Claire turned 2

Claire's birthday began with her getting her birthday present from Kevin and me (kevin and i?  me and kevin?).  We got her a very cute dollhouse.  It's a "green" dollhouse, actually.  It has a rain retention system, wind turbine, recycling center, and most importantly, a solar panel on the roof.  The solar panel is what sold me on the dollhouse....I just had to get it.  She pretty much took apart every piece that wasn't screwed in and used the long rod-like pieces as drum sticks.  I figure she'll get the concept of the dollhouse soon enough.

We had a 10:10am doctor appointment for her 2-year well visit.  I don't know why I take them to the doctor on their actually birthday - it doesn't seem fair that they get shots on their special day....but it is what it is.   She is doing extremely well, as far as the doctor is concerned.  She's 32.5" long (20%) and weighs 23lb-10oz (15%).  Her head is the largest % surprisingly, measuring in the 40% at 18.5". 

I spent Claire's entire nap and the hours leading up to dinner making her birthday cake.  A delicious (if I do say so myself) 6-layer rainbow cake with homemade Lemony Swiss Meringue Buttercream icing.  For the life of me I couldn't get the icing to the right consistency, but the taste was there.

A few days before her birthday we celebrated with friends and family at our local Gymboree.  It was a very nice time and Claire seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself!

Other miscellaneous facts about Claire:

Claire is finally getting her K9 teeth....all 4 at once, poor thing.

She's talking up a storm.  The doc asked if she's putting 2 words together yet - HA.  She recently put 5 words together.. "I.  Don't.  Want.  To.  Nap".   She does lots of 3 words: "sweet dreams mommy", "come on mommy", etc.

She got her first haircut the other day.  I didn't want to do it - but it needed to be done.  She's had a mullet ever since her hair first started to grow in but it recently started to turn into a tail in the back.  I draw the line at mullet.  So i cut an inch or two off the very back just to even things out a bit.  It's still a nappy mess most of the time and her bangs are still in her eyes, but the tail is gone and the mullet is gone (or less apparent).....we're moving forward (or backward, generationally - we got rid of the '80s mullet and the '90s tail, but now she's got a '70s Farah Fawcett thing going).

Another huge change we've seen in her recently is her willingness to eat fruits and vegetables!!  Her fruits don't go far beyond apples, but she eats a whole array of different vegetables now.  It's done wonders for the tummy issues she'd been having.

She loves music. She loves singing Twinkle Twinkle, ABC's, and If You're Happy and You Know It.  She has recently gotten very interested in the alphabet, colors and numbers. 

I'm sure there's a hundred more things I could go on and on about, but this is it for now.

normal

Remember when I blogged about Claire's 18 month well visit and I mentioned having to get blood work done on her?  Well, I got the call today and her blood work all came back normal.  Phew.  :-)

Claire is 18 months old!

She had her 18 month well visit on Monday - nice and early.  I couldn't have asked for better behaved kids that day!  It didn't hurt that we were on time and the nurses and doctor tended to us in a timely manner.

Claire's weight has plateaued a bit, as most toddlers weight does.  As the doctor put it - kids go from being a pudgy baby to being a slimmer toddler.  That's where Claire is.  She's in the 10th percentile for weight, weighing in at 21lb and 1 oz.  She's in the 30th percentile for height at 31", and her head is in the 35th percentile.  Everything physically looked and sounded great.  She passed the 18-month autism screening.  The doctor all of the questions and concerns I had, and she made suggestions where needed.  I declined the flu shot for Claire and she was completely in agreement with my decision.  The only downer to the visit was the 2 shots Claire had to get, but Claire was a big girl and didn't cry long.

I was supposed to take Claire to get some blood work done before this visit, but I slacked and it never got done.  I decided this time to walk down to the lab immediately following the checkup because I knew it might not happen otherwise. The kids were great again during the wait, but getting the actual blood drawn wasn't a pleasant experience.  The poor girl cried the entire time, and it seemed to take forever to fill up those 2 little vials.  She sat on my lap and I tried to console her as much as possible, but it wasn't until the needle was removed that she stopped crying. 

As a treat they got organic fruit snacks, raisins, and stickers.  Trent really made out - he didn't get poked once and he got to keep his clothes on, and he got rewarded just as much as Claire.  But really, he was so patient with me and he sat so nicely at the doctors and at the lab, he deserved it.

Claire doesn't go back for another 6 months.

Claire - 15 months

Last week I took Claire for her 15 month check-up.  Once again all is well.  She had several bruises and scrapes on her face but they didn't even bat an eye.  At this age it's to be expected. 

Claire is weighing in at 20 pounds, 8.5 ounces.  That's only the tenth percentile but even the doc said she looks more like a fiftieth percentile toddler.

