Tales of Baby McCabe: 6 Month Check-Up

Today we had Nolan's six month check-up, even though he's closer to seven months than he is to six months. We got a little off schedule with his check-ups because his pedi wasn't available for a couple weeks after he turned four months, so we had a late four month appt. Vaccinations need to be two months apart, so his six month appt had to be a few weeks after his six month birthday. Now that we don't need to go back until nine months, we can go the week he turns nine months instead of waiting a few more weeks, since it will be well over two months between vaccinations at that point. Not that it really matters, but it bugged me that we got off track and were going when he was 4.5 months and 6.5 months.

The visit went very well! First, the nurse weighed Nolan. He is now 18 lbs, 10 oz. He's gained 3 lbs in the last couple months! That made me happy because he hadn't gained as much from ages 2-4 months, when his reflux got bad. But ever since we started solids and Prilosec for his reflux, he's been able to hold his food down and is now gaining weight again. Nolan's weight is in the 60th%.
Nolan's height is 27.75", which is the 82%. He is a long and lean guy! He was at the 80th% for his two month visit, but dropped to the 50th% for his four month, and is now back to the 82nd%. The nurse we had today thinks that they probably measured him inaccurately at the four month appt, because while babies and children go through periods of growth spurts and periods of slow growth, it seems extreme to jump from 80th to 50th and back up to the 80th over a period of four months.

Next, the nurse practioner came in. We discussed how much solids Nolan is eating (cereal/oatmeal with a veggie/fruit 2x per day) and how in the last few weeks he is waking up in the middle of the night earlier than usual and is absolutely starving. We all agreed that we think it's time Nolan gets three meals per day. He is going to start eating stage 2 foods now, which are still pureed, but have a combo of foods (eg: apples, bananas, blueberries in one). He also can start pureed meat (yummy, right?!). Nolan also can eat foods such as baby yogurt, cottage cheese, and small, mushed up table food. I'm excited for him to start these! He is showing signs that he is ready to eat these foods. He grabs at his bottle, sippy cup, bowl, spoon, etc. and tries to feed himself. Nolan is a good little eater!

After that, the n.p. looked Nolan over and thought he looked great (which obviously he is :) ). She thinks that over the next few months his reflux should really start to go away, so hopefully by nine months he won't have to be on medication anymore. If he needs it still, that's totally fine. But it would be great if he didn't need to have it.

Finally, the bad part of the check-ups happened...the dreaded SHOTS! For Nolan's first couple of check-ups we had the same nurse, who was a pro at giving shots. It was boom boom done! This nurse seemed rather new and didn't give the two back-to-back. She took a bit of time to prepare and give the second shot, so Nolan screamed for awhile from the first to second shot. But then like the true champ he is, once the shots were given and he was scooped up into our arms he stopped screaming and didn't cry or shed a single tear. Little toughie. He even gave the meanie nurse a half smile as she left the room.

I did have to give Nolan some Tylenol this afternoon and evening. He got a low grade fever from the shots and seemed to be achy from them. :( The Tylenol seemed to help, thankfully, and he turned back into my happy little man. Hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow!

We don't have the professional 6 month photos back, so I can't post those. I'm anxious to get them! Here are some photos from this week of Nolan being cute in this adorable outfit from Target. Gotta love the clearance section!