Six month appointment

The girls had their six month doctor appointment last Thursday, and they are both doing awesome!

Danika:
Weight - 12 lbs 13 oz (2%)
Length - 24 inches

Johnalyn:
Weight - 13 lbs 4 oz (4%)
Length - 24 inches

We switched to a new pediatrician (a nurse practitioner), and she is amazing.  We established a primary pediatrician as soon as the girls were discharged, but she left to be a full-time hospitalist, so we've been doctor shopping and finally found 'the one'!  She is very realistic and sees the girls for who they are, just not stats on a chart.  Yes, they are six months.  Yes, they are small for six months.  Yes, they're barely on the charts as far as height and wight.  BUT they are gestationally 4 month and are right on track for an average 4 month old and are growing steadily and strong.  They're on their own growth chart.

Developmentally, they are exceeding in communication.  They will look at you and blabber and tell you 'stories' until they fall asleep.  You talk to them, they respond back in baby gibberish.  You tickle them or act silly, they will belly laugh. They interact with each other.  They get angry at each other when one has a toy the other wants.  They scream when they're hungry, moan when they're tired... everything they should be doing.  It's so incredible watching this stage of development.

Johnalyn has now decided to start scooting everywhere.  That girl has to be moving all. the. time.  She sees a toy that lights up, she will maneuver herself over there in record time just in time the toy is done with it's song... but she doesn't care because she just wants it in her mouth.  Danika is more content to stay put.  She'll take whatever is within arms reach and chew on it.

They both LOVE their exercausers, but we were told to 'put them far away' from them by the Help Me Grow therapy program because they are both showing signs of tight quadriceps, so we're doing some exercises to get them stretched out and become a little bit more flexible.  Mom confession:  We only put one away.  I didn't have the heart to take them both away.  Both of the girls love it and interact with the toys on the exercauser so well... watching their face light up when we put them in there is priceless.  We just limit their time in it.  Everything is okay in moderation, right??

One of the biggest concerns we're dealing with is their feedings.  They both randomly fight their feeds.  They will arch their back, scream, and bat the bottle away if they see it coming towards them.... randomly.  Sometimes they take the bottle with no problem, other times it's a battle.  We've thought of and tried everything and anything about this... daycare being the biggest hurtle.  It seems that they eat the best with NO stimulation around them.  No talking, no visual stimulation, or auditory stimulation.  At daycare, the only way for them to take a good bottle is if the daycare director brings them into her office and feeds them.  Now, that's just not realistic when they start daycare full time (on Monday).  SO, our doctor suggested we try a sippy cup! She said that some babies just don't take to bottles, and sippy cups might be the answer, so stay tuned!

We're delaying introducing solids for another month, or so.  Our doc (Vickie) doesn't think they are ready... they're not showing some signs that they ready, and the American Pediatric Association has decided now that it's best to wait to introduce solids until six months because they're finding that introducing solids sooner may harbor issues later in life such as gluten intolerance, Crohn's  disease, food allergies, etc.  Basically, they believe that introducing solids before the intestinal tract is fully developed may cause issues... so we're waiting until the girls are 6 months adjusted (8 months actual).

Now, I saved the best news for last... They don't need helmets!!!  She said that they aren't even remotely close to needing helmets!  Thank you Dr. Shawn for all the chiropractic adjustments!!!  PROOF that chiropractic care worked!  Our girls had a definite flat spot on the right sides of their heads when they met Dr. Shawn... now, they are perfectly round with no cosmetic concerns at all.  Sometimes doctors worry about misaligned ears (making sunglasses crooked) due to lasting issues with a previously flat spot, but they have no lasting effects of the flat spots, and torticollis isn't even a diagnosis anymore.  And even better, now that they roll over to their bellies, they can now sleep on their bellies if they want, which they do, which is even better for their head alignment!  Woo hoo, girls!!
Enough jibber jabber! Until next time...