Doctor Visit: Owen 3 years & Gillen 6 months

The boys went together for well visits again with me flying solo. Thankfully it was a very uneventful visit and both boys checked out great.  This time Owen picked for Gil to go first and was very supportive when Gillen cried on the scale, "It's okay Gil, they just need to know how big you are!"

OWEN

Weight: 28 lbs - 14th percentile

Length: 38 inches - 64th percentile

 Owen is growing beautifully and is turning out to have his Daddy's long lanky body (2T pants/3T shirts/9.5 shoes). He just looks like a swimmer in this first picture (guess we'd better get him to some swim lessons ;)) He was happy to have his blood pressure taken and he tells every nurse, "My Daddy is a doctor, he takes blood pressure." It makes me laugh every time, I'm not even sure Jeremy know how to use a bp cuff. And O was pretty freaked about getting his height measured - evidenced by his WTH? face in the third picture.

Totally done with potty learning and wears a pull up for nap and night time. Sometimes when we leave the house, but very rarely.

He was running, jumping, skipping and TALKING TALKING TALKING. Dr. Springer assessed that his verbal skills are at a "high 4 year old" level right now and that might explain why we're having some disconnect with him. She said while he is advanced verbally there is no advanced emotional development so sometimes what comes out of his mouth makes us think he has more emotional capabilities than he actually does. This is probably true, and she told us to keep our expectations of him closer to a "newly three" level, despite his advanced negotiating and protests.

Other than some random bloody noses, Owen is healthy and happy at three. We are so proud.

GILLEN

Weight: 18.5 lbs - 64th percentile

Length: 27 inches - 63th percentile
Head: 44

Gil was a trooper for his visit. He didn't like laying on the scale (what baby does?) but other than that he was all smiles. What was really amazing to me is that Gillen's height is exactly what Owen's was at six months and he's about a pound heavier. They are built so differently and I think Owen being so small for so long kept me from seeing how chubby he actually got. We'll see how it pans out as Gil continues to grow. (I'm also not sure they are measuring Gillen on the breastfed baby charts, I need to check that.)

There really aren't issues to discuss with Gil because he is so easy going. We discussed sleep a little but the fact that our apartment only has two bedrooms, it's either he wake me, or he wake me AND OWEN. We're not ready to go there quite yet so he'll stay with us. 

Milk allergy. Dr. Springer didn't want to do any additional allergy tests at this time because the treatment would be the same. No milk protein for me. And since that is what I am already doing, she said just to be careful as we start to introduce foods and watch him closely for reactions. Also no introduction of any type of dairy until after one year, and then start slowly through my diet and see if the allergy persists.

This visit Gillen had to have six injections and an oral vaccine. My bravery flying solo was truly tested and one of the nurses took Owen for a walk in the hallway to pick a sucker so that he wouldn't be upset by Gillen's shots. There is a nation wide shortage of combination vaccines such as MMR, so the components needed to be given individually. He was also vaccinated for flu,Hep B & rotavirus. It absolutely broke my heart for his chubby legs to get that many sticks, but I knew my favorite vaccine guy was working so I trusted he would go fast. Three in one thigh, three in the other. Gil cried out as the third shot went in and by the time scooped him up, he was all smiles again. The tech actually said, "Did he seriously just stop crying?"

Such a brave boy -- and brave Mama!

As Dr. Springer left the room she told me my boys are beautiful and I'm doing a wonderful job with them. That is always so nice to hear.