4 Month Appointment!

We took Cael to his 4 month pediatrician appointment today for a physical and his second round of shots. We had to leave super early because the appointment was at 8:30, so we left the house at 7:15. Matt wasn't very happy about that, considering today was his day off, but he managed.

The appointment went well. However, his growth curve is slipping a bit. Our little peanut weighs 13 pounds 7 ounces, and is 25.5 inches long. Percentile-wise, that's the 5th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. Three weeks ago, he weighed 13 pounds 8 ounces, and was in the 25th percentile for weight. That means he lost 1 ounce in 3 weeks, and dropped from the 25th percentile to the 5th percentile. The doctor wasn't overly concerned, but he was a little concerned. He brought up the curve slipping, and said that he wanted us to bring him back in 1 month to recheck his weight.

He wants me to give Cael both breasts at one feeding, with 10 minutes on each side, instead of one breast at a time, which is what I was doing. He said that should hopefully help with him gaining weight. I did bring up that Cael has been eating for only 7-8 minutes on one side at a feeding, and will then play around with my nipple. He'll suckle for a few times, come off, cry, then re-latch. And repeat all that. Or sometimes, instead of crying, he'll smile. The pediatrician said that he could be becoming distracted or bored, which is why he's doing that. But he said to try and have him eat on both sides. Hopefully that will help him gain a little by next month.

The pediatrician also brought up giving Cael rice cereal. It is suggested to start between 4-6 months of age. I asked if we had to start giving cereal now, at 4 months, especially for weight gain. He said that we didn't need to, and that it's up to us for what we wanted to do. We could wait until 6 months if we wanted. He could tell that I wanted to exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months, and then start solids and cereal (with breastfeeding, still, of course). I asked if we started cereal now, could we wait until 6 months for fruits and veggies. He said of course, that it's actually recommended to start solids at at least 6 months of age. That infants younger than 6 months old have an immature digestive tract, and that actually giving fruits and veggies prior to 6 months can cause problems, including infections. I knew that, but wanted to see what he was going to tell me. I'm glad that we're on the same page.

That all being said, I think that Matt and I might start introducing cereal at around 5 months old. It makes me sad to think that he'll be getting nutrition from somewhere else other than just me, but it's what he will need. He's growing up, and I need to come to terms with that.