Check-ups and Milestones

Hunter turned 4 months old on November 11. I can not even believe that four months have passed already since he was born. As of now, Hunter can roll over from his tummy to his back and from his back to his tummy. He holds his head up very well and can keep it steady for long periods of time. He can put his weight on his legs when we hold him up. And he wants to sit up, but is still too wobbly, even though his abs are really strong. Hunter can hold toys now and is able to transfer them from one hand to the other. He mostly just likes to chew on the toys, of course.

Hunter is also a tooth growing machine! He got his first tooth (the bottom right center one) right around when he turned 3 months old and the second tooth (the bottom left center one) on November 1. I was trying to capture his teeth in this picture, but Hunter wouldn't cooperate by maintaining his big smile long enough for me to snap a good picture. It's a cute picture anyway though and I'll keep trying to take a picture of those teeth. (I love his big eyes!)

Here are two more pictures of Hunter playing on his activity mat. He loves this toy. It makes him squeal with delight every time.

I took Hunter to his 4-month check-up at the doctor last Friday. He is doing well and is on track with all of his developmental milestones. He's 24.5 inches long (50th percentile) and his head circumference is 16 inches (25th percentile). He weighs 12 pounds 12 ounces, which is the 10th percentile. His didn't gain very much weight between his 2 month and 4 month check-ups. In this time, Hunter was diagnosed with eczema. In order to help with his skin issues, the pediatrician switched his formula to the Similac Alimentum, which is the expensive/gross one that Peyton was on too. Unfortunately, the formula didn't help his skin at all, made him spit up way more than he ever did before, and caused him to be incredibly gassy. The doctor decided to switch Hunter back to the regular Similac formula, so hopefully he'll catch back up with his weight soon, since he was really having no other problems with that original formula. However, since the prescription that the pediatrician gave us to help the eczema wasn't working either, Hunter has to see a special pediatric dermatologist. We'll be going to that doctor early in December, so hopefully he'll be able to help Hunter out. We're also going to get some blood work done on Hunter to see if he might be allergic to any foods in the future. Having eczema predisposes kids to allergies and breathing problems. (All of which Peyton has too...) Hunter also got a few vaccines, which made him pretty grumpy and tired for the rest of the day. But otherwise, Hunter is a healthy boy!

I decided to schedule both boys' check-ups at the same time, since Peyton's annual check-up was scheduled to fall right around Hunter's 4 month check-up. This was the first time that I ever took both boys to the doctor together. Luckily Peyton did a really good job of being good and patient while the doctor checked out Hunter first. He sat up on the table and the doctor let Peyton watch closely and "play" with her instruments. He has a doctor kit at home, which is one of his favorite toys, so he knew what everything was for already.

Peyton is also doing very well. He is 36.5 inches tall (25th percentile) and weighs a whopping 27 pounds 6 ounces (10th percentile). The doctor is not concerned with Peyton's weight because he has always been on the small side and once I assured her that he eats very well (and A LOT!), she said she's sure that he is just going to be on the small side. He is on track with all of his physical skills too, like being able to stand on one foot and being able to jump around. Besides having to continue with his daily breathing treatments, Peyton is healthy too.

Peyton is very advanced developmentally when it comes to his vocabulary, knowledge of numbers, letters, colors, how to spell his name, knowing his address, etc. The doctor had Peyton draw a circle, square, and plus sign. This is where Peyton needs to do some work. We'll be working on his writing a little more at home. While the doctor said that his drawing/writing skills are on par with a 3-year old's skill set, they are a little behind compared to his other academic skills, so she said if there is something that we wanted to work on, it would be that. The doctor has always been impressed with Peyton's brains. I'm so proud of him! Here's a cute picture of my big boy.

I'll end this long post with one more funny picture. I guess that Hunter was less than enthused with dinner that night.