Super Long, A Little Chubby With A Small Head

Will had his 6 month (technically 6.5 months) wellness exam today. Here are his stats:

Weight: 16lbs 12oz (25%-50%)

Length: 28 inches (80%)

Head Circumference: 42 3/4 (10%-25%)

The part that amazes me is that these are based on other 6.5 month olds, not a 6.5 month old who should really only be 4 months old. I can't believe how quickly he has caught up to other babies his age! Developmentally he is also shortening the gap. He laughs, babbles like a madman, plays with his toes nonstop (I think he has a foot fetish), rolls front to back and back to front (crying the whole time), can grab a toy and bring it to his mouth (his most recent achievement...I was starting to worry about this one!), bats at objects, scoots himself around by pushing off with his feet, can bear most of his weight for long periods of time in a standing position (he LOVES to "stand"!), plays in his exersaucer and jumperoo like a big boy... The only thing I think he's a little behind on is the sitting. He does great in the Bumbo or with an extra Boppy around him (2 stacked on top of each other)...but he has absolutely no muscle strength around his middle to help him sit. He's doing great with his legs, but his tummy muscles are slacking a bit!

Outside of all of the normal wellness exam Q&A we also discussed his acid reflux and the recent discomfort he seems to be feeling. Apparently it's time to increase the Zantac (Dang! I was hoping to be off of that soon!), which I'm sure will cure him of the excessive spitup and crying that seem to be plaguing our feedings again. We also talked about the pooping issues...and the fact that even with 3 doses of lactulose (a "gentle" laxative) per day, the poor guy is still only letting loose once every 2-3 days. I would be fine with that except he obviously is uncomfortable for quite a while before each movement (usually a good 5 or 6 hours) and nothing makes him happy. Eventually he's ready to let all hell break loose and after he finally does, he's back to being our freakishly happy baby again. The solution? We are to start adding 1 oz of prune juice to his bottles twice a day and start him on fruits and veggies. She actually said that skipping the cereal phase altogether would be fine since it is mainly there to help babies get used to new textures and tastes...and he really doesn't need something else clogging him up. Tonight we tried sweet potatoes for the 1st time (it's all I had in the cupboard) and he actually seemed more receptive to it than to the rice cereal. That's a shocker...ha! Nasty, white, pasty stuff never thrilled me either... Oh and I did double check on Will's "freakishly happy" nature and asked if that were normal. The Dr. assured me that he is fine and we don't have to get him "tested" for anything. Hey...I just wanted to be sure...

Overall, the doc was excited to see how much progress our Wee Willie has made and so were we! Here are some recent pics of our "Little" Man (as if I don't already post enough)! Note the excessively rosy cheeks...I'm pretty sure the poor guy is teething!