She's Shrinking!

Rachel had her 4 month checkup on Monday - she's doing great. Her measurements, though, are in a smaller percentile than they were last time. She's 24 1/4 inches long (35th%), 13 lbs 1 oz (24th%), and her head is 40.4 cm (22nd%). Mike wanted me to call him after the appointment to let me know how it went, and when I told him this, he went, "She's shrinking!" I assured him that, no, she is not shrinking, she's just not as big in comparison to other babies as she was last time (50th%). She still seems big though because her cousin Cicily is in the 10th percent for everything.

They always ask if I have any questions for the doctor, and my reply is always the same: "I have a list." I always start making a list about 2 weeks before our appointment, and most of my questions end with, "Is that normal?" And so far, the answer has always been yes. I'm definitely a first time mom. :)

Rachel had a blast, at least until the shots at the very end, because of the paper on the exam table. She laid there kicking her legs and squealing with delight at the paper crunching, and subsequently ripping. She had so much fun with it, in fact, that I tore off some to take home with us. :) She is going to love Christmas because of the paper, regardless of what's inside it.

She also has some eczema, and the pediatrician said that eczema, allergies, and asthma are all kind of interrelated, so he recommended waiting about a month before we start her on solid food. Plus one of the main reasons for starting solids is because the iron in breast milk decreases around 4-5 months, but Rachel gets iron in her formula already anyway. Then came the shots. :( She actually handled them a lot better this time than last time. There was still lots of screaming when they first poked her, but no crying later at night like last time so we didn't have to give her any Tylenol or anything.

The day before her appointment, Mindy's sister Jessica and her husband TJ stopped by to visit us on their way to Fruita (they live in Idaho)! Jess hadn't seen Rachel since she was born and none of us had met TJ yet, so we were so glad they came! Rachel kept staring at TJ - she definitely liked him. I think Rachel was just a bit shy though because she didn't laugh for them, which made me sad because it's so cute when she laughs. I'll have to post a video sometime of it. Thanks for coming to see us, guys!

Jess and Rachel

TJ, Jess, and Rachel - smiles all around. :)