24 Month Well Visit

This afternoon we had Caleb's 24 month well visit. The first at our new doctor's office, and I have to say that I really liked our new doc. He spent quite a bit of time with us getting to know Caleb before doing his exam and talking with me afterward to make sure he had answered all of my questions. Caleb is right on track with all of his milestones, no surprise there. This kid thinks he's about 5 years old when we're at the playground and started using two word sentences almost 6 months ago. I also made sure to check with the doc about a small, pea sized lump that I noticed on his neck about a month ago. Doc says that it's nothing to worry about, but keep an eye on it for any growth. Probably just a lymph node. There hasn't been any change in size in the last month, so we'll just make sure to check it every now and then. Here are the stats from the appointment:

Vaccine: 1 routine shot, and 1 flu mist up the nose. Flu mist was first, and it was not easy holding his head still while the nurse shot that thing up his nose. Not too bad though. Next came the shot, and for the 1st time I felt HORRIBLE when he got it. Usually I am able to detach myself from the crying by telling myself that vaccines are good for him. This time I felt awful as I held down his arms while he got the shot because I knew that he just couldn't possibly understand why mommy would do that to him. He screamed and cried for a few minutes, but calmed down pretty quickly.

One more stick came when he got a finger prick to check hemoglobin levels and test for lead. Hemoglobin was great, and we'll know about the lead tomorrow morning but I suspect that it'll be just fine.

Weight: 28lbs, 10oz (50th percentile)

Height: 35.75" (75th percentile)

The doc said he has a great ratio of height and weight, and to keep putting good food in front of him.

So that's pretty much it. A successful trip to the doc for our 2 year well visit. Next well visit will be in 6 months, but I'm sure we'll be there sooner with cold and flu season in the northeast.

18 Months {The Details}

Stats:
Height - remained steady at 33.5" from three months ago (still 90th percentile). I find it very hard to believe that he hasn't gotten any taller in the last three months, just that the archaic measuring system they use ridiculously inaccurate for a kicking and screaming toddler.

Weight - Gained about 2 pounds since December now at 26lbs, 1oz (50th-75th percentile)

Shots - No immunizations this month, just a TB test which we'll check in two days to make sure he hasn't been exposed yet (freaking backwards United States refusing to vaccinate on this because then we wouldn't be able to test for it)!

Overall - He hated seeing the nurse, hated when she layed him down to measure him, hated when I took away "his" keys while he was weighed, hated when the doctor came in, and REALLY hated the TB test. But...he is getting two teeth (see below), was up at 5:30am (ohmygoshIamsotired!), and did sit still in his car seat without saying, "stuck" every 10 seconds while I ran a few errands after the appointment, so I headed to the McDonald's drive through and him his very first chocolate milk (and an iced vanilla coffee for mommy)!


A few seconds after I took this picture, the stuff was gone!

New Words: At the end of February we sat down and took inventory of all of the words that Caleb was saying to that point. It was somewhere around 130 words. For about a week after that we were pretty good about keeping track as new words popped up. Then we started to slack a bit again. But the list now stands at 193+. As you can see, he seems to be picking up ~10-20 words/week. I think you can click on this to make it larger.


New skills: Kicking and throwing {probably not so new, but definitely something that he's really enjoying now}. Running faster than ever. Trying oh-so-hard to jump but ends up doing something that looks more like a gallop. Swimming lessons are going GREAT despite the change of instructors twice since we began in September (and you know, Caleb's stranger anxiety). He's so, so close to being able to backfloat on his own, and he's become quite the little fish in the pool. He kicks his little legs as fast as he can to bring himself up to the surface, and is starting to be able to roll himself onto his back (with some obvious help from Mommy). He's even started using the word pool (don't think I have that on the list above - 194+ words) when we talk about going to swimming lessons.

Milestones: Last month I was wrong. He only had 1 new tooth (upper, right canine). The second upper canine came in this month and he's also on the verge of popping through both of the bottom canines. I suspect that the bottom right one will arrive within a week, and the other will definitely be here before next month's updates. Fingers crossed we should be done with teething for at least a few months after that and back to sleeping in a little later in the morning. Doc says that his teeth look great, and we'll start brushing with baby toothpaste this week.

Eating: Not doing too bad. There are definitely meals where he really doesn't eat a whole lot, but in the course of a day he will typically eat at least one really good meal.

Favorites: Still pretty obsessed with rabbits. I took him to see the Easter Bunny earlier this week since he loves bunnies so much, but apparently 6-foot tall bunnies are pretty scary! New obsession is gorillas thanks to Memaw. We {randomly} have several books with pictures of gorillas, and Caleb will find those books in the pile and demand "go-wil-wa." He also LOVES keys, but not just any keys. We used to be able to get away with giving him "Pop Pop's Keys" {a set of keys for my in laws cars that we keep at our house}. Now he knows that those keys don't do anything cool like, you know, set off the car alarms outside the house, or make the lights flash on mommy's car or cause the trunk to pop up. He insists on having our keys any time he so much as catches a glimpse of them or hears the shake. Which brings us to....

