4 month check up

Today was Jackson's 4 month well baby visit.  Of course, that means shots. Poor kid, he's been asleep, aside from eating, since about 3:30. Tylenol is good stuff for the under 6 month set. We checked his development again, since he was behind in his communication skills at his 2 month visit. We pretty much chalked that up to being born a month early and spending so much time in the hospital.  He's caught up a lot.  His lag is still in communication.  This time, it's laughter.  He just doesn't want to give up a good giggle, apparently. The good news is that the pediatrician thinks that he doesn't need a full formal developmental evaluation anymore.  We're just going to check him again at 5 months to make sure he's catching up.

We also talked about starting solid foods. This has been of great concern to me since all this new research has come out regarding the timing of solid food introduction. Because he was early and missed his build up of iron in the last month, I think it's probably best to begin sooner rather than later, and she agreed. I'm also hoping it will help with his reflux, which continues to be a disgusting problem.  Today after we got home, I made him some brown rice cereal. This was an interesting experiment. It's easy to make. I threw some raw rice in a stick blender and ground it into a powder, then boiled and whisked it for 10 minutes. The result was disgusting breast milk flavored mush. Jackson though it was simultaneously revolting and fascinating. He actually opened his mouth for the spoon, which surprised me. His tongue thrust reflex is gone, but he's still a little confused about what to do with the goop on his tongue. He seemed to discover that if he sucked his thumb, he could swallow it easier. Then the problem was getting him to stop sucking his thumb, because that was apparently loads of fun. He managed about 5 bites before he decided enough was enough, and he just wanted milk. 

That's a major downside of starting solids. I'm not a big pumping fan. I had to pump a lot when he was new and then in the hospital, and it brings back unpleasant memories that make relaxing enough for a let down difficult. But he needs the milk to mix with the food, so pump I must. I have enormous respect for working moms that pump. That has got to be incredibly difficult. I'm lucky enough that Jackson only eats on one side per meal, so I have about half a feeding (2 oz) in the other side after he's done. That's plenty to mix with cereal I think. I'm not entirely sure how much I'm supposed to use in the cereal. 

He didn't throw up the cereal or any feedings after that, which is excellent. I'm hoping that trend continues, because I am so ready to be done with vomiting. Jackson's weight gain has slowed by more than half. He's staying on the same percentile curve, so hopefully it's nothing, but I feel like that significant a slow down is a problem waiting to happen. The pediatrician finally referred us to a pediatric gastroenterologist, so hopefully we'll get something sorted out. (Oh goody! More trips to All Children's!) He's so hungry all the time, because he throws up so much of what he eats. It keeps him needing to eat all night long. At least the Zantac keeps him not in pain and not rejecting food, but it's too much to hope for an H2 antagonist to stop the spit up. Now to learn everything there is to know about baby reflux meds before I get into the doctor.