4 month well-baby visit

Since Rayleigh's last visit with Dr. Coleman on Friday, July 30th, she had a seizure the following day at -6:30a. Then she went Sunday-Wednesday seizure-free! Yesterday she had a seizure at 9 am. We called the neurologist's office and they said that her current Phenobarbital level was in the normal range but at the lower-end of the normal range and that we could easily raise her dose to 9ml from 8ml with no problems and it will better help prevent seizures. So we started that dose tonight.

Now rewind to this morning. Rayleigh had her 4 month well-baby visit. For those of you who don't know, a well-baby visit is a regularly scheduled visit with the pediatrician where they will weigh the baby, measure the baby, check eyes, ears, nose and mouth and then ask questions about her feeding, schedule, and progress along with answer any questions and let you know what to expect within the next few weeks like teething or diaper rashes.

We had finally gotten clearance from Dr. Coleman to get Rayleigh's 6 week shots done so we started those today. It is best for us to spread her vaccines out rather than get several at one time. Personally, I feel that this is the way to go regardless of the condition so that you don't overload the baby but especially for Rayleigh with her epilepsy. Side effects of some vaccines includes seizures or fevers (which increase her chances of having a seizure) so spreading them out lowers the chances of these. Today she got her Rototeq for the Rotovirus bacteria and a combined shot that included Polio along with 2 other bacteria preventing vaccines. So she had one shot that had 3 vaccines in it and then Rototeq is a liquid medicine she drinks.

Her well-baby visit with Dr. Hanes went very well. Rayleigh is right on track for weight and length for her age: 13.5 lbs & 24 1/2" long!! Our little bug is getting big! We talked about her feeding schedule and how she's still doing really well breastfeeding and eating more at a time so not eating as often during the day. Dr. Hanes said that now that she is 4 months old we can begin giving her jarred fruits and veggies. Dr. Hanes explained that it is best to give her one fruit for 3-5 days and then switch to a vegetable for 3-5 days. You should do each new food for this amount of time so that if she has an allergic reaction we will know what food it is to. We should also alternate between fruits and vegetables so that she doesn't get a preference to either one. No meat or full-dinner jarred foods for a few months though. Rayleigh eats rice cereal every once and a while and Dr. Hanes said that we should start by added jarred fruit to her rice cereal to begin the transition. So we're going to go this weekend and pick her out some great starter fruits and veggies! I also plan to get the little baby food processors and make some of our own organic foods for her!