Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Bella's 18-Month Checkup

Monday was Bella's visit to the pediatrician. She started out really well; she was in a great mood and she loved the aquarium in the waiting room! We started off being weighed and measured...Bella is about 29 lbs. and 32 inches long. That works out to be the 95% for weight and the 75% for height. She has stayed pretty consistent to those percentiles since she was born. We definitely have ourselves a healthy girl!
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The pediatrician spent a lot of time asking about naps, food, and talking. About three weeks ago, I had been concerned about naps because Bella was taking two 3-hour naps a day! And then sleeping for 12 hours at night - it was crazy! Even in that short amount of time, though, her system has finally sorted itself out and she seems to be sleeping for a total of about 3 1/2 hours during the day.
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The pediatrician also wanted Bella to be able to say more words. Bella can say: Mama, Daddy, bear, tree, dog, bye, wow, baby, and we just added "ta-da!" tonight. The ped. said that Bella should be able to say an additional 5 words in the next three months. I'm not really worried about Bella and the talking. The other babies that we come in contact with who know more words are babies that are in a daycare of some sort. Anytime we meet a baby who stays at home with mom, the baby is right in line with Bella. I AM going to try and find some word books that have simple, practical words that she can work on.
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Bella also got a flu shot. She doesn't really notice shots because she is usually already screaming from simply being laid down on the table. And that's where the visit became stressful. Bella has entered a rough stage. I know that one of the negatives of staying at home would be that Bella would naturally be more clingy with me. Lately, though, this has seemed on over-drive. It usually happens when she is tired or in a new environment, and I know that's normal, but it doesn't make it any more pleasant. Bella also HATES to be restricted - either physically or in her environment.
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When I laid Bella down to be weighed by the nurse, she went ballistic. I don't mean she was fussy; I mean she went berserk. She stayed that way throughout the entire visit with the nurse and pediatrician - either sobbing silently or screaming straight out. And it wasn't just with the doctor; at one point, she and I were in the room by ourselves. She didn't want to be touched, she didn't want to be laid down, she just sat on my lap and screamed. She's smart enough to realize that she's trapped in a little room or trapped on the table, but she's not advanced enough to understand that she will eventuallly be out of the room.
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Needless to say, I left the office pretty much exhausted. I have been praying for calm and patience in those sitautions. I know there are many more potential disasters in our future and I don't want to go crazy for each one. The fact that it's always in public doesn't make it much fun, either. So that can be a way that you pray for us! I don't expect Bella to change much since she's still a baby-toddler; but I do need help staying calm in the heat of the battle.

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