CORA'S FIRST OPHTHALMOLOGIST APPOINTMENT

The kids had medical screenings at school last month and when the results were mailed home, we learned that Cora had failed her vision test. (We also learned that we had forgotten to do her 5-year-old wellness exam this summer when we returned from Disney because we had turned in an outdated vaccination form - luckily, she was up to date on those, so when we took her to see Dr. Masterson the next day she was relieved to not need any shots!) Our little buddy Will had recently been to an ophthalmologist here in town (just to double check after his 6-year-old wellness exam - he was given the all clear), so we took Cora to the same doctor (on their recommendation) and were very pleased with the thoroughness of the exam as well as the staff and atmosphere. (Jay will be switching to this ophthalmologist next time he's due, and I think I should probably schedule myself a check just to be sure, since I'm getting old and whatnot. And tiny data numbers on computer screens all day occasionally cause headaches.) Turns out Cora has astigmatism in both eyes, significant enough to require glasses for reading (and Kindle playing). She is not nearsighted or farsighted. She does have a freckle on one eye, which is apparently pretty uncommon, but is not currently (and hopefully never will be) an issue. She will return annually to check for any changes (in the astigmatism - which she could potentially outgrow - the freckle, and otherwise). For now, we're hoping her new hot pink glasses will help her read even better than she already does, and not get so frustrated with afternoon/evening reading and homework. (She tends to easily confuse d/b/p and i/l and g/q and f/r, and when her eyes are tired at the end of the day she will flat-out refuse to read or just sounds out individual letters.) Not to mention open up a whole new world of detail she's been missing out on. Mama feels bad for not knowing there was an issue with her eyes (and for forgetting that wellness exam, which would have tipped us off, since the 5-year exam is when James first had his vision tested).

  

  She was not super pleased with her huge, dilated eyes and the resulting difficulty in seeing things and having to hide from the sun...

We think the glasses look great on her (and so far she seems pleased with them).

As a reward, Daddy took her to Hobby Lobby to get the tissue flower supplies, then to Playland to bounce to her heart's content (along with James - they're out of school today for some reason).

JAMES' 6-YEAR WELLNESS CHECK

49 lbs and 47"

(70% for weight and height)

Checked his heart and back again (due to Jay's history, and James' run of Kawasaki Disease), took a blood sample (I assume we won't hear anything back unless an issue comes up), and looked over his bone growth (noticeably asymmetrical on his clavicle, so we just wanted to have the doc take a look - could be due to growth, could just be him, but nothing to worry about - he's SO flexible that when he bends certain ways, he can totally freak us out with how far he can make certain bones protrude...)

Thankful for another good report, and a brave boy who didn't fuss or cry about the blood draw!

LITTLE GROWING KITTY

Cannon went in for his second round of shots today and another overall exam. He's gained a pound and is looking great, and he was very well behaved for the doctor.

P.S. That fat black and white cat in the portrait behind the kids totally reminds me of Oreo, and when I told the kids that Robyn and Stephen have big friendly Oreo kitty, they thought it was the funniest name for a cat ever. Especially when I explained that he is "double stuffed" ;-)

STEPPING OUT OF ROUTINE

Cora had a recheck with the pediatric urologist in Jackson early this morning (something we could have skipped, as she has had zero issues and only a couple tiny accidents due to laziness and/or distraction since the appointment 6 weeks ago, after which we changed her diet and altered her potty technique, but we don't flake on doctor appointments), so James and I were solo at the house this morning. Rather than go about his business as usual (which generally invovles a lot of lollygagging and cuddling with Buster - he is NOT a morning person), he opted to rush through going potty, getting dressed, brushing his teeth, picking out his breakfast and snack (the kids eat breakfast in the car - someday I'm sure they'll have a bigger appetite at 7:30am and will be willing to eat real breakfasts, so we don't worry about it - saves time for us!), and feeding Buster. Then he asked to sit up on the counter and watch me prep lunches, which took me longer than usual because he is highly entertaining and distracting, and adorable, and asked me a lot of random questions and told me some random stories. Once I was done, we walked Buster together and hit the road. Even the mundane tasks can be fun when you step out of your routine a little...

BIG GIRL!

Cora had her wellness exam this afternoon and the stats showed her at 43" (and we thought she was 40.5" -- guess we need to re-measure and de-sag the kids' height charts... or hang them over something other than carpet) and 34.8 pounds (which we already knew from our at-home scale, where she weighs anywhere from 34-35 pounds depending on the time of day and day of the week). Baby Doll sure is growing up!

