6 month growth charts

Nathaniel visited the doctor today for his 6 month well-baby checkup and vaccinations. His weight (19 pounds even) and length (28.5 inches) were measured, and the doctor remarked that Nathaniel's 95th-percentile length has been fairly consistent each time he's been measured, which is a good thing. She also noted that his current length now has little to no bearing on his eventual height. The only thing that's really significant about his current length is that he has outgrown his infant car seat and several of his outfits.

Here are Nathaniel's current weight and length charts (click charts to enlarge):





-Scott

Nathaniel's 6-month photo shoot

Nathaniel hadn't posed for any studio photos since his 1-month birthday, so Mom & I dragged him over to Olan Mills this weekend for some 6-month pix. The photo shoot seemed to take forever, but I suppose that's to be expected when there were 3 wardrobe changes and over 50 photos taken. Here are the top 14 pix... Please ignore the "Print Me" graphic on each photo.

-Scott

Nathaniel's first solid food, and then a bath

One of Ann's goals as a new Mom was to be the exclusive source of Nathaniel's sustenance for the first 6 months. I can happily report that she has now met her goal (in spite of returning to her family-unfriendly job 3 months ago). While she hasn't decided exactly when to wean Nathaniel, we thought that this weekend would be a good time to introduce him to solid food. Since a picture is worth 1000 words, I'll stop typing now, and I trust that the following 15000 "words" will tell the story of Nathaniel's introduction to rice cereal.

Hint: Instead of watching the pint-sized slideshow embedded below, I suggest clicking View Album below instead. When you're in the album, if you click the "Slideshow" link, then you'll be treated to a full-screen version of the slideshow.

View Album

Get your own

-Scott

Best of Nathaniel - March

It's the end of another month (Nathaniel's 6th), which means that it's time to post the best photos from March. The highlight (and lowlight) of the month: teeth!

View Album

Get your own

-Scott

Nathaniel's latest illness

Nathaniel began showing signs of illness earlier this week -- again. I say "again" because he had just finished a course of antibiotics for a diagnosed ear infection a week or so earlier.

So, Wednesday afternoon Ann took him to the doctor (a new doctor -- Nathaniel's regular doctor had the day off), and sure enough, the diagnosis was a double ear infection. The doctor prescribed a stronger antibiotic this time than the 2 previous courses of amoxicillin.

Unfortunately, almost as soon as we got a dose into him, up it came, along with everything else in his stomach! The same thing happened the 2 times Thursday that we gave him the antibiotic. Needless to say, Thursday was not a happy day for Nathaniel -- he refused to drink anything, he ran a high (103+) fever most of the day, and large amounts of mucous and drool were oozing out of his head. By the end of the day, he was dehydrated... His diaper remained dry all night (which at his age is not a good thing).

Ill and asleep in the Jumperoo Thursday

Friday morning, I took him back in to see his regular doctor. She looked into his ears and pronounced them OK -- just a bit "dusky" colored. As I described his symptoms, the doctor speculated that he might have influenza, which is apparently just beginning to strike in this area. So, she ordered a chest x-ray (results OK) and a nasal swab for influenza (results pending).

In summary, the doctor was sufficiently concerned with Nathaniel's condition to suggest admitting him into the hospital immediately for "observation" and to treat his dehydration with IV fluids. I was less than thrilled with this option, because my coworker had just related the miserable experience her 17 month old daughter had in the hospital the previous weekend.

Before I was able to express my opinion about the immediate hospitalization option, the doctor offered another option: inject an antibiotic immediately, begin a different oral antibiotic, administer breathing treatments at home as needed, and try to force some fluids down his throat before 5 PM. She said that if his condition didn't improve by 5 PM, then he'd need to be admitted to the hospital Friday evening. We agreed to give this option a try.

So, while I waited for the nurse to return with Nathaniel's injection, I grabbed a bottle of milk and jammed the nipple into his mouth. He protested mightily at first, but eventually he began drinking, and before I knew it he downed 3-4 ounces! Then he received his injection, and we returned home around noon.

Nathaniel napped until 1:30 PM, and then I was able to make him drink another 3-4 ounces of milk. Unfortunately, he refused the oral antibiotic that I offered him. Then, I began to change his poopy diaper, and as soon as the air hit his bare skin, he proceeded to urinate all over himself, my hand, and the changing mat... I never thought that I would be so happy to get peed on!

For the next 2 hours, Nathaniel happily played in his Jumperoo and on his play mat. Around 4 PM, he was getting tired, so I grabbed another bottle of milk, and I was able to get him to drink all 6 ounces before he crashed! At that point, I called his doctor to report the good news, and we agreed to a follow-up visit with the doctor next Thursday.

What a way to spend my day off!

-Scott