She's in the 45% for height, measuring at 30-ish inches.  I honestly can't make out what the nurse wrote down on this piece of paper.  But it's definitely more than 30 but less than 31.

As for her head, she's moving up to the 25th percent.  18" around. 

I asked a few questions about her feet, her tendencies, and her teeth, but everything is normal.

Speaking of her teeth:  She has 8.  Her front 4 on the bottom, her top front 2, and her top 2 molars, of all things.  Her bottom 2 molars are working their way to the surface.  Talk about out-of-order.  But again, it's all normal.  Every child is different. 

turning one has it's crappy moments

Today was Claire's 12-month well visit.

at 8:30.......

in the morning!

My goal was to have us out of the house by 8am, but of course we didn't pull out of the driveway until 8:15.  Did any of you realize that it was snowing today??  Ok, I'm exaggerating quite a bit.  On the radio they were talking about it was actually snowing in the Philly area, but here in Newark, Delaware I was driving in a drizzling rainy substance with the occasional wet snowflake plopping on my windshield.  Not something I expected in April.

No worries, snow or no snow; rain or no rain, we made it to the doctor's office on time (give or take a few minutes).  There was only one other patient waiting, nobody else in sight.  It was the quickest we've ever been called back to a room, and probably the quickest baby doctor visit on record.

Our Pediatrician is one that I've adored from the very beginning with Trent.  The first thing she did when she entered the room was comment on my haircut.  And not just "did you get a haircut?", but "you cut your hair....and got bangs!".  I never would have imagined she actually remembered me....not with the number of families she sees.  Just another reason I like her. 

Claire is doing just great!

29.5 inches tall (60th percentile)
19 pounds 8.5n ounces (25th percentile)
17.5 inches head circumference (30th percentile)

Ears, nose, mouth, chest, body....all look great!  She's growing beautifully. 

At the end Claire received 2 shots *crappy moment*
Claire was pretty miserable the rest of the day.  She was very clingy from the time we got home until the time she went down for a nap, which was earlier than normal.  Poor girl.  She slept for 3.5 hours and woke up still feeling crappy.  I think her behavior is partly a negative side effect from the shot(s), but also because she's cutting her 5th tooth.  She hasn't drooled this much since she was 4 months old. 

After getting a little (generic) tylenol and a bath (something she really enjoys) she perked up quite a bit.  Poor thing.  By eight o'clock she took a bottle and was out like a light.  We'll see how she sleeps tonight. 

As for me, I'm hoping to get a nice sleep tonight.  It's 9:47pm and I'm about to shut down and head up.  This is the earliest I've gone up to bed in a while. 

If you haven't seen her pictures already, here's the link to her birthday photos.
http://www.littlenestphoto.com/shows/woodland.mp4

Good night all.

the quickest 10 months of my life!

My dear sweet baby Claire is already 10 months old.  Where did the time go?  I hate how quick it's all going!!

Claire has two wonderful bottom teeth, she's crawling like a champion, eating table food, has strong legs that she loves to stand on, the most beautiful greenish eyes, short thin hair, and she makes you work for a smile (not me....I get smiles rather easily).  Did I mention she's a mama's girl?  If someone attempts to take her from me she will cling to me like a spider monkey.  Mommom and Grandmom are the exception - Claire generally goes to both of them no problem. 

She's brave.  She will approach Trent at snack time and take whatever he's eating.  Sometimes Trent won't let her get to it, but on more than one occasion Claire  has won the battle.  One second Trent yelling "nooo", then the next second I see Claire munching on his trail mix cookie.  She gets what she wants....big shocker.

As much as she's a mama's girl, she does the classic "da da da da da" babble that most babies do.  She also waves back to you.....when the mood strikes. 

She's still not sleeping through the night.  She slept thru the night for one month straight when she was 3-4 months old, but she's only regressed since then.  We are currently working on "sleep training" to help her develop better sleep patterns.  So far it seems to be working.

I can't say what her favorite toy is -  I don't know that she has one.  Her favorite food is probably yogurt.  Her favorite time of day is first thing in the morning. 

So far we've had no ear infections, no major illness, no allergies, nothing to lose sleep over (except for the not sleeping thing).  KNOCK ON WOOD.  that sentence will probably come back to bite me right in the tookus.

Here's her 9-month-chair photo.  At her 9 month doctor visit she was picture perfect.  17 pounds, 12 ounces, 27.5 inches tall, healthy and right on track.  She received on upsetting shot in the thigh but recovered quickly. 

tickle tickle

and her 10 Month chair photo (1/20/10)

In a nutshell, she's amazing! 