 

In other news, there is no news (which is always a good thing). Everything checked out clear (lungs, heart, etc.) and the mole that started growing on her left cheek about 7-8 months ago doesn't seem to be a problem, but we'll of course need to watch it. Vaccinations were a no-go because after almost a year of repeatedly asking for it, our old pediatrician's office still hasn't sent over her shot record (even though they sent her other records?) Jay had to go over himself to pick it up in person, then hand deliver it back to our family practice physician, so we'll get a call later as to whether she needs to go back for any boosters. We're guessing yes, based on a quick comparison of James' shot record to hers... Other than that inconvenience though, the appointment went quickly and was easy to schedule (I set it up Tuesday and got her in today, just two days later - if you recall, the reason we left our pediatrician last summer was because they told us it would take 3+ months to get Cora in for a wellness exam, which is ridiculous).

EGG HUNTS #2 AND #3

The kids had a field trip this morning to visit the Heritage House nursing home (where they had a little egg hunt with the elderly patients there) and Riverfront Park (where they had another egg hunt orchestrated by their teachers). We decided to keep the kids in comfy clothes so they could play at the park, but still dressed them up a little with one of our favorite dress shirts for James and a cute little bunny shirt that Grambot sent for Cora. Since I always document occasions when the kids are dressed nicely for school, we headed out back to the azaleas and took a dozen shots, each with Cora trying to look as coy and cute as possible, while James impatiently yelled CHEESE to move the process along. Here's the best one:

 Since Jay and I had to swap out kid-watching duties today, he went to work early while I planned to take them to school. Well, as it was almost 8:00 by the time we pulled out of the driveway, I decided to take them to work with me for an hour instead (and also to save Jay the time of driving all the way over to the school by 9:00 to pick them up, then back to Heritage House, which is almost directly out our back gate at work). They promised to sit quietly and play on their LeapPads, so why not give it a shot. Unfortunately, I didn't remember until I pulled into my office parking lot and didn't see my boss' truck that we had a lab meeting over at another building... Not the best idea to take a 3- and 5-year-old to a business meeting, but thankfully they really did sit quietly and play, which earned them a donut from Mr. Mike. After the meeting I headed over to my office while Jay took the kids on their field trip. Here they are collecting eggs there:

 Next up was a large egg hunt for all the younger Agape kids over at Riverfront Park.

 The egg hunt was followed by a pizza party and more sweets than any of the kids needed, especially considering their buckets full of treats, but they sure had fun. Then they ran off some of the sugar on the playground. Cora and James taught Sylas how to do a "train" down the slide. Sylas is one of the newer kids at school and Cora has taken a liking to him...

 (Her pigtails were a little wavy due to her sleeping with an "Elsa braid" last night)

 Hanging with their best buddy Manu!

 Manu said "Lets make silly crazy faces guys!"

 And one last shot... this one was taken with my phone so I could send it to the grandparents. They were yelling "Easter!" - my final attempt to get the CHEESE off James' face!

(I titled this post Egg Hunts #2 and #3 because they actually have 2 more planned for this holiday season. Lucky kids, eh?)

Following the field trip and lunch and more park play, we headed home to take Buster potty and rest for an hour, then James had his 5-year wellness exam. No news to report - he is a healthy BIG kid at 45 lbs and 45" (he's grown another inch since we last checked) and didn't need a single vaccination (he's good until JUNIOR HIGH, how crazy is that?!) I stopped to get them some ChickFilA nuggets on the way home because they complained about being hungry (hmmm, I suppose a bucket of treats and only 3 bites of pizza will do that to ya...) and Cora fell asleep with the last one in her hand two streets from the house...

NEW(ISH) DOC

I keep forgetting to record it here, but Cora did eventually make it to her 3-year wellness exam... We had unexpectedly missed her appointment last week with Doctor Smith (i.e. we forgot about it until a few hours after the fact) and then couldn't get a new appointment scheduled for more than a month later. Excuse me, but what? Sorry good doc, but our days of 2-3 hour waits and consistent difficulty scheduling wellness exams (this isn't the first time this has happened, hence the reason both kids get their yearly appointments done a month or more late) are over. We just can't do it anymore (no matter how much we love and trust Doctor Smith). We considered moving to a different pediatrician (there are two others in town that we like, who we have seen "on call" or when our doc was out of town), but ultimately decided that our kids are old enough now that we don't need a pediatrician. So we called our general practitioner (who we like very much) and got Cora an appointment for 2 days later. TWO DAYS. And we were in and out of the office with the appointment completed in a mere 27 minutes. We chose wisely.

Anyway, about the actual appointment. Unsurprisingly (since we've been measuring her a LOT at home lately, at her request and James', because they are getting "bigger and bigger") she was 30 lbs and about 37.5" (for comparison, James is currently 40 lbs and 42.5", so 10 lbs heavier and 5" taller). Her ears looked great (though both tubes are completely out, in case I haven't mentioned it), no illnesses or issues (can't be thankful enough for good health reports!), and she didn't have to get any shots (mostly because her records hadn't made it across town in the 2 days since we had asked them to be transferred... even though they were suppose to be mailed out that same afternoon).

