Today we took the girls to the pediatrician (finally) for their 1-year and 2-year check-ups. It has been over a year since either girl has seen a medical doctor, other than Bella's recent trip to the ER and subsequent visit to the orthopaedic a couple of weeks ago. There just hasn't been a need for a medical doctor - they have not been sick, other than a couple of runny noses, since we've had them out of daycare! We did want to take them for their annual check-ups though. Today was that day! Luckily, we scheduled it on a day that Brannon is in his office so he was able to go with us. So here are the results:
STATISTICS:
Bella at 2-years:
Weight: 24 lbs 7 oz (25th percentile) - hey she's on the charts!
Height: 35 1/4 inches (50th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18 1/4 inches (not sure of percentile here)
Brooklyn at 1-year:
Weight: 19 lb 9 1/2 oz (10th percentile)
Height: 31 1/4 inches (50th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18 inches (75th percentile)
Basically we have tall and skinny babies! But they are very proportionate given all three measurements. My comment on Brooklyn's stats was that she was tall and skinny with a big brain (75th percentile for her head circumference!!)!
Both girls got their finger pricked to check their hemoglobin. Bella's remains low (10.1) but this is due to the Beta thalassemia trait that she carries. I am sure I "blogged" about this around her first birthday when we discovered it. In a nutshell, Beta thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder that reduces the production of hemoglobin - Bella only carries the trait - she does NOT have the disorder. Brooklyn's was quite low (9.1), so she is now on iron supplements until we go back for her 18-month check-up. If the levels increase with the supplements, then we can safely assume she has an iron deficiency and if they do not increase, then we will do the full blood work to determine if she also carries the Beta thalassemia trait. We went through this same process with Bella as far as giving the iron supplements before doing a vein draw. So we are comfortable with this situation for now.
MILESTONES AND GUIDANCE:
Bella:
Milestones:
- Your baby should walk alone and climb steps holding onto rail -- No problems here, as we all know she climbs onto lots of things!
- Use spoon and cup well -- No problems here either
- Your baby should now have a 20-word vocabulary and a few 2-word sentences -- Definitely no problems here. Brannon and I were even talking last night and we think she has a much bigger vocabulary - more like 200 words (no kidding - the child is always saying something)
- He/she should call self by name and scribble spontaneously-- No problems here either - she knows her first and last name and always says "Bella" - she doesn't talk about herself in the first person - it is still third person. When I said this to the pediatrician, she asked if she had pronouns for other people and I said no because she calls everyone by their names. She wasn't concerned. And we all know Bella likes to color and/or write.
Guidance:
- Continue to exercise accident prevention -- we obviously failed at this given she is wearing the cast!
- Read to your baby -- Bella loves to read. She is always bringing us a book saying "read book". Plus we go to the library once a week!
- Encourage toilet use with positive reinforcement. Don't push, allow your child to guide training -- so I feel a bit better - the pediatrician said "she's only two"!
- Start time out and continue to set limits -- START TIMEOUT???? HAHA - Bella already spends a lot of time in timeout!!
Brooklyn:
Milestones:
- Your baby should walk alone -- No problems here, she can walk, run, climb and fall!
- Self-feeds with fingers -- No problems here either and she even shows interest in using a fork or spoon - YAY BROOKLYN!
- Your baby should now have a 3-6 word vocabulary and follow simple commands -- I hadn't really thought about this but when I started telling the pediatrician what she could say - it quickly added up to 3-6 words. *momma, *da-da, *georgia, *pop-pop, * bye-bye, *hi, *nana, *more and I think she is trying to say Bella. She can also sign: *please, *thank you, *more, *milk and *eat.
Guidance:
- Prepare your home for baby safety -- pretty much already done given they are so close
- Read to your baby - she doesn't do well sitting yet for stories - but we still look at books, etc. Plus we go to the library once a week.
- Begin to set limits with positive reinforcement to avoid temper tantrums -- we obviously failed at this also given these pictures.
- Start a regular bedtime routine including book reading - no nighttime bottle -- we do not read at bedtime, necessarily and she does still nurse before bed! But she is sleeping all night in her own bed (more than I can say for her sister)!
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