Joshua is 4 months old!

As of today Joshua is 4 months old, wow! He also had his 4 month check-up. He is 14lbs (50th percentile) but that is with a full stomach and full diaper. He's also 24 inches (25th percentile) and his head is 17 inches around (90th percentile). The pediatrician was very impressed that he has already rolled from back to belly. She said he should be laughing any time now, something we are really looking forward to. She is increasing his dosage of Zantac due to his increase in size. When he's able to sit up by himself we can try to wean him off of it.

The poor nurse tried for 10 minutes to get him to take his oral vaccine and he wouldn't swallow it. She thinks he got enough of it but wasn't very happy about it. Of course it wasn't as bad as the shots, it broke my heart to hear him scream but by the time we got out to the car he was asleep. He then slept for about 2 hours.

So we had the big discussion about solids. She said we could start now if we wanted to. She doesn't believe that babies are any more likely to develop food allergies if they start solids early. She thinks because he can hold his head up he can start now. She also claimed he has doubled his birth weight but he hasn't. He was 7lbs 13oz at birth. That means he has to be 15lbs 10z to double his birth weight. He has 1lb 10oz to go, that will take at least a month if not more.

She claimed that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting between 4 and 6 months. I read that they recommend waiting until 6 months along with: World Health Organization, UNICEF, US Dept of Health & Human Services, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Dietetic Association as well as Australian & Canadian health organizations.

These are the signs that babies are ready for solid foods. Baby can sit up well without support. Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue. Baby is ready and willing to chew. Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development. Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth. He isn't showing any of these.

These are the reasons to delay solids until at least 6 months especially for breastfed babies. Delaying solids: gives baby greater protection from illness, gives baby's digestive system time to mature, decreases the risk of food allergies, helps to protect baby from iron-deficiency anemia, helps to protect baby from future obesity and helps mom to maintain her milk supply. Ok, I'll get off my soap box now. He is a very health baby boy and I am thankful everyday that he's here.

We went on Sunday to the Jewish Food Festival at the temple and spoke to the Rabbi. Joshua's naming will be Saturday, April 18th, yay! My mom is super excited because she will be spending almost a week with us, the week prior to the naming. She is going to help me plan everything, I'm excited! I have to find out if the food we bring has to be kosher, if so we will have to figure out if we are cooking or if we can buy kosher food. I am going to be getting a cake and I would like it to have his hebrew name on it. I also have to get party supplies and get him an outfit for the naming. We will be busy that week for sure.