This past Friday, we went to the pediatrician for H’s 6 month checkup! In a nutshell, everything went great…she’s growing and developing just as she should be. A fun thing that happened at this appointment for H was the discovery of the joy of the crinkly paper on the exam table! She had a ball grabbing it and crinkling it while we waited for the doctor until she spit up all over it.

 Here are her official stats as of 6 months:

• Weight: 17 lbs, 4.5 ounces (68th percentile, down from 87th percentile at 4 months)
• Length: 26 3/4 inches long (76th percentile, up from 59th percentile at 4 months)
• Head circumference: 16 3/4 inches (45th percentile, up from 29th percentile at 4 months)

So, what this means is that she is starting to finally lengthen out! She’s grown over 2 inches in two months. I asked the pediatrician if we should be concerned about her weight percentile dropping, but she said that with as active as H already is, it is completely normal. She also showed me her growth chart curve, which she said was “textbook”, smooth and climbing just like it should be. We had noticed that H was starting to look a little longer and has been losing just a little of her chubbiness (trust, she is still plenty chunky, ha!), and I guess her stats just confirmed that. The pediatrician also said that they usually see the biggest weight jump at the 4 month mark (check) and the biggest length jump at the 6 month mark (check). She also said that H will probably continue to “even out” the more active she gets, which is happening more and more every day!

Most of my questions for the doctor revolved around feeding… how much solids/how often, how many ounces to give her in bottles when I went back to work, etc… but to be honest, I didn’t really get any concrete answers that I was hoping for. The doctor told me that there aren’t really any concrete answers to those questions, since each baby is different… but she did give me some tips/general guidelines to follow with her feedings (i.e., the only solids H actually needs now is cereal, in order to get extra iron, and the other fruits/veggies she is getting are really just to teach her how to eat real food). I told the doctor that we have been giving H cereal and fruit in the mornings and veggies in the afternoon/evenings, and she said that sounded perfect, so I suppose that is what we will keep doing! I did mean to ask about when to introduce a sippy cup and also when/if to start giving her water to drink, but I totally forgot (so if anyone has suggestions on that, I’d love to hear!).

The doctor did several little exercises to test H’s development (talking to her from different sides of the room to see if H followed her voice, holding out things for H to grasp, having H sit up, laying her on her tummy to see her pushing up/head and neck control/having her grab things, etc.) and the doctor said she was right on track with everything. She was smiling at the doctor and grabbing for her stethoscope the whole appointment…such a ham. ;) After the exam, the doctor let her have the tongue depressor, which H particularly loved…I couldn’t stop laughing because she kept putting it in her mouth and I guess she did NOT like the taste of it, because she would make a terrible face, take it out…wait a minute, then put it back in and make the terrible face again.

She got 3 shots at the end of the appointment, and I think her crying was even more pitiful than the previous times this time…completely broke my heart. She was ok in just about a minute after they were over, though, thank goodness! And she got some super cute bandaids (I have got to find some of the heart ones to buy!):

That is really all I can think of to report from her checkup. The doctor ended the appointment by saying that she thought H was as perfect as could be, and that she was thrilled at her development and with the way she is growing. Yay, sweet H! :)

-S

Well, it was the first unplanned trip, anyway. A little over a week ago, we noticed a small, round patch of skin on H’s belly that was red and had little bumps, and felt like extremely dry skin. I put (my go-to for everything) Aquaphor on it for a few days and it seemed to definitely help, so I didn’t think a whole lot more about it. Yesterday, however, I noticed about 4 more spots like it on her. Each one about the size of a quarter or so, round, red, and really dry. It didn’t seem to bother her at all, but I figured since it seemed to be spreading, I better take her into the doctor. 

It was hard for me to get a good photo of it, but you can kind of see a few of the spots…the other 3 spots are on her sides. Like I said, not a terrible rash or anything, but it felt really weird and it was spreading, so…better safe than sorry, I guess, especially before we head to TN for the weekend.

So, in we went to the pediatrician this afternoon. We have never really had to wait more than a couple of minutes at the pediatrician’s office, but for some reason, today they were backed up. Our appointment was at 2:20, but I don’t think we actually got to see the doctor until around 3:15. Luckily, H was in a GREAT mood, and was smiling and “talking” to all of the people in the waiting room. And then once we got called back, she had a good time looking at all of the stuff on the walls and out the window. 

We saw Dr. Seidel (one of our favorites), and as soon as she saw the rash, she said I didn’t need to worry. Basically it is just mild atopic dermatitis (eczema), which she said has likely been brought on by a) the heat, b) her rolls, and c) her sweating from the 2 aforementioned factors. She said she wasn’t too worried about her developing full-blown eczema since neither Jon or I have it and it is usually genetic. She asked which kind of soap we use for bath time, and when I told her Johnson & Johnson, she said to switch to just a bar of Dove soap for the time being and that it should help clear it up. She also said to continue lathering her with Aquaphor like we have been doing, and if that doesn’t work, to just put some hydrocortisone cream on it, and that should do the trick. She said that some babies just have worse reactions to the heat/sweat than others and recommended that I dress her as cool as possible and just try to lotion her up as much as possible to try to “stay ahead” of the rash. Easy enough!

Long story short, I was pretty much already doing what the doctor recommended, but I feel better knowing it’s nothing serious and not an allergic reaction to anything. Glad to report that our sweet girl is still just as healthy as can be! :)

-S