So there we have it. We've graduated from the pediatrician to our regular family doctor. Now when we all get sick at the same time we can just go to one office...

JAMES' 4-YEAR WELL CHECK

 James went in for his 4-year wellness exam this afternoon. The checkup was similar to previous exams (weight = 39.6 lbs fully clothed, height = 42.5" with shoes on, blood pressure = 121/63, temperature = no fever!, urinalysis = clear, eye exam = normal), but added in a vision test and spine check. For the vision test, James had to name drawings (rather than letters or numbers, though I suspect letters would have been easier since he had no idea what two of the pictures were suppose to represent) on a laminated paper held a few feet in front of him. There were 7 or 8 lines, and James did great until the last one. Then he simply leaned forward so he could see. I totally cracked up when he did that and the nurse smiled and told me it was ok, he passed. For the spine test he had no idea what Doctor Smith was trying to get him to do (bend forward at the waist, no, don't turn around to look at me, look at the door, now bend forward, NO! Don't turn to look at me!), so I intervened and told him to do downward-facing dog. The doc got a kick out of that. And his spine is straight. I had prepped James that the doctor would likely have some questions for him, but when the time came, he told her "I want to be shy" and was blushing and turning his head and whispering. So Cora answered his questions for him. Then he got annoyed that Cora was taking his moment of glory, so he started to speak up. I was kinda surprised that she asked again whether he speaks in sentences (it's been years now that he's done so) and whether he was potty trained (she was impressed that he's been dry overnight consistently for over a year now and that he hasn't had a daytime accident in even longer). I had also talked to him ahead of time to warn him about his booster shots (we called them superhero shots, on the advice of Sophie - I even brought his cape along for the appointment, but he didn't want to wear it). He was fine with them up until the point that it was time to get them. I'd advised him that they would feel like a pinch (like when Cora pinches him!), but that the hurt would go away super quick. Once he saw the needles though, he kinda freaked out and tried to escape... Luckily by that point Cora was sitting up on the exam table with him enjoying a lollipop (yeah, she got a sucker AND stickers, and didn't have to get any shots...), so she patted his leg and said "It's ok James, it's OK. I'm here with you." while I pinned him down and the nurse quickly administered the shots. Once it was over he was just fine, of course. Unfortunately, I had forgotten about the blood test, so I hadn't prepared him for the finger stick. As we walked to the lab I was pretty nervous, but he ended up handling the finger stick MUCH better than the shots. He didn't fuss or fidget a bit. In fact, he was quite fascinated that the lady was squeezing drops of blood from his finger tip (and Cora's face was pure shock when she finally wandered in from playing down the hall and saw what the tech was doing to her brother!), and it led to lots of questions about what the doctor was going to look for in his blood (and then his pee-pee, and why did she want to look at his back, etc.). So, the verdict is we have a healthy 4-year-old (and yes, we are very grateful for that news) who is in the upper percentiles for height (90th) and weight (75th) - once again, not too big and not too small. We'll just go ahead and call him perfect :-)

HEART OF GOLD

 I took James to Jackson this morning for his 5th and final echocardiogram (he had two while in the hospital after being diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease, one follow-up at 2-weeks, and another follow-up at 6-months). That's right, he's in the clear and doesn't have to go in for any further re-checks (usually, if a heart issue were to arise, it would happen in the first 3-4 weeks, but we had a couple follow-ups just to be sure our baby boy is OK). The whole morning took longer than planned due to two accidents that caused long back-ups and re-routing on our way to Jackson, then 3.5 hours at the hospital while we waited for testing and the results. James was a great sport the whole time though, watching Dreamworks Spooky Stories on the way there (a VERY entertaining compilation of short Halloween-themed stories, especially the Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space -  you can buy it via Amazon, but we just rented it from RedBox), playing and reading in the waiting room (side note: Room on the Broom is a really great Halloween book), and being super patient with the nurses, echo tech, and doctors. The only thing he didn't cooperate with was lying down for the echo, so they did it with him sitting up (which was no problem - the tech said she'd rather do it that way and have it take a little longer than upset him by forcing him to lay down). Totally worth it to find out that his heart is perfect!

Being a pirate with one of the paper head circumference tapes (and wearing the required hospital arm band)

By the time we got out of there it was 12:30pm and we were both starving. There was a Wendy's across the street, and I promised James a cake pop if he ate all his chicken nuggets before we got to Starbucks (mama needed more coffee, and the nearest and only Starbucks in town was 15 minutes away). Poor kid barely lasted 5 minutes on the highway though (I leaned over to snap this picture while parked in the Starbucks drivethru - even the sound of me ordering cake pops didn't wake him up)

 And just for record keeping purposes, he weighed in at 37.5 lbs fully clothed, was 41" tall with his shoes on, blood pressure was 115/60, and oxygen level was >99%.

