6 Month Check-Ups

Serif had 2 doctor's appointments this week. Monday he went back to the Cardiologist for a check-up on his heart murmur. The visit went very well. The doctor said he sounded normal and he was not hearing the murmur at all. That being said, he said that it has healed and no more visits or tests are necessary. He proceeded to tell us that if he ever gets another murmur it would be totally unrelated to this first one. Apparently once they're healed they can not re-open.

Tuesday Serif had his regular well visit check-up. All went well and he was in a really great mood. Not sleepy at all this time. He did great with the 'squirt in the mouth' medicine this time. The nurse said it tastes like sugar water. Not sure why he wigged out on it in the past unless he just didn't like the idea of being made to take it. He wanted to hold it and suck on it this time. Everything's going to the mouth these days.He only got 3 shots this time. Of course he didn't like those and yes, he cried. Once we got him up his cry just sounded like he was sad and like it hurt his feelings (as well as his leg). I felt really bad for him, but Jeff and I stay upbeat with him to keep his spirits high. We've been noticing a difference in his cries lately and some of them are getting really sad sounding. It sort of melts you and makes you just want to cuddle him up. He really doesn't cry much though so that's a good thing. If he does start getting fussy, the front porch swing seems to always be a nice cure. He loves it out there! (These photos are of Shot 1 and Shot 3. You can see how it escalates.)
Now, what you've all been waiting for . . . the stats:
Weight: 21 lbs 9 oz (97th percentile)
Height: 27 - 1/2" (80th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17" (25th percentile)

Most of our questions this visit was on the subject of food. Last week I called the Doctor to see what the next step would be on feeding him because 2 servings of cereal at bedtime (plus milk) just didn't seem to fill him up completely. He said to go ahead and start him on food 3 times a day. Now up that point I was only giving him milk during the day and cereal at night. This was a big adjustment, but Serif LOVED the food and took to it like a charm. I was very proud of him. He started with squash then carrots then sweet potatoes. The doctor said to start with yellow, then orange then green then fruit. All the change sortof of made it a little tougher on his digestive system so we ended up starting the fruit before the greens. I guess he'll try some peas this weekend.

During the visit he continued to tell us that stage 1 and 2 babyfoods are fine for him. He even told us that our food is okay as long as it's not a 'choke-able'. I asked him what to expect within the next 3 months before we come back for his 9 month check-up. He described it as follows:

6 months - (food like canned vegetables) - smash 3 times with the bottom of a skillet. (and Stage 2 food)
7 months - smash 2 times . . . (and Stage 3 food)
8 months - smash 1 time . . . (and Stage 3 chunky food)
9 months - he should be able to eat whole peas!

Jeff was very excited about this. He's always trying to feed him our food and I've been much more reserved with all of that. The doctor said the things NOT to give him are nuts, honey and things like steak that he could potentially choke on. The only time we should give juice is if he's, hmmm . . . a good way to put this . . . a little backed up? He also said that eating 4-6 times a day will continue to be normal through the next visit. Since starting food, he's been eating every 4 hours rather than 3. It's amazing the difference in your day when you're not tied to that tight of a schedule. I guess he's eating 4-5 times a day now.

Here's the photo of Jeff and Serif at the end of the visit.
We tried to get some 'family' shots with the iphone. You can see how they turned out. So, here's our 'photo-booth' shots from the end of Serif's visit.