Well-child visit, going well!

[I forgot to post this a while ago, so I am backdating it. -Guinevere]

A mere 15 days ago, Rip (the baby formerly referred to as RJ) had his well-child visit at with our charming Country Doctor. (Jolly was not excited about the fact that Rip would get a shot, so he opted to play with a friend instead while Rip and I went solo.)

Rip stats at the time were: 20 lbs even, 47.2 cm head circumference (quadruple-checked!), and length... well, the measurements ranged between 27.5 inches and 29 inches, depending on who did them. They really need to get one of those height boards. I think we'll call it 28 inches for the baby book. Rip is just very squirmy these days.

In the intervening fortnight between then and now, Rip proceeded to eat his way into another 1.8 lbs, thus doubling his birthweight (right on schedule - this is "supposed" to happen now). Thus also explaining why I've been so hungry and why we had a night with waking up every two hours yesterday. This is actually the time when babies are supposed to slow down in their growth a bit, actually, so packing it on like a newborn is even more impressive.

In light of his hugeness, the doctor gave us the go-ahead to try solids whenever we feel like he's ready, politely saying "larger babies sometimes need a little something extra sooner"... which, as far as we can tell, translates to "you've no choice when you're large!" from one of our favorite movies (Siam Sunset).

We decided he was ready to at least give it a try. Rip's interest level has been through the roof and I'm not sure he really had any suck reflex whatsoever based on the fact that he's been exclusively gnawing on pacifiers, hands, toys, and bottle nipples for a long time (bottles have been given up in favor of sippy cup spouts that he can bite down on to make liquid come out). His head control is pretty good, too - though he flails around a lot when he gets excited.

This all added up to a fun first attempt with a tiny bit of rice cereal and a lot of breastmilk, and we've been playing around with slightly more cereal-y texture on days that we have the time and inclination. The first time he was just a little confused but by the second time he'd figured out what this was all about and he's gleefully smiling and shoveling it in and grabbing at the spoon while he slurps the cereal off it.

I'm excited not to be the sole giver-of-food anymore! Jolly is really eager to help and I can't wait until Rip's coordination improves sufficiently that big brother can orchestrate the feedings!