Helen is growing

Helen had her 4-month check-up today. In the past two months she has gained 2.5 inches and 2.5 pounds. That puts her at:

12 lbs 15 oz (between 25-50 percentile for weight, up from 10th percentile at birth)
25 inches (between 50-75 percentile for height)


This actually makes her out to be on the skinny side, since her percentile for weight is below hers for height. Hard for me to believe...she doesn't look overweight for a baby but she certainly has chubby little legs and feet.

She seems to be doing fine with her gross motor development (no surprise there, given that she never stops moving). The doctor wanted to know if she was rolling over yet. "Well, yes, Monday she did for the first time. She worked at it for about 15 minutes, getting her legs and head up before she flipped from her back to her front." The doctor looked surprised. "Oh, I meant from front to back. Babies don't usually go the other way before 5 months."  Well, that is easy, then, She has gone front to back for quite a while - it is almost like an instant reflex for her. I am not sure if she doesn't like being on her tummy, or she just can't control the flip.

The doctor also wanted to know if she had good head control while she was lying on her tummy. "Um, I think so. She doesn't spend much time there; she always flips right over. But she does fine with head control when sitting up in her exersaucer, which we started this week." That seemed more than adequate for the doctor.

Finally, she had to get her vaccinations - two shots and one oral vaccine for a whole battery of immunological upgrades (Diptheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, haemophilus b [prevents certain pneumonias, meningitis, ear infections], pneumococcal bacteria, and rotavirus). This, she didn't care for so much. She was cranky and feverish the rest of the day - didn't want to eat; wanted to sleep but didn't seem able. We finally gave her some tylenol which seemed to perk her right up for a few hours, but that just left her wide awake and wanting to play late tonight. Oh well.

It was very sweet to see John at the doctor's office with me. He was already pretty distraught by the end of the appointment when Helen got the shots, but he displayed quite a lot of empathy for a 3-year-old, I thought. When she cried, he cried. He tried to hug her and me all at the same time while sobbing. I tried to reassure him that she would be okay but he was not happy about what happened to his sister. I don't suppose that this will make it easier to get him in for his next booster shots a year from now.