Owen had his 4 month well check on December 16th. He weighed 16 lbs and 2 oz and is 25 3/4 inches long - both put him in the 75th percentile. He received his round of vaccinations and surprised me that he didn't really cry very much this time. But he also didn't sleep much after this round either. The next day I could tell he didn't feel like his normal self and didn't seem to know what he wanted.
The doctor gave us the go ahead to start giving Owen cereal. First Dr. Simmonds asked me how Owen was sleeping. I explained that he is not doing as long of stretches as he used to. He seems to be up every 2-3 hours in the night and only rarely does a good 5 hour stretch. That was when the doctor said that Owen is at the age where we can start cereal. As if to imply that cereal will help him sleep. However, my research and other "experts" I have talked to all say that it is simply a development milestone and completely normal for a 4 month old to experience sleep regression. Like everything related to babies, there are strong opposing views regarding the introduction of solid foods. It seems that if you do it too early you could be opening your baby up to food allergies and if you start too late then he will never learn to eat properly and I guess will need to nurse for the rest of his life. Most (but not all) resources say that 4-6 months is the window of the "right" time.
I decided to wait a little while longer. I wasn't convinced from any angle or any argument. And truthfully this just seemed like a step I wasn't ready to take. I couldn't believe we were already at this point. Introducing solid food to my little baby just seems like a slippery slope into being all grown up. I am rather surprised that I felt this way. Wasn't I the mother who recently admitted that the newborn stage was not my favorite and I was looking forward to Owen growing and becoming more independent? But here I am now at a comfortable place, loving our routines and systems and not wanting to rock the boat yet. Soon but just not yet.
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