THE PICTURE OF HEALTH (AND NOT)

Cora finally went in for her 2-year wellness check yesterday afternoon (at 25-months-old). According to Dr. Smith, she is "the picture of health". Always good news (and something we rarely hear, even for wellness visits). In fact, the good doc surprisingly exclaimed that Cora hadn't been in to see her since January (SIX WHOLE MONTHS of a well Cora!) - woo hoo! Of course, we'd been in plenty with James...

There were very few "milestone" questions (far less than we were asked at James' 2-year visit), which makes me wonder if for second children, doctors just assume you would voice concerns and thus don't worry about nit-picky questions? She asked whether Cora uses 2 and 3 word sentences. I told her that Cora ONLY speaks in sentences these days, often 5-7 words, and that she knows the words to a few songs and is memorizing her favorite books. She seemed impressed by that. She asked about milk. When I responded that Cora only drinks 2-2.5 cups per day, the rest of the day water (and sometimes a cup of juice), she said fine. OK, good. Then came Dr. Smith's favorite question: Is she sleeping through the night? Boy, it sure felt good to finally answer that one in the affirmative! She also said "I see she's wearing big girl undies? Are you potty training?" and when I told her that we potty trained her about a month and a half ago, that she rarely has accidents these days, and is dry overnight most nights of the week, she smiled. Always nice when doctors are pleased with your kids. And other than checking her over from head-to-toe, that was the extent of the visit.

I printed a few pages from the Play at Home Mom Circle Sheets before the appointment so that the kids would have something new to do in the waiting room, and hopefully do less running around, but unlike usual, we were only there 5 minutes before getting called back to the exam room. The sheets and stickers were a hit though. James did 3 pages (using 4 sheets of stickers) before getting bored of it, and Cora played sporadically with the pages in the book I made her, then had a blast licking the stickers and putting them on her belly and legs...

2-Year Stats:

Weight 26.2 lbs (though our home scale shows 25.0 when she's naked, so we're going with that as her official weight for the chart, since all her other weights on the chart are nudie-booty weights), up from 19.5 lbs at her 1-year wellness check (a gain of 5.5 lbs this year - for comparison, James gained 8 lbs in his 2nd year)

Height 36" (though I doubt the nurse got an accurate read, since Cora was less than cooperative - we'd recently measured her at only 33" at home, so I'll double check it tonight - maybe she's had a growth spurt? UPDATE: She measured 34.5" against her growth chart, so we're going with that as her official height), up from 29.25" at 1-year (a gain of 5.25" this year, whereas James gained 6" in his 2nd year)

Head Circumference 46.5 cm (a gain of 2.5 cm this year - the same as James gained in his 2nd year)

That puts her into the 50th (following her growth curve), 75th (a jump from the 50th where she was at 15-months), and 25th (same as always) percentiles, respectively, on the growth charts:

 In other news, James was feeling just fine yesterday...

...but had a rough night (thunderstorm, plus he felt a bit feverish, and Cora woke him up once when she cried out about a loud crash the cats made), and woke up with a 100.5 fever and complaining that his ears hurt. So, of course, as soon as the pediatrician's office opened, I called to ask if we could come right back in (long time no see?...) They got us a 9:45am appt. In the meantime, we dropped Cora at school, and James enjoyed a free donut from a coworker (I let him have it, since he'd refused breakfast AND juice, and had barely eaten anything for dinner last night):

Turns out his left ear is "almost" infected again. It's thick with fluid. And his sinuses are blocked. He's getting a round of antibiotics (of course), and is currently hanging out in my office again, watching Toy Story 3 (Dr. Smith said he couldn't go to school since he'd had fever this morning). He refused to eat lunch, but has at least had some milk and juice. I'm ready to go grab Cora and head home. After I dose him again with ibuprofen. Poor buddy.

THE HEAT IS ON

What? You don't like song lyrics as blog post titles?...

It's in the mid-90's today, with 40% humidity (and barely a cloud in the sky). That's hot. Especially at playgrounds without afternoon shade. So even though we learned of a great new park in town (thanks Sophie!), fenced in for safety with newish equipment in a nice neighborhood, the kids (and Jay) couldn't stay long due to the heat. Even with floppy hats and iced drinks. It's supposedly a nice shaded park in the morning though, so hopefully we can spend some time there on summer weekends.

The only bummer about playing in the heat? It results in car naps on the way home. Which results in delayed bedtimes. Oh well, they had fun, and that's what's most important!

P.S. James had his ear recheck today (yes, again - this one followed his 3-week-long round of antibiotics) and was given the all-clear for healthy ears! Hooray! Hopefully he'll make it through the rest of the summer without infection, and by winter he'll have grown out of his ear issues (as the good doc suspects will happen).

