Friday I took Jace to his 12 month wellness check appointment. They measured him at 22.8 pounds and 31 inches. He is maintaining his 50th percentile weight, height is 85th percentile and head size is 92nd percentile. The doctor said he looked great and has hit all of his expected milestones.
I always feel like the doctors are judging you when you bring your kid in... even though I'm sure their not. There are just so many questions... how many ounces of milk does he drink? what type of water does he drink? what carseat is he in? where is he sleeping? do you have guns in the house? is he exposed to second hand smoke? was your house built before 1978? how have you been cleaning his teeth? is he talking yet? how many words? does he call you mama? does he respond to his name? when did he start walking? does he have any behavioral problems? etc. etc.... I know they have a checklist of questions to ask, but sometimes I feel like I want the doctor to reassure me I'm doing everything right, instead of just moving on to the next question.
We discussed carseat safety and I decided, based on her recommendation, to keep Jace rear facing as long as he fits the weight requirements (up to 35 pounds) and is happy that way. Even though he could face forward now that he's over 12 months and over 20 pounds, she said that the longer he stays rear facing the better. So no end in sight to the ol' hoist-over-the-back-of-the-carseat-in-my-super-small-two-door-suv. Oh well, safety first.
We also discussed his allergies pretty in depth. They drew a couple vials of blood to test his immune systems reaction to both eggs and milk protein. This was the same test that he had done at 6 months. The doctor said based on the information I've given her she thinks his milk protein allergy has at least gone down, if not completely gone away... which is what I had suspected as well. She did say that the egg allergy usually lasts in kids longer and may not go away until preschool age. I was just happy to hear that she thought it would go away in childhood, and wouldn't be a life long issue. It will take a while for me to get the results back, probably right before Thanksgiving. Since blood tests aren't always the most reliable form of allergy test, I will also be making an appointment for Jace to see an allergist for more in depth testing. (If these tests show there is still an allergy.) It usually takes a couple months to get in to see an allergist, but they will do alot more in depth testing, and give more conclusive answers and directions for what to do going forward. They will also evaluate if I will need to have an epi-pen on me at all times in case of accidental exposure to eggs. That sounds scary, so I'm trying to be optomistic it won't come to that.
I felt so horrible for Jace when he was having his blood drawn. He had just gotten 4 shots in his little chubbers thighs and then had to be held down by three of us to have 3 vials of blood taken from his arm. At least with shots, it's quick... with a blood draw it can take several minutes to get a good vein and get what they need. Poor guy... the nurse gave him 4 stickers when he was done, and I was shocked to see that he actually started smiling when she gave them to him. I looked at the back and the company who makes the stickers is called "The Smile Makers", I guess it's true! I had no idea he'd be that into stickers. I was just happy to see his bubbly personality coming back.
After he went through all of that torture I wanted to stop at the store to get him a "treat", but I stopped myself realizing he had just gotten a ton of birthday presents last week. It's not that I'm materialistic, and I'm definitely very frugal with my money, but I have a horrible weakness for buying little gifts for Jace. I just love him so much and want to see him happy, and exploring new things makes him happy. I guess that book about the different 4 different languages of love would probably catagorize me as the "gift giver". Alot of times we will run into Target to pick him up some milk or groceries, and I realize he's always so well behaved and patient while I shop, so I usually will stop by the dollar section of the store and get him something to play with. Ok, now I feel like a shopaholic rationalizing my shopping addiction... but seriously, if the item is a dollar it doesn't count right??? right.
After that I headed in to work and was happy to get some of my office work caught up without Jace being there with me. (He was at home with Tate.) At work a woman came in and filled out an application and lease, meaning that my current apartment is now rented for February 1st. No looking back now. This woman is also a property manager at an apartment complex in Woodbury and she'll be my replacement at work when I'm done. It's a little strange to have this all be so finalized. Big changes ahead.
Tate planned on going to bed early and hunting all day Saturday, so I actually got to leave the house for a few hours after work and hang out with some of the girlfriends I've met through my mom's group. It was SO NICE. I don't remember the last time I left the house by myself with the exception of going to work. It helps keep your sanity to get some time to socialize with other adults. A few of us got together at someone's home in Blaine. She made us stuffed shells and salad for dinner, and had the most amazing chocolate chip cheese ball.... I can't even describe it, it tasted like everything good in the world: butter, sugar, cream cheese, and chocolate. Yum! I feel very lucky to have met some moms in my area that I really feel I have things in common with and can consider friends. I think there is just something about having a child that almost immediately bonds you with other people.
Not that I don't still love my child-less friends, it's just different now. Staying out late is now 11pm instead of 3 am, and my conversations revolve around sippy cups, baby carriers, storytime, the childrens museam, dr suess, elmo, singamajigs, new words, diapers, and super exciting monster mit washcloths... I'm sure my child-less friends get annoyed with me anyways, all of that stuff is pretty boring to an "outsider". I would never say that we "don't understand" eachother anymore... but in a way, it's somewhat impossible for things to stay the same after one person becomes a parent. I'm excited for some of my friends to have kids some day so that I can feel like I'm on the same page with them again. A couple of my closest friends have always been very understanding of being flexible with my schedule and volunteering to help me out with Jace if I need a sitter... I'm looking forward to returning the favor when they have kids. Hopefully it's not too many years away! :)
Speaking of kids... Jace has being doing so many new cute things lately. He's been singing along whenever one of his toys is playing a song, he has a couple of toys that sing the ABCs, that's his favorite one to hum along to. He also has been copying the noises we make, and words we say, alot more. He's become the king of mimicking. His favorite game this week is to play together in his new tent. He loves to stand up in the tent and then fall backwards sliding down the side of the tent, shaking his head back and forth. I think you'd have to see it to understand how funny it is. He will do it over and over and over, until he wipes himself completely out and is ready for a nap. Another cute thing (and then I'll stop) that he's been doing is waving and saying "bubye" to his sound machine once I turn it on to "rain" each night. I think it must be his way of saying goodnight to the sound machine, who knows, either way it's cute! I just love him so much, I wish there was a way to show him... I guess for now squeezing him, tickling him, kissing him, and laughing with him will have to do!
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