4 Month Check-up

     We went for Esme's four month check-up this week.  I'll start with the stats.  She weighs 15 lbs, 6 oz (80th %ile); she's 26.5 inches long/tall (99th %ile); and her head is 17 inches around, which the doctor double checked because she said she always double checks when a head size is listed as so much larger than usual.  And the 99th percentile on her height is an estimate.  The highest graphed line they had on the computer was 97th percentile, and Esme's data point was clearly above that.  So she's one of the tallest babies her age.  Which led the doctor to ask us who's so tall in our families.  Aside from Tina's brother, Joe, and Opa, my mom's dad, we couldn't really think of anyone.  So families:  remind us of the tall people in our genetic background.

Hey, is this edible?

     We also talked about food with the doctor.  Esme has been watching us eat with great fascination for the past several weeks.  The doctor said that introducing food at four months is fine if the child seems to express interest.  So we went out yesterday and bought Earth's Best baby foods:  Carrots (ingredients:  organic carrots, water), sweet potatoes, peas, and whole grain rice cereal.  We started yesterday with the carrots, and I'd guess that at least one spoonful was swallowed.  The rest was smeared all over the tray of her Bumbo, her face, her bib, her hands, my glasses, Tina's hair.  (There may be some exaggeration in that sentence.)  Tina took pictures, so look for those on her blog sometime soon...

It's 50 in there on this 30 degree day.

     We're hoping one of our next purchases can be for a baby food processor.  This would allow us to pick things out of the garden and give them to her (we still have carrots and squash from this past season, and I put up a hoop house, so we are still producing arugula and mustard greens), as well as setting aside a small portion of whatever we're eating and help her develop a taste for the food we love to eat.  (Can you put a slice of Silvio's pizza through one of those?)

     We also talked about sleeping, sleeping patterns, locations, etc.  So, for the first night last night, Esme did not join us in our bed for the rest of the night after she woke up hungry in her crib at 2:10.  After she ate, I took her back to her room and swayed until she got heavy (all the parents out there will certainly understand that idea), then put her back to bed.  She slept the rest of the night, making it all the way until 7:00.  And she never seemed to be too upset about any of it, so (the optimistic side of me thinks) this may be the beginning of a new phase in our sleep and parenting.

     Finally, we talked about car seats.  As Esme is within four inches of the maximum size for her infant car seat, the doctor suggested we start looking around for one of the 'convertable' seats.  These can be either front or rear facing, and can take a child from 10 lbs all the way up to 70 lbs.  The drawback, of course, is that the whole thing stays in the car, eliminating the quiet carry back into the house, not disturbing her after she's fallen asleep on the way home.

Hey Dad, where we goin?