Fantastic four

The days of three quarter pound per week weight gain appear to have drawn to a close, but that's probably not a bad thing - at that rate, he would've been 37 lbs. at a year! Even at a mere half ounce per day, Bryce is still moving up on the growth charts. For his adjusted age of four months, he's in the 25th percentile for weight (13.6 lbs), and he's finally on the charts for height -- 5th percentile (23.75")! Of course, the numbers aren't important, but the fact that he's exceeding the expected growth rates for a baby his age is great news.

The real purpose of Bryce's visit to the pediatrician yesterday was yet another round of the insanely expensive ($3000/mo) drug Synagis, which is intended to help prevent RSV. However, the doctor gave Bryce a quick check-up as long as we were there and pronounced him fit as a fiddle.

The big news of the appointment, though, means much more to us than it does to our little squeaker. We asked Bryce's doctor if he thought it would be safe for him to interact more with his family, and we didn't exactly get the green light, but even a "proceed with caution" is better than the effective quarantine we've maintained until now. Apparently RSV is rampant this season, and it hasn't peaked yet, so we're still limiting visitors to healthy, vaccinated adults in Bryce's immediate family (grandparents, aunts, and uncles), but that's one step closer to the day we can remove the bubble wrap and treat him like a normal baby.

That's not all, though. The doc said that at this age, Bryce's digestive system should have matured enough that he can tolerate small amounts of cow's milk protein. So, Logan and I hit Cub Foods on our way home from the appointment, and Christie enjoyed her first Neapolitan ice cream cone since August!

Yet another step towards the old "normal." The prevailing wisdom is that babies born this early never entirely "catch up", but I'd say we're definitely narrowing the gap. Print this post