18 Month Appointment

 

Gus at his 18 Month Appointment

This morning we headed to the pediatrician's office for Gus's 18 month appointment. The last time he went was on July 29th, and I was quite eager to get his stats. I assumed that he'd weigh a lot more and be a lot taller. Here are the new stats:

7/29                       11/17

Weight: 23.2 (34th%)          26.3 (54th%)

Height: 32 (82nd%)              33.25 in (76th%)

Head: 18.23 in (29th%)       18.66 in (38th%)

BMI:  15.88 kg/m2              16.66 kg/m2

So I was most surprised at the weight. I thought for sure that he had gained more than three pounds. He certainly feels like he weighs more than three pounds!!! He still has a teeny-tiny head, which is part of why he looks older than he is. Most babies have HUGE heads and it's what makes them look younger. I'm surprised that his height didn't change more as well. I thought he'd be a bit taller, but he's still in the 76th percentile.

Anyway... we did two shots today. We did the PCV (Pneumococcal) for ear infections and such, and then we also did the MMR. I wasn't going to do the MMR but Gus is 18 months, a bit older and I felt that it was okay to do at this point. He won't get the next one until he's about to start kindergarten. He has to go back next Wednesday for his flu shot and at that time, I'm going to get a copy of his vaccine records.

We have a pediatrician in Johns Creek that we'll hopefully use for him. They're just down the road from us and are highly rated in my AAM forums. We won't have to go until May, so at that time, I'll have Jeffers, Artman, and Mann send over all of our records.

Here are some additional pictures from today:

Dr. Artman said that Gus is developing very well, is advanced with his gross-motor (not a surprise) and is doing awesomely well with his language. He said it's normal for the tantrums and the best thing for us to do is ignore and walk away. Same thing for when he starts banging his head when he's frustrated. He said as long as we're not scolding him for it, and aren't giving in, he'll eventually realize that it's not the best way to get what he's trying to get from us.

He said in the next six months, we'll be amazed at the language boost and how his fine and gross motor skills sharpen. He said we're doing a great job with the imaginary play, building with blocks, and reinforcing the colors, shapes, and ABCs. He said the fact that Gus is trying to sing the ABC song with us is awesome and to keep it up!

I did ask about the lazy eye thing that his birth father's dad brought up to Steve in August, and he said that he doesn't see anything when he does the light test, but it couldn't hurt to take him to a pediatric ophthalmologist and get an evaluation. Maybe once we're moved and settled, I'll look and see if I can find one.

All in all it was a great appointment!!