DUAL DENTIST APPT

This morning the kids went to the dentist. It was James' appointment, but I decided to take Cora along in the hopes that they'd give her mouth a once-over, a free little look-i-loo, like they did for James at his first appointment at 2-years-old. I figure this whole dental and well child exam business will be that much easier if I can manage to get the kids on the same schedule sooner rather than later. They were happy to squeeze her in. James went first, all by himself, and I didn't hear a peep out of him. When the hygienist came back out with him to get Cora, she said he was PERFECT. No fussing or fighting or whining or crying, and his teeth looked amazing. It's been a full year since he quit sucking his thumb, and the effects have already completely reversed themselves. He had a full cleaning (it took about 15 minutes or so), and he was thrilled to show me his "good boy prizes" and accompany Cora back to encourage her. Being her first appointment and all, they wanted me back there too. Poor Sissy. I knew she'd hate it, but it's for her own good. Though I honestly thought they'd just take a look and let her go. Instead, she got a full (hurried!) cleaning as well, with scraping and polishing and brushing. She HATED the little vacuum and water sprayer. Hated it. She kicked and screamed and cried for the entire 4-5 minutes it took the hygienist to complete the job, while I held both her hands down and attempted to wrangle her legs. All while singing our dorky "Gotta brush, gotta brush, gotta brush Brush BRUSH" song... And as soon as she sat up? Fine. Drama Queen... After that ordeal, the kids got their goody bags with new toothbrushes and toothpaste, a few more prizes, and then the doctor came out. She agreed that James was perfect (and I got to see for myself just what a big boy he is, fully cooperative and totally proud of himself for being so awesome), then peaked at a screaming Cora long enough to tell me that we need to drop the paci. STAT. Yeah, we'll get right on that... Considering she JUST started STTN again (as in, about 2 weeks ago, hence the reason we haven't blogged about it/jinxed ourselves yet), we are reluctant to change ANYTHING about our night-time routine. Grrr. Seriously though, we know we need to. She's already developed an overbite and slightly flared teeth. We were going to give her until 2-years-old, but we may just have to bite the bullet and do it one of these weekends. Cold turkey. She only has one or two left anyway. The rest being lost, or bitten through and thrown out. We shall see. Not tonight though. Especially since she's also dealing with another new set of teeth coming in. That's right, her 2nd year molars are on the brink of beginning the breakthrough process. Personally, I think we should wait until that trauma is over (or at least well progressed) before we add fuel to her fire...

(In case you can't tell, the waiting room of the "Smile Doctor's" office is a hit with the kids, with the slide being the biggest attention grabber.)

After the appointment, we decided to drop by Lowes and compare picnic table costs. We have big plans to buy a basic little table, doctor it up with some wild paint and varnish, and eat al fresco at least a few times before it gets "too dang hot" around here to do anything outside during daylight hours. While I browsed and texted photos and prices to Jay, the kids enjoyed bags of "fancy" gummies, a reward from their mama for being so good at the dentist. (P.S. I've now sold $150 worth of chocolate bars and gummies this year as fundraisers for daycare. That's a lot of candy. And the last 3 bags of gummies were purchased by me yesterday to get that dang box out of my office!)

ANOTHER WELLNESS EXAM GONE AWRY

3 years ago we had our first appointment with Dr. Smith, and while I've lost count along the way, we can certainly say we've been frequent visitors over the years. Luckily, today's visit was a simple wellness exam. What a difference (and a surprise) it was to walk into that office today with my big boy, who was so willing to go along with everything and didn't put up a fuss at all. I was extremely proud of his behavior and maturity today. And a little sad to realize just how big he has gotten...

He stepped on the big boy scale and weighed 33.8 lbs fully dressed. He stood against the wall and was measured at 39" tall. They didn't do a head circumference measurement (I suppose it's not that important anymore?), but he came in at the 75th percentile for both weight and height. "Not too big, not small", as the good doc said.

He peed in a cup for the nurse. Happily. (He's very recently - like, in the past week or so - perfected the male art of peeing while standing. And he even remembers to lift the seat!) He had his blood pressure taken and just calmly waited for the numbers (100/68). (By the way, we have the class "pet" in our care this evening. Her name is Muffy. James decided she needed to sit up on the exam table with him because "She need to see Doctor Smith. 'Cause she have owies in her cheeks.")

Then we stripped him down for the usual full body exam. And all was well. (Though AGAIN, I had to correct Doctor Smith about trying to retract him, AS she was doing so, while I was praising James for being so good and not paying full attention to her. I really shouldn't have had to do that, and it made me pretty angry. She made my boy cry, whether in fear or pain, I don't know. I'm hoping fear over pain. Since we had JUST been teaching him how NOBODY should touch him there and he needs to tell Mama and Daddy if anyone ever does. And I heard about how "Doctor Smith touched my penis and gave me an owie" all the way home. Bad doctor!)

