Check-up

This week we took Megan and Liam for their annual check-ups.

Earlier in the week Megan had a collision with my elbow, so the first few minutes of the appointment were spent explaining why Megan had a black eye. (For the curious: Megan has to do everything herself, and our little accident occurred when she jumped up on her stool to get something from her dresser that I was already in the process of getting with my elbow jutting out dangerously behind me from opening the top drawer). After those pleasantries, things proceeded smoothly, especially since Megan didn't need any shots.
Height: 37.25 inches (75%); weight: 32.2 pounds (70%).

Then it was Liam's turn, and things got a little awkward once again. Does he point? No. Does he say 'mama' and 'dada'? No, at least not with a purpose. Does he say any words? Again, no. Nothing to worry about we were assured, but typically kids can do those things at a year.

Ok, moving on. Height: 30 inches (55%), Weight: 20.0 pounds (10%) Great, my son is a little weakling!
Head circumference: 47.75 cm (85%) Oh, even better: my son is a little weakling with an abnormally large head! Fortunately, Mac's mom was there to alleviate any concerns. It turns out both Mac and his Dad underwent extra testing as kids for their large craniums. Oh joy, the whole family is a bunch of mutants with ginormous heads!

Oh, and by the way, now that we've got all of his clothes off, doesn't Liam seem kind of yellow? "Ummm, Italian ancestry?" we offered. The doc didn't buy it. So Liam got extra testing to make sure his liver was working ok (the blood test was normal; he gets an ultrasound tomorrow).

Later Mac and I read the one year old summary page the doc gave us. Here's what is says about nutrition:"Table foods are best now. Baby food is usually not needed any more." Mac and I laughed hysterically. Liam eats exactly two "solid" foods: Cheerios and baby star-puff snacks. He refuses anything else. He doesn't even like the #3 baby foods, because they have little soggy chunks in them. Perhaps his 10th percentile weight is becoming a bit less mysterious.

And then to top off the day, Liam got FIVE immunizations.

But other than that, my lemon-colored, bobble-headed, stick bodied, developmentally delayed little boy is doing just great!

(Kidding aside - the doctor assures us everything is just fine, the extra testing is just precautionary, and his "delays" aren't significant or abnormal. And though things were a bit more fun with Megan because we could brag about how far ahead she was, we know Liam really is doing just great!)