Toddlerhood! Not even a week ago I was having a conversation with some of my mommy friends telling them that Caleb rarely has tantrums, we think because he can communicate so well. Well, I should have knocked on some wood because we've been rocketed into full blown toddlerhood this week. Tantrums and outbursts have become a common occurrence. Today he kicked and screamed the whole way to the doctor's office (about 5-10 minute drive from our house) because I had to take my keys away from him so I could drive! It was definitely an adjustment the first few days, but Andrew and I had a talk about how we're going to deal with these outbursts, so we feel prepared moving forward.

All in all, Caleb is doing great. This is truly an awesome age/stage, as we get to watch Caleb soak up every little thing. I can't tell you how many times in a week I say, "I didn't know he knew that word/how to do that!" He's growing and changing everyday, and I just want to freeze time and have him stay this age forever. Hard to believe that we're well on our way to 2. I feel like I'm gonna blink and he'll be headed off to college. Even in the midst of those tantrums, I find that I'm continually reminding myself to cherish these moments, because they will be over all too soon!

Growing Like A Weed!

Today we had Caleb's 15 month well visit, and I can't believe how fast he's growing. Andrew and I were thinking that he'd really shot up in the past week or so, but I was shocked when I heard that he had grown 3 whole inches since his last appointment 3 months ago. His weight gain has definitely slowed down despite the fact that he is a human garbage disposal. While we were in PA for the wedding last week he ate 3 full breakfasts one day! I was a little surprised to see that he's only gain about a pound and a half since his 1 year well visit. When you pick him up he feels like a load! Every other baby I hold seems so much lighter. Andrew and I really think this is related to the fact that C is a solid mass of muscle so holding him takes some strength when he wiggles!

Here's Caleb exploring the exam room while we waited for the doctor.


Finally the nurse came in to measure and weigh Caleb, and he freaked out when she brought the tape measure up to his head and continued screaming while on the scale. Here are the stats from this appointment:

24 lbs (even) - 50th percentile
33.5" - above 95th percentile (doctor says he's the height of the average 2 year old)

So, what else is Caleb up to these days? Well, he's a talking machine. I swear every day he starts saying a new word. I can't even remember all the words he says now, but here are a few of his favorites: duck, bird, fish, meow, up, down, on, snack, eat, more, nana (meaning banana or any fruit really), ball, goal (when he kicks or throws the ball into his soccer goal), truck, wall, guitar (we have two Wii guitars, ok, so it doesn't really sound like guitar but we know what he means!), all done, watch, Grover, Pop Pop, Memaw. That's about all I can think of now. He's also making word associations and responding to things we say. This weekend we asked him if he wanted breakfast and he turned, ran to the kitchen and said, "Eat! Eat!"

As usually, he's sleeping like a champ. He's been doing 11-12 hours overnight and then taking up to 5 hours of naps during the day. I asked the doc about this because I was starting to get concerned, but he says it is normal, and in fact really good for him. Another word association for Caleb comes when we say, "nap" or "sleep" and he responds with "night-night!" as he runs to the stairs. It boggles my mind how excited he gets for sleep when he's really tired.

He's also kissing everything. It is just the cutest thing when he gives our cat kisses and when he gives my cell phone a kiss every night when we're on the phone with Memaw.

So after Caleb's early morning doctor's appointment and 3 hour recovery nap, we had some lunch and I decided to take him to the Bass Pro Shop for their free pictures with Santa. They have a really neat "Winter Wonderland" including all kinds of free activities for kids. Most are for kids older than Caleb, but we still had a great time. Here is Caleb checking out the trees in the wonderland.

And here he is checking out the fish after our visit to the wonderland.


We definitely had a great time at the Bass Pro Shop, and I definitely think that we'll be going again. Caleb loved watching the fish and seeing all of the stuffed, preserved animals. And the best part...it's free!

As for the Santa photo, I'm hoping to either scan or download a digital file of the photo, and I'll be sure to upload it when I do so stay tuned for that in the next day or so. Anyone want to guess whether Caleb will be smiling or screaming in the pic?

1 Year Well Visit

Caleb is...

22 lbs, 6 oz - 50-75 percentile
30.5 inches - 90 percentile (I could have sworn he had grown more than 1 inch in 3 months)

Now saying a few more words including "nan" meaning "light" which resulted from a small miscommunication thanks to all the ceiling fan/light combinations in our house. I only know this means "light" because even regular old table lamps are now "nan." He's also added to the previous list using the words "book," "snack," "hi," "kitty cat," and "banana." I feel like I may be missing one or two, but that's the majority of them. I just can't believe he's picking up about a word a day recently. It is so amazing to watch him just soaking everything up like a sponge.

