You Know Your 4 Month Old is Fat When...

...the first thing EVERYONE says when they see him is, "Look at those cheeks!"
...when people hear how old he is, they gasp.
...at four months, he's wearing 12 or 18 month clothing.
...your friend tells you, "If he has any more growth spurts, you'll have to sign him up for middle school!"
...you've got toned arms, but you haven't been lifting weights--just your baby.
...he weighs more than most one year olds you know.
...you can't shop for him in the baby section at Target anymore.
...the doctor tells you, "In all seriousness, make sure you take care of your back."
...you have to buy him a whole new wardrobe every month.
...he wears a cute shirt but spits up on it. By the time it gets through the laundry, it doesn't fit him anymore.
...the doctor predicts he'll be a right tackle.
...polite people call him a "healthy" boy.
...a short man at Daddy's office says your baby is the size of an 8 year old in his family.
...the doctor shows you a chart after he weighs your baby. The doc points to a nice curve and says, "This is where normal babies are..." Then he points to a point high above the nice curve and says, "This is where your baby is."


For real. We went to the doctor today. Isaac is almost 21 pounds--20 pounds, 14 ounces to be exact. That's the 99th percentile. 99 percent of babies Isaac's age are smaller than him. He's tall, too. 27.5 inches long. That's the 97th percentile. THANK GOD he's not in the 50th percentile for height or something. At least this way we know our "little guy" is proportionate and only big because of genes, not because mom is doing anything wrong.

In addition to getting weighed and measured and charming the socks off the nurse and doctor, Isaac had to get three shots. I didn't tear up this time, but it was heartbreaking. His "Owie!" cry is different from his "I'm cranky" cry, although both are ear-piercingly high pitched. His little face was so pitiful, though.

I also asked the doctor about solid foods, which a lot of people have been asking me about lately. "They" say you can start solids between 4 and 6 months, but I want to hold off until it's really necessary. Right now, Spike's food is super easy--it's portable, there's no preparation, very little clean up, and by golly, he likes it! "They" also say babies sleep longer at night once you give them rice cereal, but now that he's only waking up once or twice and sometimes sleeping all night, I'm in no hurry. So anyway, the doc said that as long as Spike is gaining weight so rapidly on just momma's milk, there's no need for solids. You introduce rice cereal when his weight gain slows and he still seems hungry after nursing. Cool. We can wait.

I also asked the doc about letting Isaac cry at bedtime....but that will be another post.