....and she's crying.  gotta go

Claire's 6 month well visit

Her appointment today went wonderfully!  In a nutshell, Claire is perfect.  She's in the 55th percentile for weight (16 pound, 8 ounces), 75th percentile for height (26.5 inches), and 30th percentile for her tiny head (16.5 inches).  The only grief I got from the doctor was about Claire's solid-food intake.  Grief is a strong word....the doc simply reiterated that we should be feeding Claire twice a day every day, as opposed to the once or twice a week we're currently doing.  I declined the flu shot for her, but she still had to receive 2 shots in her thigh and one oral vaccine - none of which were pleasant - poor girl.  For the very first time in history I went to a pediatrician and had zero questions for the doctor!  I know I went to a 6 month well-visit only 16 months ago, but still....

Trent was well behaved the entire time.  He basically just sat or stood next to us and ate some pretzels.  The appointment was scheduled for 11:30 so I thought for sure Trent would be extremely hungry, therefore miserable.  Fortunately, I got there early, they took me back right away, the nurse asked the standard set of questions right away, the doctor came in only a moment after the nurse exit'ed, and we were out of there before noon.  Fasted doctors appointment in history.  Call guinness.

A few hours after we got home I noticed a huge change in Claire's demeanor.  She went from her generally pleasant self to a screaming ball of tears.  It took me a few minutes to realize the vaccines may have been effecting her.  The doctors have always warned me that we may need to give the vaccinated child some tylenol later that evening, but I don't think I've ever found that to be necessary until today with Claire.  I'll have to ask Kevin if the (knock off) tylenol helped her, as I was at work all evening and they are both in bed asleep at the moment.

When Trent was 6 months old he weighed 18lb 12oz and was 27" long

Claire - 4 months

Claire's 4 month check up went very well on Monday.  It was the third time I've taken both kids to the doctors by myself - none of those times were overly easy or overly challenging.  Claire is growing wonderfully and meeting all of her milestones as she should be.  The doc and I talked a bit about starting Claire on baby food soon.  They generally recommend starting between 4-6 months of age.  I would try to put it off until close to 6 months, however, since Claire won't take a bottle we Kevin is hoping to fill her belly with baby food when she gets hungry when I am not around (i.e. when I am at work, at a wedding, date night, girls night, etc).  She is weighing in at a whopping 14 lb 2 oz (55%), she is 24" long (40%), and her head is 16" around (35%). 

If you're wondering how she is comparing to Trent, Trent was16.5 lbs (75%) and 25.5" (75%) long when he was 4 months old

This picture was taken on her 4 month birthday

Claire-2 months; Trent-18 months

Back in May I took both kids to the pediatrician for their well-visit check-ups. 

Trent weighed in at 25 pounds, 5.5 ounces (45%). His height was 31.25" (20%) and his head circum. was 18.75 (40%).  Overall he is doing extremely well. The only possible concern is his speech - and honestly, that's not even a concern yet. You see, Trent isn't saying much yet.  Kevin and I aren't worried at all because Trent is perfectly normal in all other aspects of development.  The doctors also aren't worried - they said he's probably focusing on other developmental milestones, and also adjusting to his new baby sister.  None the less, they gave us the phone number of a program that deals with an assortment of issues in children (ages 0-3yrs.), one of which is delayed speech.  We decided to call them last week.  Someone is going to come out to our house in 2 weeks to evaluate Trent.  If they determine that he is just a  little delayed they will give us ideas of things to do at home to encourage speaking.  If they think he is 25-35% delayed we will have to see a specialist.  I will keep you updated.  Trent doesn't have another well-visit until he turns 2 (in November).

Claire weighed in at 11 pounds, 0.5 ounces (50%).  She was 22" long (35%) and her head circum. was 14.75" (20%).  She received a few vaccines, which are never pleasant, but overall she too is doing great.   She goes back for her 4 month well-visit in July.

one month older

Today was Claire's one month well baby visit with the pediatrician.  Can you believe it's been one month already?  I can't.  She is growing beautifully; she is already up to nine pounds one ounce and 21" long - both of which are in the fiftieth percentile.  She has a tiny little head, measuring in the 10th percentile, but it's growing.  Overall, she's perfect!

weight check

(Trent is napping and Mom is here sitting with Claire - what better to do than blog)

• When Claire was born (3/20) she weighed 6lb 9oz
• When she was discharged from the hospital (3/22) she weighed 6lb 0.5oz
• When we took Claire to the pediatrician (3/23) when she was 3 days old she weighed 6lb 1.5oz
• I had to take her back to the pediatrician today (3/30) for a weight check (they want to see her back up to her birth weight) - I thought for sure she'd only be 6lb 6oz at most, but she weighs a whopping 6lb 11oz.  I'm so proud of her!!!