Four months old and very very sweet i must say.
yesterday we went to dr. d again for the 4 month check-up. everything looks good. she now weighs 13 lbs which puts her into the 50th %ile. her length is 10% and her head is 25%. otherwise the check up was pretty straight forward. sabine demonstrated her sweet pilates moves and the dr advised us not to put her on the sofa in her carseat because she could lurch right out. (uh, i wasn't planning to do that anytime soon, but OK). her tummy time still rocks, and she was very talkative. internals and externals seem good. she also got a shot and this nurse ROCKED we didn't even know she had given the shot at all, she was quick!
dr. d advised us to go ahead and start rice cereal. she said they're finding that babies that don't start foods before 6 months end up with allergies (where as before it was breastmilk only to 6 months to prevent allergies/ my mom waited 7 with me and i'm the least allergic person i know!). and then she proceeded to tell sabine about all the 'yummy squash and carrots and orange and yellow veggies' she'd be eating after she was on rice cereal for two weeks and then pears and fruits after that. my thought was that she didn't really explain how to best go about introducing solids to US -- the parents who will be doing it. i felt like she assumed we knew what we were doing.
we also talked about the changes in sleep patterns and she suggested we help sabine discover that falling asleep is a one person process -- you don't have to nurse to fall asleep etc. that way when she rolls over in the night and wakes herself she doesn't have to cry or nurse to go back to sleep. but dr. d didn't give any suggestions as to HOW to teach that in a nurturing way. and we didn't ask because we didn't think to and probably wouldn't have followed her advice anyways.
and that was the gist of the visit.
so, we probably won't start the solids just yet. sabine could care less about food right now even though everything she grabs goes right in her mouth. she isn't looking specifically at food or reaching for it or watching us put it in our mouths even as she sits ON the dining room table while we eat dinner. plus our lives are pretty busy with max's work into next month so we'll wait until we're in a slightly calmer spot to start that next fiasco.
this next rant will sound like i hate our pediatrician, and i don't i think she's very very good actually... but
my complaint against the medical community in general is that they expect all of us to be cookie cutters and exactly the same. so many of the things she said sabine was doing (because i assume dr d thinks sabine is a normal average 4 month old) she either isn't doing at all or has been doing for months so is nothing new. she made suggestions without even talking about what could be best for the family as a whole. she speaks in a baby voice mainly to sabine not to us, and she has never ever asked our names. it just didn't feel like she saw the uniqueness of our child or our life. i would like to feel like my care provider at least stops to ask my name, you know. and i feel the same way with most of my other doctors, too. they just don't have the time to have the good bedside manner... and then i'm supposed to trust them. (on the other hand, my dentist comes in to see me for two seconds after the hygenist cleans my teeth but always always greets me by name -- i know it's on my chart outside the room, but at least he checks it!) i guess i'm still in mourning that nancy isn't also a pediatrician and primary care physician. and i guess i'm so lucky that i DID have her for my pregnancy and birth care. i don't know how i would have made it through if i only saw an OB for 10 minutes once a month.
4 comments:
First, let me put forth the disclaimer that what works for one family most assuredly does not work for every family, you are so right in that. With that being said, here is some unsolicited advice: when it comes to doctors, take what they say with a grain of salt, and/or filter it to meet your needs. Of course, you won't do anything dangerous or even remotely harmful for your child, but when they tell you things about eating and sleeping, you do what is right for your family. I can say that I nursed Cillian to sleep every night for several years; although at times it was a pain, it was such a peaceful way to go to sleep every night. There was no fighting or arguing that comes along with trying to put a child down in a room/bed and keep him there. They eventually learn to go to sleep on their own, trust me... also, that doctor's advice to start solids at 4 months seems highly suspect, quite adverse to what I have always read (does she have some new research??). Also, I have been through it once, but after much reading, am doing the whole solids thing much differently. I am starting with bananas and some fruit and then working to cereals... anyhow, here are a couple of good guideline links for you: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/first-foods.html#allergy and http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032000.asp. I hope that this helps and that you don't mind my advice!!
Sabine is very cute, and I cannot believe how much her hair has grown. I'm very jealous....
the bald bandit (still bald, mind you)
that's funny, I always ready the opposite that if you start solids too early, it could cause allergies, who knows?! It sounds to me though that you are watching for the right cues that she is ready like is she watching you eat? I think there is really something to be said for mother's instinct.
I always am kinda disappointed in the checkups too, thinking that they should be more eventful than they are. I don't know if I expect some kind of party or something for making it through to the next milestone or what, but I always feel like it's missing something.
Anyway, sounds like Sabine is doing great! We've started implementing time outs with Avery, so that's been interesting to say the least! Take care!
Yeah, so before your "rant" about the medical community, I was going to tell you that the latest research is that allergies are linked to starting solids EARLIER. Just like everyone else said in the comments. I started Sawyer at close to 7 months, and he really wasn't interested (though I thought he showed early signs of interest at like 6 months) until 9 months. So, give yourself grace there, not that you were going to start, but just so you'd know--I think that the doctor advice fits into that whole cookie cutter thing. And with doctors sticking with an idea and not keeping up with research. :) You're doing great and thinking for yourself, which is the best thing you can do!
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