Growing boys

The boys had their checkups last Friday: a late two-year checkup for Moses and a six-month one for Milo. The boys' checkups were done at the same time, which I usually try to avoid since it's chaos, but it was unavoidable this time and we all needed a good nap afterward.

Moses is doing well and growing like he should. Our skinny boy is 29 pounds and 37.25 inches tall, which puts him in the 93rd percentile for height and 50th for weight. His 2T pants started falling off recently, and I credit his non-stop movement for his weight loss (and mine, too). He has nearly all of his teeth: his eye teeth just broke the surface. His speech is still delayed, but it is picking up. If it hasn't improved much more by April, we're taking him in for a re-evaluation with the speech therapist. We know he'll talk in his own time, but we can't wait for those funny toddler-genius moments.


Some fun things he enjoys:

• Catching balls! He caught his first ball a month ago, to our surprise, and requests we play catch nightly now.
  
• Playing football and using his bike helmet as a football helmet.
  
• He adores baseball and football and cranes his next to see anything related to the sports.
• He shouts "go, go, go" at any sport we watch--we aren't sure where he picked that up since neither Dave nor I shout at the TV.
  
• Playing "backpack" or piggybacking on us as we run around the house.
• Showing more interest in the clothes he's wearing--preferring anything with a football or a baseball or jersey-like numbers. He also likes hats and headbands (think exercise).
• Brushing his teeth. I'm not sure whether it's the dot of toothpaste or the car toothbrush, but I have to restrict his brushing these days.
• Shoulder shrugging, just because.
  
• Making vehicle sounds for his cars, trains, plains, etc. His goldfish crackers also making swimming noises before they're eaten.
• TRAINS!
  

Milo's doing great, too. I can't believe he's already six-months old and sometimes worry I'm not challenging him enough because I still think of him as my baby! He is 18 pounds 9 ounces (50th percentile) and 27.25 inches (75th percentile). He doesn't have any teeth yet but he's chewing on everything. We're curious if we'll have to wait for those teeth as long as we did with Moses.

Milo enjoys:

• Sitting and playing on the floor, especially with brother's toys.
• Getting tickled or "eaten."
• Watching, watching, watching--he has to be in on all the action even if he's just a spectator.
• Belly scooting. I love watching him move around on his tummy, but he's getting a little too good at getting in to things.

Well, that's my long overdue update. I'd like to start posting more again soon, but time is short these days so I'm not going to make any promises.

Milo'sTwo Month Check Up

Milo had his 2 month check-up (at 10 weeks) this morning. All went well as usual and he got the age appropriate shots. Even though I know the shots are coming and that they'll be fine in no time, I always cry when my boys get those. It's so hard to seem them so upset.

14 pounds 5 ounces (93rd percentile)
25 inches (95th percentile)
40.5 centimeters head circumference (50th percentile)

Dave and I've joked that he's a little pinhead because he's getting so chunky everywhere but his noggin'. I guess our observation was correct!

I also talked to our pediatrician about Moses' lack of vocabulary (he has maybe 30 words total, only 10 of which are clear and understandable to others out of context). He's got a great listening vocabulary and can understand most anything we say, but he's just not meeting the 50-100 spoken words that our doctor wants to see at two years of age. So, we're taking Moses for a hearing test, and he's to begin speech therapy soon. I'll keep our fans posted!

Milo: Two Week Check-Up

Mr. Milo is two weeks old today! How do we celebrate? With a cold stethoscope, a tongue depressor, and a heel prick! We sure know how to party.

Milo's first appointment with our pediatrician was this morning. It was a pretty early outing for us, especially since I'm still trying to master getting out the door with two kids' diapers, drinks, toys, blankets, etc. Thankfully, I was able to drop Moses off at his Gran's on the way so that I could devote my attention to Milo at this first visit and Moses was guaranteed a much better time than I could have provided.

As for the appointment, all looked well and sounded great to Dr. Gray. Milo's growing like a weed: he's already 9 pounds 8 ounces (oddly, he didn't lose more than a few ounces in the hospital) and 22 inches.

Milo had the nasty heel prick test too, and after screaming fantastically for a couple minutes, he calmed and cooed himself to sleep. His little noises had the nurses giggling. Milo is a very noisy sleeper despite being at complete peace. Happy two weeks my little piglet!

18-Month Check Up

Before Moses and I went out of town Friday morning, we had his 18 month check up. It was a relatively uneventful doctor's visit so we were on the road in no time at all (details to come). His weight was 24 pounds 9 ounces (30th percentile), his height was 34.5 inches (97th percentile), and his head circumference was 49.9 centimeters (93rd percentile). Dave joked that he's a pumpkin head on a toothpick body.

He still only has four teeth, but he's teething right now so we expect to see some new ones pop through during the summertime. Despite having so few teeth at his age, he's a good eater and can keep up with his many-toothed peers.

He also doesn't have too great a vocabulary, but he's really started picking up words and sounds faster lately. I think it's a benefit to have cold (and ear infection) season behind us so hopefully that'll help with his language acquisition. Dr. Gray wasn't worried about it (and we're not either) as boys are slower than girls in that department and Moses is on target for everything else. We're just eager to open up the lines of communication.