In other well visit news, Caleb had his first eye exam as they shined some sort of light into his eyes sort of like a retinal scan to look for abnormalities. Everything looked great there. The doctor was also impressed with his walking and climbing skills, and said that everything looks great overall. So now it's on to whole milk, introducing previously "forbidden" foods, and *possibly* turning the car seat around in a few months when C's legs start getting a bit cramped in the rear facing position.

The appointment ended with four shots...3 for Caleb and 1 for momma. I'm technically philosphically opposed to the flu shot, but since I'm in the college environment and C is too young for it this is the second year in a row that I've "taken one for the team" so to speak. Caleb did great with his 3 shots (Chicken pox, MMR, and Hep A)...only a little screaming before he settled down nicely.

Next well visit just before Christmas at 15 months!

Three months later...

Wow! It is amazing how much of your time can be taken up between taking care of a baby and writing a dissertation. I didn't realize it had been so long since I had written on here. Seeing the November date of our last entry was a pretty big surprise. Where has the time gone?

We spent two weeks in Pennsylvania for Christmas and New Years. Caleb got to meet Aunt Dani and Uncle Matt, see his first snow, be baptized in the church where mommy and daddy were married, and just hang out with lots of people who love him. Oh yeah, and while we were there, he decided that he was ready to start sleeping through the night, taking a pacifier, and falling asleep on his own (without being rocked or 'shuffled' around the room by mommy and daddy). Let's just say, we're much happier parents now that we're getting sleep!

Since we've been back in Arizona, Caleb had his four month well visit with his pediatrician where we found out that he's in the 95th percentile for height at 26 1/2 inches and the 75th percentile for weight at 15lbs 11oz. Much like his mom's side of the family, he LOVES to eat. We started him on rice cereal a few weeks ago (videos to come), and he chows down on it. When he sees mommy and daddy eat, he usually freaks out and acts like its time for him to eat too. Tonight he had his first taste of oatmeal, and liked that even better. Hopefully these are signs that he won't be a picky eater like daddy. The veggies will be next starting this weekend, followed by fruits so stay tuned for what are sure to be some hilarious videos.

That's about it for now. Hopefully it won't be another two and a half months before I write again. For now, enjoy the new pics and check back for videos soon.

Had our two month shots

I guess I shouldn't say "our" since Mommy really didn't experience any of the physical pain. Anyway, he did great. They first gave him one oral vaccine which he loved. Apparently it tastes good because he was smiling and flirting with the nurse who was giving it to him. He even laughed a few times. Then two nurses came in and gave him a total of four shots, two rounds of simultaneous shots, one in each leg. He screamed until I was able to pick him up, then cried all the way to the car, and fell asleep by the time we got home (a five minute drive). He woke up about half an hour later to eat and went right back to sleep.

Otherwise his appointment was good. He's getting so BIG. He's nearly doubled his birth weight in two months and is now 12lbs 7oz (25-50th percentile) and 24 1/4 inches long (90-95th percentile). The doctor said he's ahead of schedule with all of his developmental milestones. Caleb even had to show off for the doctor by rolling over when the doctor put him on his tummy.
I'm crossing my fingers we won't have to make another trip to the doctor until his scheduled 4 month appointment in January. What are the odds of that with it being cold and flu season and the fact that we're flying at Christmas? Here's hoping!

Our son is here!!

We welcomed Caleb Marley to our family on September 17th at 4:25pm. He weighed in at a whopping 6lbs 7oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. Caleb was given the middle name Marley in honor of his four grandparents: GranB, Pop Pop, Memaw, and Papaw. The name contains letter combinations from each of their first names.

We spent two nights in the hospital, and are all home and doing well. The first two nights were a bit rough as Caleb had his days and nights mixed up, but last night we seemed to get him on a schedule. Mommy and Daddy were able to get close to 7 hours total in between feedings and changings. Hopefully tonight will be more of the same. Enjoy the new pictures of Caleb. We hope to be adding videos soon.

34 Weeks

Well, not much has changed since our last appointment. Everything is still looking good with both mom and baby. Baby C was being a little bit stubborn and uncooperative this morning, but once s/he settled down we were able to hear the heart beat at a rate of 149 this time. We'll have our next appointment in two weeks, and every week from there on out. We can't believe there are only about 6 weeks before we meet this little one.

32 Weeks...

And only 8 more to go (hopefully). Today we had our 32 week doctor's appointment, and things are continuing to go as smoothly as they have for the past seven months. Everything is looking good. Baby C's heartrate was 147, and s/he has decided to flip head down since our last appointment at 30 weeks. Fingers crossed s/he'll stay that way from here on out.