But back to good news. James wasn't due for any vaccinations and he got to avoid the blood draw, since he'd just had it done back in June (due to the Kawasaki's), and apparently they only require blood counts every other year. Unfortunately though, we discovered that his left ear is infected. Both ears have lost their tubes (as we already knew), and the left is completely gone, while the right is just sitting there waiting to fall out. It's not a bad infection (we caught it early), but infected none the less, so big boy is on a round of antibiotics. Poor buddy. Maybe that's why he's been waking at night (a VERY unusual event for him) for the past few nights. He never mentioned that his ear hurt, and since he hasn't had a cold or fever or any other symptom, we had no idea. Sure hope it heals quickly - we have big plans for a new adventure this weekend!

18-MONTH CHECK-UP

Cora finally had her 18-month wellness exam today, and there isn't much to report. She's hitting all her milestones on or ahead of target. She screamed like a banshee the ENTIRE time the doctor was touching her (after the doc had JUST discussed with me that we should let her cry at night, proving even to old school Doc Smith that Cora is not a force to be reckoned with!) Then she yelled again when she got her Hep-A vaccine. And while she was weighed and measured. Her face was SO red by the time we left... Her diaper rash is finally healing (we hope for good!), hence the plastic diaper. Yup, she has a crunchy butt. We used them in Cali when my order of FLIP disposable inserts got lost in shipment, and we've decided to keep up with them for a while longer, until her rash is 100% healed and we no longer need to use creams on her. (Yes, they're a brand with fewer chemicals and whatnot, Seventh Generation. It's the best we could do.) In a side note, I also ordered new (different scent) cloth diaper laundry detergent, since we're worried the "Sweet Clementine" was bothering her ULTRA sensitive skin (since that is one thing we can point to as changing around the time that the rash first appeared), and threw out all of our BumGenius Elementals. And I didn't shed a tear. It sucks to lose that money we invested, but they had become so worn out (holes along the edges, an unfortunate result of using organic fabric - natural fibers don't hold up as well as the manmade ones do) that we couldn't have resold them anyway. And we'll still have saved over $1500 by using cloth instead of disposables over the past 2 years, so we're happy. Plus, we're getting close enough to potty training Cora that I'm starting to thin her stash (selling off her fitted diapers), so we'll just use her pocket diapers (she has PLENTY) until she's trained. Oh, and finally, in surprising news, Cora's weight (23.2 lbs), height (32.25"), and head circumference (46 cm) are ALL up, with her head circumference increasing to the 50th percentile to join her weight and height. She still seems tiny to us, but I guess Baby Doll is catching up with her peers!

NOTE: when measuring her at home against her new growth chart, she is not even close to 32.25", so we're pretty sure the nurse measured her wrong. She was right at 31" for us...

15-MONTH WELLNESS

Cora finally went in for her 15-month wellness exam today (at the ripe ol' age of almost 16.5-months). We scheduled her 18-month appointment for closer to her 1.5-year birthday though, so we'll get back on track soon.

Her stats today were 45 cm, 31", and 21.4 lbs. She's still following her growth curves, with head circumference holding just under the 25th, height just over 50th percentile, and weight just under the 50th (up about half a pound in the past month). Considering that Cora drinks 3-5 cups of milk each day, and eats 3 square meals plus snacks, totalling far more calories than her big bro, the good doc figures that she simply has a high metabolism. She is likely going to be the long and lean type, just like her parents were as kids.

Other fun activities at the doc today included an in-depth listen for congestion (we were worried that the new cough that started 2 nights ago was going to turn out to be a bronchitis relapse, or the beginning of croup, but she's all-clear) and 3 vaccinations (MMR, Pentacel, and the flu shot - James came along so that he could get a flu shot too. And some stickers and suckers.) She was thrilled with it all, of course. Especially the shots. We were literally in and out of the pediatrician's office in an hour (miracle of miracles!), yet Cora cried off-and-on the entire time. Geez, this child is dramatic. I suppose it didn't help that Mama left her paci in the car though. Sorry Baby Doll. Good thing the snack trap finally calmed her down. And the pretty fountain.

She again passed all her milestone questions (not that the doc seemed to be aiming for anything specific, but rather just had me tell her about Cora's abilities and activities). She has 3 of the 4 canines poking through, so she's now at 15-going-on-16 teeth. And the good doc told me that if we keep rescuing her in the middle of the night, she's going to keep on waking up in the middle of the night. Well. Duh. Believe me, we'd love to start sleeping through the night again, consistently, after 16+ months of not doing so. But. Well. We just can't let her cry. It's not going to happen. Besides, she doesn't JUST cry. She screeches and screams and jumps up and down in her crib. She wails so loudly that she wakes James. And if she cries for more than a minute or two, you can darn well guarantee she'll be up for an hour or more holding a grudge against you for taking your sweet time getting to her. And if we run downstairs and climb into the guest bed with her? Instantly back to sleep. Peaceful. Happy. Snuggly. Now you tell me, what would YOU do?... The Queen still rules our household.

