The "official" 6 Month Appointment and another FIRST!!

We had Bennett's "official" 6 month appointment today. Yes, I realize he is now 6.5 months old, but we delayed it because he was due for his Synagis shot on the 11th and his Ped. doesn't like to immunize and do Synagis too close together.

There was really nothing too exciting or surprising about the appointment today. Bennett weighed 12 lbs 7 ounces, which is a 3 ounce gain from last week. They measured his length at 23 3/4 inches, but when I told her the Pulm's office just measured him at 22 5/8 last Thursday using their special measuring table, she said that would definitely be more reliable than her method of drawing lines on the exam table paper. He is not on the growth chart (adjusted or actual) for either height or weight. His head circumference was 42 cm, putting him in the 10th percentile for 6 mos! At least ONE measurement is somewhat close to "normal"!!! The Pediatrician agreed with me that at this point his weight and height are not even within the usual and normal parameters even for a small baby. But she had no answers for me as to what could be causing it. She said yes, it is worrisome, BUT he looks like he is thriving and he's meeting all the developmental milestones for a 4 month old (his adjusted age) and in many ways is acting like a 6 month old! So, she said not to freak out and panic and be consumed with worry.

We're taking Bennett next Tuesday to see a gastroenterologist, and his Ped. and I are both really hanging all our hopes on this dude. He is a well known GI, and has a nutritionist on staff that will be able to help us with the growth issues. Something is terribly wrong, and no one knows what. My Ped. said she's never seen a baby be SO resistant to the treatment methods we have tried. This past Friday he's started putting up a fight eating again. He seems like he is in a lot of pain. :( Tuesday can't come fast enough!

BUT....she did tell me to go ahead and start giving him rice cereal. She said that at least has some calories, and we can use high calorie formula to richen it up even more. Bennett has been showing a lot of readiness signs for solids - particularly watching us like a hawk when we're eating, and reaching and trying to grab our food when eating. She said the danger in ignoring these signs is we may miss the window of opportunity and end up with yet MORE feeding issues. She said the recommendation is that he is taking cereal, fruit and veggies by 9 mos. But for now we're just doing the cereal b/c the fruit and veggies are very low in calories, and we don't need to be filling up his tummy with few calories.

So, we gave him his first cereal tonight! He did AWESOME. He acted like an old pro eating, and ate almost the entire bowl I made! I didn't even have to make it all that watery! He really seemed to enjoy it too!!

"Oh please mommy, please feed me some of that mushy stuff!!!"

Open up, here it comes!!

"Hm, this isn't too bad!"


"In fact, its delicious!!" "Gimme more mommy!!!"

Ahhhhhh - happy full tummy!!!



YAY Bennett!!!!