Jonah's 15-month Doctor Visit

Well, Jonah had a very good doctor's appointment today. His pediatrician determined that he is a superbly healthy little boy.

On the down side, he refused to be weighed even though there were really nice horses on the wall and beautiful boats hanging from the ceiling, but we estimate he's about 24 pounds, which is about 2 1/2 pounds more than he was at his 12 month appointment. Seems like a big jump to me, but he certainly seems to have lengthened out and gotten more muscular, less round. He was also just getting over being sick at his 12-month appointment, so his weight was probably down a bit.

He is 31 1/2 inches tall (Tall! We can finally say tall!), and his head is 19 1/2 inches. Basically, right on track.

He got one shot and clearly has learned that shots are not fun and that they happen in a certain place with a certain person. He refused to nurse through it and was really pissed about the whole affair, but recovered very quickly. He has also started resisting other parts of the exam -- looking in his ears, having his belly felt -- but his doctor is so patient and kind and explains everything to him like he's a real human being, which I love, and shows it on mommy first. It really helps. Plus, his doctor is completely unfazed by his resistance and only did the things that he was willing to do with some coaxing, never forcing him, which I think is wonderful.

She said he is right on track developmentally. He is walking really well. Walking faster and longer distances. Falling less. And, clearly overjoyed with his new abilities. And, his language is taking off. She said verbal skills are considered fine motor skills so she likes to see a kid develop his gross motor skills first THEN start really talking. And, we definitely saw Jonah's verbal accelerate right after he mastered walking. He loves saying words that start with the letter "D" like duck, daddy, doggie and digger. He also likes practicing words for some of his favorite things like truck (guck) and book (gook). Other words he's good at are kitty (of course) and Dani (one might say, of course). Even better, in a way, is the fact that he clearly understands my words. He understands sentences and I can actually communicate with him on a whole new level. It's truly wonderful.

Jonah's doctor was pleased to hear how well he eats, though I think that is truly just the luck of the draw and not anything we necessarily did to make him a good eater. We try to present him with the best food possible, but it's up to him to eat it or not. We eat most meals as family, which is really nice, but he has always had a good appetite, even when he ate pureed mush at random hours. He just likes food! I feel lucky for that because it's one less thing I have to stress about and frankly, after so much lost sleep on SLEEP, I am thankful for one less worry.

Poop warning. Yes, I am going to talk about poop. If you have a kid, you will totally understand, and you have probably had more conversations about poop than you care to admit. If you don't have children, you won't enjoy or appreciate this topic, but, hey, you have been warned. Jonah's had some harder poops lately. Nothing too troubling for him or me, but just something to notice. His doctor thinks his hard poops mean he needs more, well, fiber. Duh! Why I needed a doctor to tell me that is too funny, but basically he needs more watery foods, like veggies. He likes his veggies most of the time but I will admit that when we are on the go I tend to chose less messy snacks (rice cakes, crackers, bananas, raisins), which aren't necessarily the highest in fiber. Nothing of major concern, but I think I may start giving him veggies for breakfast, when he is hungriest.

I still remember how much I used to hang on every word at Jonah's doctor's appointments when he was a newborn and small baby. I always knew he was OK, but there was always worry when things are so new and strange when you are a new mom. I'm the mother of a toddler now and it's kind of hard to believe. But, then I think about how far we have come as parents and how far Jonah has come. He's so great and being with him just gets more and more fun, along with the new challenges. When I think this way, I start to think in cliches, but I guess I am starting to understand why people say things like, "We are so blessed." ~ Nicole