Three out of the four (and a half) members of our family have been to visit the doctor for routine check-ups in the last couple of weeks. Here are our updates:
Ben: I wish I had more specifics about weight, height, etc. For whatever reason we didn't get these stats in writing this time, so I don't have much in the way of detail to relay. I can tell you that he was discovered to have another case of double ear infections (once again undetected by me - no mother of the year award here; however, James had been insisting for the past week that I should get him checked out. WHY don't I listen to my man more often?). Developmentally he seems to be a-ok and right on track. His words are a bit slow in coming. To date we get lots of "da" (for dad) and "mama" as well as "hi" and "bye" accompanied by waving or blown kisses. He's been doing a lot more mimicking so we've caught (what we believe, anyway) to be the makings of "thank you", "J.J.", and "love you". And while he's finally got the crawling on all fours thing down-pat, independent walking has been a reluctant achievement for him as well. He'll cruise while hanging onto our hands or other objects, but only in the last couple of days has he finally started taking a few steps on his own between mommy and daddy. Which of course we have been ecstatically enthusiastic about. He is as joyful and silly as ever. This is an incredibly fun age for me, albeit busy because he is into EVERYTHING. Consuming food is still a favorite pastime (just try to get an edible item past this guy), but he's grown a bit pickier as time goes on.
Jeran: As with Ben, specifics on his growth are absent this time around. All looked healthy and well, although we can't say that with any kind of certainty regarding his ears since he threw a screaming, murderous fit when the doctor tried to go near them. Which leads us to some of the developmental questions we brought up. We've been concerned for some time about JJ's coping abilities (or lack thereof) and his sensitivity to certain things. Case in point, anything to do with his ears. He also despises haircuts and claim they hurt. I haven't cut his fingernails in probably two years because, again, we encounter a screaming-bloody-murder tantrum. He now simply picks at or bites his nails to avoid the dreaded clippers. Another thing we've noticed is (as I've mentioned here before) the intensity of his hugs and the frequency with which he needs physical touch. He uses his whole body when giving a hug, especially the face which he will grind into yours with incredible force. While he's doing this he's biting on his cheek which I take to be some sort of sensory input device he needs. We also notice that he melts down SO fast when something frustrates him, doesn't go his way, etc. SO - with all that said, the doctor's advice was to go ahead and get some testing done if we are truly concerned. For her, he falls into a category of kids who, at this age, could really go either way: he will yet grow out of many of these things OR they will turn into larger issues as time goes on. So I'll be putting in a call to to our school district one of these days to see if they can get the ball rolling on that. The doc reiterated that she doesn't have major concerns about Jeran and remarked on his intelligence as well, but I guess I would rather know at this point what is "normal" and what is not. The teacher in me feels that if there's some sort of occupational therapy or sensory input that would be beneficial to Jeran and would allow him to thrive even more then why wouldn't I want to pursue that? We'll keep you posted on these and many other things Jeran-related. His obsessions still revolve around moving vehicles, specifically trains (at least we've branched out from "Thomas and friends" as the answer to the question: Who are your friends?). He also has been asking incessantly when his dirt will come back so he can play outside with his trucks and bulldozers. :-)
Me: My latest doctor appointment was yesterday and all looks great with baby. Growing well, strong heartbeat, head is down and in the ready position. Now we just need for other things to start happening. As of yesterday I am at one centimeter dilated which is encouragement that SOMEthing is happening, but by no means has me giddy with anticipation. Ben was 2 weeks early, and the doctor seemed to indicate that that could easily mean another early baby here. But that stuff isn't foolproof, I know. For many reasons, I'm torn between wanting to last another week (or even two) and just wanting this baby to come yesterday. I'm trying to just trust God's timing and keep getting things ready, but I think if next week's appointment gives me the same results I will be one frustrated mama. Overall I'm feeling good, just tired and cumbersome in my movements. It's so hard to keep up with my boys when feeling this way, not to mention caring for my husband and my house on top of it. And yet, it comes and goes. Some days I'm able to accomplish a lot, other days getting out of bed is a success. In any case, the waiting game continues....
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