Baby Got Back (Junk in the Trunk, Part 3)

19lbs 10 oz! Hope everyone is lifting weights because she's heavy now. We went to the doctor today. The wait was a bit long but it's worth it. I ran into my friend Shannon there who is seeing Dr Ghosh, my Ob/Gyn who is in the same office. We always run into someone we know there!

At Stella's 4 month shots in the U.S., she screamed her head off for 20 minutes before we could even collect our things to get out of the exam room. The nurse there gave her the shots and it was a frustrating, drawn out process. Dr. Thondup is the king of shots. He had me carry her upright with her head on my shoulder. I backed her up to him so she didn't see him. He pulled down her pants, slightly undid her diaper and gave her the shots...quickly. What a difference. Her first shot she didn't even feel, but then she cried for about 10 seconds after the Prevnar shot because I think it has a pretty big needle. As she started to cry, he flung open the door to his office. He said that way she'd know it was all over. The second he did that, she stopped crying. Babies are smart, he always reminds us.

Dr. Thondup said he could tell by Stella's expression that her next big obstacle is "stranger danger." Dan liked the term. But it's very, very true. She isn't all that great with new people unless we're holding her. Anyway, she's doing fine. Her weight is in the 90th percentile and she's also 27.5 inches long which is the 97th percentile. At least she's back on the grid. I thought she was probably longer because her 6-12 month onesies are showing stress at the neckline which means they are getting too short. She can start eating chicken next month. Dark meat only, Dan jokes. She'll then go to three meals a day. That's going to be hard as it's quite time consuming to feed her solids as it is. And, she is a complete mess. Last night, somehow her bangs got plastered to her forehead with cereal and I cleaned green beans out of her nose and ear canal.

She was all smiles in the taxi on the way home. She's napping now and then we'll go to coffee with her friends later.