Weston had his one year visit recently. He checked out O.K. but the Dr. was a little concerned about a couple of motor skills. Most babies can clap their hands and wave good bye at this point but Weston is totally uninterested in either of these activities. She said we shouldn't get worried about it unless he still can't do it by the time his 15 month check up rolls around. Tom and I have been trying to to clap with him every night but it seems he is too distracted by inanimate objects like plastic hangers and giant stuffed gorillas to pay much attention to our teaching efforts. The visit also enabled me to ask the Dr. about a funny spot on Weston's foot that had been bothering me. The verdict? A wart! I didn't know babies could get warts. The Dr. said that most warts on children this age will fall off within a year or two.
The worst part of the visit-as any parent knows- is the administering of the immunizations. Ugh. The one year shots are special because the nurses enlist the help of the parents to hold the child down. Ugh. There's nothing quite so depressing as watching your helpless child look up into your eyes with extreme fear and pain on his face and tears streaming down his cheeks. As hard as it was, the minute of torture passed quickly and I am admittedly thankful that we live in a time and place where vaccinations are readily available.
The last item of concern is that Weston slipped a little on the growth charts. His percentages went down in every category. A lot of babies experience this type of growth drop off around this time because they are becoming much more active. The Dr. wasn't too worried. Again, she said it is not a big deal as long he doesn't drop anymore by the time of his next visit. He was small to begin with so I'm a little sad to see him drop even lower on the charts. Here are his new stats:
Height-29 1/4 inches- 30% (previously 40%)
Weight-19lbs 14 oz-10% (previously 15%)
Head-44.3 cm-5% (previously 6%)
Because Weston was considered a late term preemie, we were told when he was born that he would be caught up to his peers and would fall within average growth ranges by the time he turned 2. I'm hoping he can get up into the 50th percentiles within the next year and make that true! He may be little, but he's pretty healthy and that's all that matters in the grand scheme of things. Maybe I will start calling him mini muffin instead of just muffin ;)
Not sure if you're interested, but there is a little boy in Cohen's playgroup who is very small also. His mom gives him the Carnation instant breakfasts in the morning because they are packed with protein and calories and her son started to come up within only a month on the charts. Small or not, though, Weston sure is ADORABLE! Keep up the great work mama!
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