Punky had her one year check-up yesterday, and it was no surprise she's still a peanut. At birth she was 7 lbs 4 oz. One year later she is 17 lbs 4 oz. A whole ten pounds. She grew nine inches though, from 19 at birth to 28 inches now. Still clinging to the 5th percentile...
Everything checked out fine at her appointment. The doctor was really running late so Punky had a lot of time to run around the waiting room and pick up germs. Yay. It was filled with coughing, sneezing, whining little kids...and Punky would've touched them all if I let her. I'm far from a germophobe, but when it's obvious why not avoid it? She's only had one episode I can really call a cold, and that was at twelve weeks. I'm proud she's been so healthy this year, and I didn't want to ruin that track record. I guess I'll know in a few days if she gets sick...
She also got five shots, including the first part of the H1N1 vaccine. Three in one thigh, two in the other. She screamed bloody murder from the first one right through the last. Poor baby. It seems the older she gets, the more she cries with the shots. I guess that can seem logical in a sense. Anyway, she was not in the least bit amused and it didn't help that she was starving since the appoinment ran almost two hours late.
I have done so much reading about vaccinations in the last few months...to the point where I did hesistate a brief second when asked about giving her the swine flu vax...but I'm just not convinced they are as evil as the non-vaxing community believes they are. To each his own, of course, but I can't knowingly leave my baby defenseless against things that can be prevented. The small risks from the vaccinines do not even come close to all the potential risks from not being vaccinated. This is my opinion, I've done all the homework I care to on the subject, and I'm really not interested in hearing any more anti-vax arguments so save your breath.
Anyway, Punky hit all her milestones and then some. The doctor seemed surprised at how well she is walking and the list of words she can say. So far she is developing perfectly, both physically and mentally.
The doctor was also able to confirm something I've noticed many times but never thought to question: Punky looks yellow. Sometimes, in certain lighting, her normally pale skin appears yellowish. The doctor said she can tell the baby really likes squash and sweet potatoes by her yellow skin tone. Apparently it is common in fair skinned babies...
Are you freakin' kidding me? What the hell do they put in those little jars? It's next to impossible to get the stains out of her clothes and bibs, but I didn't realize it would stain Punky herself from the inside out! Geez... At least I know I'm not seeing things now, and I can stop trying to wash the yellow off thinking it's food left over from the previous meal. No wonder she's starting to hate getting her face washed...Mama keeps doing it for nothing...
That reminds me of my mom with my sister when we were kids. She had really fair skin and in the summer sun the freckles would pop out all across her face and nose. My mom would forget about it from year to year, and my sister would spend the first few weeks of each summer washing her face a hundred times because Mom kept telling her it was dirty and to go wash it. Finally the light would go on and Mom would realize it was freckles, not dirt, on her face...thankfully before the poor kid was rubbed raw from all the washing. Just a funny memory...
The doctor also warned of some potentially dangerous things to look out for now that Punky is toddling along...lamp cords, blinds, cleaning products, etc. I think we are pretty safe in regards to all that usual crap; it's the climbing that I'm worried about now.
The footstool has taken up permanent residence in the basket chair to prevent Punky from getting in the chair. She didn't need the footstool to climb up; the footstool is on the chair just so she has no room to pull herself up on it. He took it down for a minute last night and just that quick, with both of us only a foot away, she climbed right up and was standing against the back of the chair. Mom said I was a climber at that age...guess she got something from me.
The doctor also instructed that Punky needs to be completely off the bottle before her next check-up at fifteen months. Yikes. I've known about it, I've done my reading, but this is one milestone I am dreading. She loves her bottle, her ba-ba, and I'm not expecting it to go well. I don't think it will be too much of an issue except right before bed. When she gets tired, she whines for it. It's her cue to calm down and get ready for bed. I rock with her while she drinks it, then we go in her room and dance in the shadows for a few minutes before I lay her down. It's our routine. It's been that way for months. I fear she will scream non-stop if I break routine and just put her to bed. I've said many times how easy everthing has been with Punky, but this time I truly think I will need all the help I can get. Wish me luck.
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