4 Month Stats

We took Grant to the doctor yesterday for his 4 month checkup. He has come a long way since his last visit at 2 months. He weighed 13 pounds, 9 ounces, and was in the 25th percentile for weight. That means he gained 3 pounds, 9 ounces in 2 months. He was in the 10th percentile at 2 months, so he is slowly catching up in weight! He is catching up more quickly when it comes to height. He has grown almost 3 inches since his 2 month visit. He is now 25 1/8 inches tall, putting him at the 50th percentile for height. The doctor said if you took his age back 5 weeks since he was a preemie, he would be around the 90th percentile in height! So he is definitely taking after his daddy in that aspect. His head circumference was in the 55th percentile--a jump from being in the 40th percentile at 2 months. So he is on track with all his growth, and it won't be long until he is completely caught up for being born early.

Grant did better with the shots this time as well. After his shots at the 2 month visit, he was extra fussy and wouldn't eat. This time he got the same set of shots, but we gave him Tylenol right away, and that seemed to help. He only needed one dose of Tylenol, and he still ate normal and slept fine last night, so that is a relief.

The doctor doesn't want him to start on solids yet. Many babies will start with cereal around 4 months and then add veggies and fruit, but they don't really need it until 6 months. So since Grant was early, we really don't need to worry about starting that yet. We will talk about it more at his 6 month visit. In the meantime, I think he is happy sticking with the breastmilk. He loves to eat!

The doctor was also happy with his development as well. We weren't sure where he should be at this point, but the doctor said to always think in terms of his "corrected" age--meaning what he should be based on my due date. So he is doing great for a 3 month old, but may seem a little behind for a 4 month old, which is perfectly normal. Some babies aren't completely caught up until after the 1st year. Grant wasn't born too early for him to be much farther behind, so we aren't worried. His is smiling, laughing, following toys, starting to grasp things, and sitting up with support. Hopefully he will start rolling over soon as well. We just get so proud when we see him reach a new milestone, and in the next few months I am sure we will see a lot of that. More stats to come after his 6 month visit!