Monday, January 07, 2013

Twelve Month Wellness...

Today, Banner had his one year check up.  He had four shots:  MMR, Chickenpox (varicella), Hepatitis A and Pneumococcal (PCV13).  Additionally, he had a heal prick to check lead levels in his blood (all normal).

Banner didn't cry at all during the heal prick, which surprised both the nurse and me.  This was not at all the case during the shots (he screamed like a banshee), although he recovered quickly.

He has gotten very clingy during doctor visits, and no longer wants to play on the exam table.  I think he has started associating it with needle sticks, pain and "bad things".  So I spent most of the visit holding him and telling him that everything was going to be okay...then he got his shots and all his little fears were realized.  Poor baby.  I felt like such a liar.

In other news, Banner is now 23 pounds (55%), 32 inches long (95%) with a head circumference of 46.8 cm (70%).  He is long, lean and growing like a weed.  He has stretched out more than two inches since his nine month wellness in October and nearly a foot since he was born.

Additionally, my little pork chop has more than tripled his birth weight in a year.  He is just a big boy, which explains the size five diapers and the fact that we are now securely in 18-24 month clothing.

Banner has also gotten the green light to switch to whole milk from formula, and we are going to start phasing out things like bottles and pacis over the next several weeks.  Banner has sort of regressed when it comes to table foods lately, and wants more purees and cereal.  The doctor thinks it is because he is getting his molars, and it hurts to chew.  There really isn't a problem with him sticking with purees and cereal temporarily as long as he continues to try new things and expand his diet.  The most important thing is that he continues to eat since he is growing so fast.  He needs the calories.

All in all, it was a good visit.  He is completely on target developmentally, and the doctor is happy with his progress.  Since he has shown no signs of any food allergies, he has no food restrictions and we can start experimenting with things like nuts and honey.

Or, as the doctor put it, "He can now eat anything you do.  Have fun."

Next wellness visit (and shots) are scheduled for April at 15 months.

1 comment:

betty said...

Sounds like a good visit! Can't remember the shot schedule since my kids are in their 20s, but it was always good when there was a break between them (like years) so the kids didn't always associate doctor's visits with pain of shots.

betty