4 Month Check Up!

Annabel had her 4-month appointment this morning. It was another tough one, with pretty much the same immunizations as last time. Four shots!! And since she's a little older, more aware of her environment, she did NOT like the shots for sure this time.

Getting her height measurement: 24.8" (75th - 90th percentile)

Weighing in: 12 lbs 12 oz. (25th - 50th percentile) -- Like the flower? This is a G-Rated blog, remember? :-)

Head measurement: 16" (50th percentile)

A happy and unsuspecting Bellie awaits the next part of her visit.

Yucky shots! Daddy comforts Annabel after she receives her immunizations.

Our pedi said that we can start Annabel on cereal anytime in the next month. He said there's no need to hurry since she's gaining weight consistently. I'm in no hurry myself because I'm really enjoying nursing her. She's not going to be a baby for much longer! I've gotta enjoy this while I can. On a side note though, Target did have organic rice cereal on sale, so I went ahead and bought some. It was still more expensive than the regular rice cereal, but I'm going to try to get on the organic bandwagon and see how Annabel does on it. It's even called "HappyBellies" -- it's a sign, right?

Speaking of which, I've been thinking I'm going to TRY (see? I said TRY... I'm giving myself an out in case I give up) to make her food myself when she starts on fruits and veggies. So I don't want to go overboard on the organic produce-buying. One of my parenting/pregnancy magazines cites a resource that lists the fruits and veggies with the highest and lowest levels of pesticides so that you can prioritize which ones to buy organic.

The 15 fruits and veggies with the highest levels of pesticides (highest to lowest order): peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, grapes (imported), pears, spinach, potatoes, carrots, green beans and hot peppers.

The 15 fruits and veggies with the lowest levels of pesticides (lowest to highest order): onions, avocado, frozen sweet corn, pineapples, mango, frozen sweet peas, asparagus, kiwi, bananas, cabbage, broccoli, eggplant, papaya, blueberries and watermelon.

You can view the whole list here.

Again, we'll see how long I can stick to this before I throw in the towel and go for convenience. With the added costs of child care, we're cooking more often than we were before, so hopefully, this will just be another step in the cooking process! But, since I'm not starting Annabel on solids for another month or so, I guess I can procrastinate thinking about it for a little while.

What about you guys? Any stories or advice to share about cooking for your little one(s) or buying organic? As always, comments and feedback are appreciated!!

Cheers!