4 Month Check-Up

I took Clara and Anna for their 4 month well baby check-up yesterday morning before rushing to school — I cut it pretty close!

Clara weighed in at 11 lb. 15 oz and was 24 inches long.  Dr. R said that Clara is meeting all of her milestones.  She is smiling, cooing, giggling, and has rolled from tummy to back – although not consistently.  Clara has been going to physical therapy once a week and seeing a local chiropractor 2-3 times a week.  While this does seem to be helping her neck muscles and she does appear to be a bit more straight, it is still not where we want it to be. 

Dr. R is refering Clara to a pediatric specialist. The first step will be an x-ray of her neck that will take place at our local hospital today.  After that, we’ll be referred to Peoria for a catscan.  Depending on the results we will continue to a plastic surgeon for a cranial band and/or to a neurologist if anything strange shows up on the catscan.  I asked Dr. R if she thinks it could be an underlying issue and she said that besides her head tilt, there is nothing that indicates a problem.  Clara is growing well, meeting her milestones, etc.  However, a catscan to rule out any other issues seems like a smart move — both for peace of mind and so if there is something we can catch it and be proactive in resolving the issue. 

Anna weighed in at 10 lb. 12 oz. and was 23 1/2 inches long.  Anna is doing well — meeting all of her milestones and is slightly ahead of Clara physically.  Anna rolls from tummy to back easily and has rolled from back to tummy as well.  Anna will hold her head and chest off the ground for longer and appears more comfortable during tummy-time than Clara at this point.  Anna has had a raised, red bump on the right side of her head that we’ve noticed since before Christmas.  I thought she might have bonked her head on something but it is still there so I asked Dr. R to take a look.  She said it might be a birthmark but that birthmarks do not usually have hair over them.  She just wants us to keep an eye on it but did not seem concerned.

We have managed to transition both girls to sleeping on a wedge in their cribs instead of in their carseats.  I am very happy about this!  We are using the AR Pillow (great invention — head over to my review blog to win one!).  The transition has been much easier than I had originally anticipated.

Both girls received the go ahead to start cereal.  We will probably start this weekend giving cereal at their dinnertime feeding.  With Bo, I kept him on just cereal for several weeks and I’ll probably do the same with the girls, working from one feeding a day, to three.  Then we’ll start with fruits and veggies.  Bo’s first foods were banana, avocado, and sweet potato (from Super Baby Food) and we have cubes of all of those frozen and ready to go — plus several other foods as well.  One interesting note on starting cereal — Dr. R recommended starting each girl on a different grain as they have completely different bowel habits.  Clara goes several times a day and it is very watery.  Anna goes once every 4 or 5 days and it is very pasty.  Dr. R feels that the oatmeal will be better for Anna and rice better for Clara.  (Hum… I just talked about my daughters’ poop like it was interesting and entertaining.   I guess I really am a mom!)

Both girls had several vaccines but tolerated them well, minus a little extra sleepiness.

We’ve been spending a lot of time taking Clara to different doctor’s and therapies and it doesn’t seem like that will end any time soon.  As long as she ends up okay in the long run, it will all be worth it.  We just want happy, healthy children.