-Lindsey

15-month Check Up

Today, Moses went for his 15-month check up. Dave was off from work today and offered to take Moses to the doctor and PDO so I could sleep in a little! I took him up on the offer but made sure to get all the details from Moses' visit to the doctor.

As usual, Moses is doing well and growing properly. He's 32.5 inches tall (90th percentile), 23 pounds 9 ounces (45th percentile), and 49.3 centimeters in head circumference (95th percentile).

He's got three teeth now, which he won't let us photograph--his two bottom ones are very visible and his top right tooth just broke the surface a couple days ago. We're to schedule his first dentist appointment for the summer. That'll be interesting...

Dr. Gray again suggested that we give him his immunizations, but we are postponing his 1-year and subsequent immunizations until after his 4th birthday or until we learn some definitive answers regarding the possibility of an Autism/MMR vaccine link. As for the other vaccines, I just think his immune system should be more mature before receiving so many live vaccines at once. In my opinion, that's asking a lot of anyone's body, let alone a one-year-old child. These are, of course, our own personal decisions on the matter, and we respect the choices our family and friends make for their own children regarding immunizations. I've just ordered a neutrally-written book on the subject that will help educate us more on the matter and inform our decision making process. Who knows? Maybe we'll make some revisions to our current schedule.

I also realized that I forgot to post his one-year check up information. The post was still in draft form so I just published it this morning but kept my original composition date. You can read it here.

-Lindsey

One-Year Check Up

Oops, I just saw that this was never published!

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All was well at Moses' check up on November 29th. He does, however, have a cold and that's been causing all the mucus (Uh, for a month?) issues. Dr. Gray was very accepting of our decision to postpone his vaccinations. He also said, again, that Moses' teeth should come up any day now because you can see the vertical lines on the gums. Sure. I'll believe it when I see it (them)!

Stats:

31 inches (90th percentile)
21 pounds (25th percentile)
48 cm. noggin (90th percentile--he definitely belongs in this family)

So, my little boy grew 11 inches and 12.5 pounds in 1 years and 2 days. I can't believe it!

-Lindsey

9 Month Check-Up

Yesterday, Moses and I went to visit Dr. Gray for his 3/4 year check-up. 9 months! I'm in disbelief. What happened to my helpless infant?

Then

Now

The check-up went well. Moses is 29.5 inches tall (75th percentile), 19.2 pounds (25th percentile), and his head circumference is 46.5 centimeters (73 percentile). I was shocked that his weight put him in the 25th percentile. Even though he's thinned out over the last few months, he still seems chunkier than most other kids. Dr. Gray assured me he was growing well and not to worry.

We discussed his continued lack of teeth and his severe separation anxiety. He said both were completely normal and that in time, we'll see his chompers and the anxiety will improve. In the meantime, there's not much to do but wait.

For next time (gulp...1 year!), we're to wean him from the bottle to the sippy cup. Of course! Now that he finally takes a bottle, we're supposed to say, "no, use this instead." A parent's job is never done... I'm also to strategize a plan for weaning him from breast milk to cow's milk after he turns one. It makes me sad that our special time will soon end, but he's getting to the point where I don't feel like I can offer him enough of what he needs--without him nursing constantly. He also really seems to enjoy feeding himself table food, and I just can't compete with the goodness that is chicken ravioli and carrots. I'm just thankful we'll make it to my goal of nursing for one year!

-Lindsey

6 Month Check-Up

It's been awhile since I posted, but today was his 6 month appointment so what better time to start up again.

Dr. Gray said everything looks great. He's 17 pounds 13 ounces (50th percentile), 28 inches (90th percentile), and his head circumference was 45.5 centimeters (90th percentile). Looking at those numbers, it seems our little chunk had a good growth spurt!

He seemed to *remember* Dr. Gray this time because he started crying as soon as he saw him. Of course, he had reason to cry as he had three shots and one oral immunization. Then, we had to go to the lab for a pin-prick so they could test his blood for anemia (it's standard for this check-up).

We still haven't seen any teeth, but we can see them just below the surface. I'll be happy when they break through because he's constantly gnawing on everything.

We also started him on solids a couple weeks ago. He's had applesauce, bananas, green beans, squash, and sweet potatoes. He likes applesauce and bananas the most but still prefers breastmilk more than anything. Since he associates me with breastmilk, Dave and his grandparents have greater luck feeding him solids than I do.


Moses is now "scooting." He'll lie on his stomach and push himself backwards or pivot on his belly. He hasn't figured out crawling but has managed to get in the crawling position on a couple of occasions. It won't be long until he's everywhere!



-Lindsey

4 Month Check-Up

We just returned from Moses' four-month check-up with a rave review. He's now in the 75th percentile in weight (15 pounds 10 ounces), height (25.75 inches), and head circumference (43 centimeters). We're relieved that he's proportionate, and our large heads have yet to doom him. Dr. Gray said he looks great. He's strong; He's on track developmentally; His first two teeth are almost here--All the things parents want to hear (well, we could argue the downside of teeth). And of course, we finished the visit with those pesky vaccinations, three shots and an oral dose. Poor kiddo turned bright red then screamed bloody murder. I didn't cry last time, but this time I teared up. Luckily, we have another two months to prepare for the next round.

On a lighter note, he got some summer shades:




-Lindsey