CORA'S 1-YEAR WELL BABY

As we soared towards Cora's 1st birthday, I realized I didn't have a 1-year well baby exam on the books for her. When I called the doc, the earliest they could get her in was today. So, here are her 1-year stats, about 1.5 months late...

Weight: 19.5 lbs
Height: 29.25 inches
Head Circumference: 44 cm

(Eating yogurt in the waiting room before her appointment. Pretty dress courtesy of her Paw-Paw.)

We love Dr. Smith. We really do. She is good at what she does, and she has done a fabulous job taking care of our kids from their well baby exams to their hospitalizations. She is definitely on the old-fashioned end of things though, which doesn't always mesh well with our natural parenting tendencies. If I didn't do my own research and simply followed what she said, we'd have given cereal at 2-months, stopped nursing at 1-year, done cry-it-out early and repeatedly, never co-slept, given juice before 1-year, and measured calories by the number of baby food jars consumed each day. Although she sometimes recommends things that I don't agree with, she is more than willing to "agree to disagree". Because of our "disagreements", I was especially happy to hear her tell me this morning that we need to keep Cora rear-facing until she turns 2-years-old. She pointed at the notice taped to the exam room door, which has been there since James turned 9-months-old, but which she has never so much as acknowledged before today. I know it is partly because Cora is currently under the 20 lb "minimum" for turning forward-facing, but none-the-less, I was really glad to see her be proactive about the "new" AAP recommendation to keep kids rear-facing until 2-years-old. Not that their old recommendation of keeping kids rear-facing as long as the limits of their carseat allows has changed, because it hasn't, but the old "minimum" of 1-year and 20 lbs was worded in a way that made many people think they were "suppose" to flip their kids forward-facing on their first birthday. I'm glad to see they've clarified their statement, and I personally hope to see many more kids kept rear-facing long past their first birthday. In fact, I bet it won't be long before the law changes to a minimum of 2-years-old. And I have to say, I was even more pleased at the smile the good doc gave me when I replied that BOTH my babies are still rear-facing, at 13-months and 29-months!

In other appointment news, Cora is still not fond of the doctor. Or the nurses. Or the scale. Or the exam table. She was extremely offended, and cried profusely throughout her exam...

(Yup, I'm THAT mom. The one that takes pictures of her crying baby rather than scoop her up immediately. Gotta learn to buck-up little one!)

Luckily, she got over it quickly.

Doc Smith ran through the gamut of questions. Yes, Cora has 3 words or more (she's up to 8 right now, though most are used only occasionally - "up" is her latest word, and is used often already). Yes, she can sleep through the night and is no longer waking to eat (not that she actually DOES sleep through the night consistently - we're still lucky to get 2 uninterrupted nights per week). Yes, she is walking (faster every day). Between her increased mobility and the fever virus (and resulting poor appetite) she had last week, she's actually lost weight in the past month. She's now right back where she was at 11-months. Doc Smith encouraged me to feed her more (um, she already eats more than James...) and supplement with milk (which we already do - she gets a full 8 oz sippy of calorie-rich coconut milk each day). She's actually drinking plenty of milk (the "recommendation" for her age is 3 full cups per day, and with the sippy cup plus 2 bottles and 3 nursing sessions, she's likely getting more than 24 oz), so I suppose we'll start letting her wander around with a sippy more during the day and try and get more snacks into her (since she already eats 3 square meals each day). I don't think the Doc's charts are correct though. I saw her little circles. And when I compare them to the ones I've made, based on charts designed specifically for breastfed babies, they show a weight drop, but not nearly the percentage drop that the good doc's charts showed. And her weight-by-length is still right around average, so I'd say she's doing pretty darn well. I do wonder whether her head circumference was measured incorrectly though, this time or last, because it seems weird to me that she moved around on that growth curve so much. Of course, the good doc didn't even mention that one...

(Just for comparison's sake, James was 22.8 lbs and 30.5 inches at 13-months, so Cora is approximately 3 lbs and 1 inch smaller than her big bro was at this age)

She also received 2 vaccinations today: Varicella and Prevnar. Hopefully she'll be like her big bro and not have a reaction to the chicken pox vaccine, and not like her cousin Eli who had a relatively strong, negative reaction to it. We're holding off on Pentacel until her 15-month well baby, at which point she'll also get Hep A again. She won't get the MMR until 18-months. We still like spreading them out. Makes us feel better. Poor kid was furious with the nurse who stuck her today. When I put her in the car to take her to daycare, she reached down and pointed at her 2 Tazmanian Devil bandaids and whined. Hope the ibuprofen is helping to keep away any pain from the shots!

