Luke had his four-month visit with the doctor today. It is still 10 days before he will actually be 4 months, but with the holidays, we had the visit a little early.
Overall he is doing well. I had two concerns at this visit. Luke has had a stuffy nose for a few days, but no fever or other symptoms. The doctor said that it wasn't an issue and just keep using saline drops and cleaning it out. We only need to be concerned if he develops a high fever or has trouble breathing. So that's good to know. I just hope that it clears up soon as I'm sure it is not comfortable for him. The other concern was that he hasn't pooped since Thursday morning (that's 5 days). He had been going about 2 days between pooping for the past few weeks, but this is the longest stretch by far. She felt his stomach and said it feels soft, so that doesn't seem to be an issue. Everything else is normal (he eats, sleeps, pees, passes gas, and doesn't seem uncomfortable), so she is not concerned. Breast milk just doesn't produce a lot of waste and it looks like his body is just using up all of it. She said just to make sure his stomach isn't hard and that he doesn't seem uncomfortable, but he's fine otherwise.
He's been growing really well and is staying on target for his growth rate. He's been pretty consistently in the 25-50% for his age, and that's his actual age, not his adjusted age for being three weeks early (when he's plotted on the adjusted chart, he's in the 75th percentile). So here's how he's grown since his two-month visit:
Weight at 2 months: 10 lb 14.4 oz.
Weight at 4 months: 13 lb 4.9 oz.
Growth: 2 lb 6.5 oz.
Length at 2 months: 22"
Length at 4 months: 24"
Growth: 2" (no wonder those 0-3 month sleepers were getting tight in the leg length!)
Head circumference at 2 months: 39 cm
Head circumference at 4 months: 41 cm
Growth: 2 cm (and that's why I used ribbing for the new hat I knit him: it's stretchy so can accommodate a growing head!)
Then came time for the vaccines. He did a lot better with the oral one (I think this nurse was much more patient than the one last time) and got almost all of it down (only spitting out a little right at the end). I held onto him while he got the two shots, one in each leg. With the first one, he didn't cry right away. I think he was taken by surprise. But he started crying a little when she reached for the second shot. When he got the second one, he really started crying hard, and his poor little face turned bright red. Bandaids on and the nurse left the room. I then had a screaming child on my hands that I had to try to get dressed and back in the car seat. I held him and bounced him for a little while and he calmed down. But as soon as I laid him on the table to put his clothes on, he started crying again. We did this for a couple of minutes and I thought about nursing him a little really quickly. But then I spotted his pacifier in his car seat and thought I would try that first. That worked and I was able to get him into his clothes (well, mostly. I just put on the onesie and the socks, leaving off his pants and covered him with his blanket) and into the car seat. I wanted to schedule his next appointment and he got a little fussy while we were waiting for the receptionist to be free, but I just rocked him and talked to him and he was okay. Into the car and after a little crying in the parking lot, he quieted down. I think he fell asleep. When we got home, he cried a bit more but I nursed him and he was calm again and I put him in his swing so I could (finally) eat something for lunch. He fell asleep and is still asleep right now. Hopefully he's feeling better. I know he at least was having a good dream because a little while ago, he smiled and laughed in his sleep. We'll see how the evening goes.
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