairs and we proceed to manhandle our child by changing his diaper (been using disposables at night as they wick away the moisture better and we don't need to change him until morning unless he has a poopy), putting on a night time onesie, suctioning his nose if he's stuffy, and putting lotion on him.
• 8:15 PM- Set the lights low in the room, turn on the fan for white noise, and play some Enya while I nurse him in the rocking chair.
• 9:00 PM- This is on the later end, but by now he's passed out in the pack 'n play and I am headed downstairs for emails/cleaning up/glass of wine/Tivo'd shows.
• 10:00 PM- I am about to fall asleep standing up.
• 12:45 AM-1:30 AM- About now Julian wakes up for his midnight snack. He is promptly pulled into bed with us and we snack/sleep until about 6:30 AM, or whenever he wakes up and makes his big morning poop.

I am hoping that second block until we wake up will start to stretch out but who knows....sometimes he sleeps the whole time, sometimes he wakes up 2-3 times to eat during that time. The nurse today said that's totally normal for breastfed babies to wake up more often during the night than formula fed babies, so hopefully now that we've started solids and will hopefully increase the amount he takes over the next couple of months that'll help him be fuller for longer. Only time will tell.

Speaking of sleep, I can't hold my head up anymore so I think it's time to go. Since he had a couple of shots hopefully he'll sleep a bit longer tonight while his body deals with the vaccines. Good night, folks, and thanks for reading!!!