In closing, while I disagree with the good doc that breastfeeding should stop just after 12-months because "breastmilk calories start to decrease" (um, breastmilk actually has a higher fat content than whole cow's milk...), I do plan to start the weaning process. Slowly. I am in no hurry to wean Cora. But realistically, I am not pumping as much as I used to (my guess as to why is that while Cora's NUMBER of nursing sessions has stayed the same over the past 2 months, perhaps the AMOUNT of milk she's drinking at each session has decreased, since she's taking in so many calories elsewhere from her solids, and since demand = supply...), I need to reduce the number of interruptions to my labwork (now that we are in our new building, I have to drive back to my office, schlep upstairs, pump, then drive back to the lab, so the process that used to take me 15-20 minutes now takes me 30), and eventually I'll need to travel again for work (conferences and field work, and I have no interest in toting my trusty pump along with me). Everything I've been reading lately says that after 15-months, babies have a harder time giving up nursing. Just as they do giving up the bottle. Or the paci. Since I do not want to be nursing a 2-year-old (I have no qualms about others doing it, I just cannot picture myself nursing a child with the size and abilities and wits of James), I plan to start the process now. I am dropping down to 2 pumping sessions at work this week. In another week or two, I'll drop down to one. At that point, nursing throughout the day would be more for comfort than nutrition for Cora (since my supply will decrease), so I will probably limit her to morning, naptime, and bedtime, giving her sippy cups in between. And while we start to wean from the breast, she also needs to be weaning from the bottle. Pumped milk for 2 bottles/day will be impossible for me to produce in another 2 weeks, and when she moves up to the K1 room at daycare at that time, she can't take her bottles with her anyway. Not to mention the paci, which is already becoming an addiction, and which is already getting on our nerves. So, what to do?... We're limiting her to using it in the crib and car. Except today, of course. Did I mention that the doc found another molar broken through, with the 4th right behind it? 10 teeth going on 11 (no idea where that other bottom incisor is hiding)... Poor girl needs SOMETHING to help with the pain and discomfort of teething! Jeesh. Why can't my Baby Doll just stay my baby forever?...

HEALED!

Cora's ears are HEALED!! And there was much rejoicing!

(Reading magazines in the ENT's waiting room this afternoon)

1ST TEETH SCRUBBIN'

James did SO GREAT today at the dentist! It was his very first trip, and we were really impressed, surprised (we had built ourselves up for trauma), and proud of him.

We picked a pediatric dentistry office based on multiple recommendations from coworkers. The waiting room was filled with toys and puzzles, and even a room just with stairs and a slide. James made friends with a little 5-year-old girl and raced her down the slide while they waited their turns in the chair. When they called us back, Jay stayed with Cora while I took the little man in. The exam room was actually one big room with multiple tables, murals on the wall, stuffed frogs and figures everywhere, plants, plenty of light, and cheery dental hygienists. James' hygienist sat him on one of the exam tables and we talked about his brushing habits (and thumb sucking habit, and bedtime milk-sippy habit) while she showed him some of the equipment. When he got antsy, I came over and sat next to him. Then she laid him down, looked around his mouth, and commenced the tartar scraping and cleaning. It didn't phase him a bit! I wouldn't say he opened wide and said "Ah" or anything, but he allowed her to do her thing, just laying there calmly holding onto my hands with his. He liked the little suction/vacuum thingy and thought it tickled, but didn't seem as impressed with the cold water jet. There were no tears. A bit of fussing when it came time to polish his teeth with the bubblegum-flavored paste, but it was short-lived. I think the noise bothered him more than the invasion of space. Then there was a quick foamy flouride scrub that he didn't love, but didn't fight either. When she was done, we wandered around and looked at all the frogs and tooth displays until the dentist came out. She gave James a good once-over and talked to us about his thumb sucking. Basically, he needs to stop. Not immediately, but she'd like to see us wean him from it in the next 6 months or so. Currently, he has a bit of an underbite (class 1 or less) that would actually be worse if he DIDN'T suck his thumb (probably closer to class 3), so for now it's helping him. However, that won't always be the case, and we don't want his top teeth to flare outward down the road. We're going to play it by ear for now, and just encourage more activities that require both hands at once, and praise him when he's NOT sucking his thumb. If his habits don't change in 6 months, then we'll consider using the icky-flavored fingernail polish or some such thing. For now, he has clean, perfect teeth, and we're happy to know it.

(He thought the many drawers of teeth castings were super cool)

Oh yeah, and they were sweet enough to classify him as "under 2" so they could "grace" the appointment (meaning, we didn't pay a thing and neither will our insurance). Bonus!