4 months old = more shots!

The dreaded Pediatrician office visit was yesterday. Actually, I love our Pediatrician to pieces; I worked with her during my Pediatrics rotation for 3rd year, and she is absolutely wonderful. She would have to be in order to deal with nonstop crying which culminated into a screaming frenzy when it was time for the vaccinations. But enough about how I handled watching my little guys get shots.

At first, the Pedi was a little concerned because Alex has had a dip in his growth curve. He had been cruising along at the 10th percentile, and is now below that. This has occurred even though he is eating a TON (4 oz every 2 hours at daycare and nursing every 1.5 hours at home, which is much more than the average baby eats). So where the heck is it all going????? Well, he is exhibiting many signs of reflux, so she wrote for some Zantac for him (which Nicholas has been on since our last visit). We also got the go ahead to start some solid foods, and we are going to keep an eye on his weight. After examining him, Dr. Kumler felt much less concerned. He is very proportionate, strong, and developing perfectly. He has also been wetting and soiling the correct number of diapers each day, so he is definitely taking in enough.

Nicholas is looking great. He still isn't on the growth curve chart, but he is paralleling it perfectly on his own little curve. The doctor is very pleased with his growth and development. Actually, there has been a lot of discussion and disagreement in the Pediatric community about the amount of emphasis placed on the growth charts and their validitiy/accuracy. They have never shown any benefit for babies who put on a bunch of weight in infanthood versus those babies that put on weight more slowly yet are properly nourished. In fact, babies who have doubled their birth weights by 4 months are far more likely to become obese by age 7 and remain that way through adulthood. It just underscores how we still don't know jack about medicine. Good thing I'm shelling out a ton of cash to learn so much about so little! Oh well.

Nicholas was up first for shots, and I was feeding Alex when Nick got his first of four. Nick SCREAMED like I have not heard before, which of course freaked out Alex, David and me. It went about as well for Alex. I wish I could take the injections for them!