We took Alden to his 15-month checkup today.
It occurs to me that most couples probably don’t both go to every doctor appointment. But I can’t imagine not going. I look forward to Alden’s pediatrician’s visits. Yes, the shots make me sad. But he takes them really well. The tears stop as soon as the needle comes out. So to me, the doctor’s office is the place I can go where three adults focus solely on Alden and I have license to talk about him without restraint. No one will call me obnoxious.
We had already met the office staff and today we met the doctor. He was everything we’d hoped and, considering the disastrous experience we’d had with our first Knox pediatrician, there was a lot of emotion riding on that hope. He listened respectfully to everything we said, asked our opinions about how we should handle vaccinations this year, and provided advice based on our kid and our situation rather than trying cram a set agenda down our throats. Charmingly, he also leaned comfortably against the exam table and spent all kinds of time playing with Alden and listening to our stories. At one point I actually began to wonder how the appointment was supposed to end, since he didn’t seem inclined to go anywhere. But ultimately he did, after ensuring we had discussed every last point of concern or curiosity.
His office staff told me about this, by way of warning, when I made the first appointment. She said something along the lines of, “The doctor believes strongly that it’s important to spend time with each patient. He gives all the children and families all the time he thinks they need.” And I said, “Great!” and she said, “But you have to know that means you could sit in the waiting room for a while. Sometimes a long while.” True dat. On our first visit we waited more than an hour. Totally worth it. This time there was no wait at all. Bonus!
Interestingly (she says in a decidedly neutral voice), Alden hasn’t gained weight in nearly five months. We don’t know about his height because they forgot to write it down last time. I do think he’s gotten taller, as judging by his pants. He’s performed a graceful glide down the charts and has gone from being My Big Fat Italian Baby (in the 90+ percentile for all measurements) to a peanut hovering around 15% for all. That’s okay. It really is. I was not only always the smallest kid in my class, I was dramatically the smallest. Neither Damon nor I are particularly big now. Still. I’m ready to see the trend arrested. Because if he hits single digits I will probably be less sanguine. Tonight I made Alden tomato bisque (Which he wouldn’t eat even though I KNOW he loves it.) and cheese crackers and applesauce. He is my blade of grass and I am whispering “Grow. Grow.”
I should say about the above that the doctor was reassuring. He pointed out that babies still breastfeeding at this age are often lighter, but that breast milk is still a perfect food and should be offered when possible. He also pointed out that the averages include a lot of toddlers who are eating too much fast/junk food and that we don’t want weight for weight’s sake.
It does seem to me that it’s possible Alden isn’t getting enough fat. We don’t eat meat, so that’s a big chunk out of the diet. He absolutely will not drink milk, which kills me because I love it and drink a ton daily. He absolutely will not eat yogurt, which I understand because I hate yogurt too. We’ve got avocados and cheese in our corner. I’m going to start hitting the butter a little harder and cooking with whole milk, or even cream occasionally. If anyone has any other suggestions about fatting up the babes I’d be happy to hear them.
And finally, an update on the night weaning project. Short update: It’s off. Longer update: We had one hard night and then a series of very easy nights. And then it all went to hell and Alden lost his voice two days in a row from screaming all night. He’s getting two molars and we all agreed today that he needs the comfort right now. So when I see my new doctor I’ll ask her to check my prolactin and see where we are. I’m relieved that the doctor recommended we go back to night nursing. Two nights of serious crying left me feeling that we were off track. I’ll keep trying to distract him when he asks (demands) to nurse, but if that doesn’t work then nurse him I will.
I know this blog has been the Alden show lately. But it’s been the Alden show in my head lately, so this is what happens. I figure it has to be at least as interesting as blogging about work, and no one ever feels like they need to put that behind a cut or filter.
Actually, I would at least lock down work posts. So if y’all ever want to talk design behind the Friends filter we can do that too.
Here, for those who haven’t seen it yet (and those who have but would enjoy seeing it again), is my current favorite photo of the boy. NYE.
jaysaint 