Gardner's one year check-up
Everyone with a baby knows what must follow a fun first birthday celebration....the dreaded first year checkup. This means more shots, which hurts me more than Gardner (my heart, I mean!). But I am happy to report that all is well with our Little G. For those of you who are detail-oriented, I will recount everything here for you.
Gardner weighed 19 lbs. 9 oz. (in the 10th percentile), and he was in the 35th percentile for height. His head size was in the exact middle (50th percentile). Dr. Treash was glad to hear that he was walking, talking, responding to commands of "no," etc. He said that we should continue to see verbal progress, so that he will be saying approximately 15 different words by 15 months old.
Dr. Treash did some "games" with Gardner to check his skills (clever that he turned his examination session into playtime!). He turned off the lights in the room and let Gardner play with the lighted ear scope. He checked to see if Gardner could firmly grasp it and hold it, as well as notice where he pointed the light on the wall. He even showed Gardner shadows and how it makes your fingers and toes look red when you put the light up behind them (this made him smile!).
He then put him on the ground and got him to take a few steps. Next, he let Gardner look outside (Gardner was fussing a bit because he'd just had his ears looked at!). Dr. Treash banged on the window pane with his palm, seeing if Gardner would copy him and do the same (he did). Gardner said "bye bye," "Daddy," and "hi" for him.
Dr. Treash answered a lot of the questions we had for him today. The first on our mind was the safety of the MMR vaccine. Long story short, the false correlation between the shot and autism was done by a group of 10 scientists in England years ago, all but one of which have since left that profession. (Interesting, too, is that the entire research project was funded by none other than a lawyer specializing in malpractice suits.) The findings of a link between MMR and autism were proven false five years ago....and Dr. T said that they continue to test it even now, with the same results. He said that people attribute autism to that shot because the shot is given at 12 months of age, when the symptoms of autism usually show up anyway (regression of speech and interactivity, etc.). Therefore, it is a temporal link rather than a causal link. (Sorry for the technical explanation, but I figured someone might be legitimately interested!)
Secondly, the switch to sippy cup. Dr. T said it needs to be a cold turkey thing...no more bottles at all. Gardner will drink out of a cup if he's distracted, but he will always still choose the bottle. Bottle use after 1 year can lead to tooth decay and also crooked teeth, so it's important to wean him from it now. Treash said it may take up to 12 hours for him to give in to only cup drinking, but that he will get it eventually...all babies can, and all of them do. It's hard for a mom to be firm with this switch, but I know that I am doing the best for Gardner in the long run. I will just have to trust Treash's guarantees that he won't become dehydrated in one day.
We can already tell that Gardner's independent spirit is shining through. He's beginning to put his hands on our face when he wants down, or fuss when we change his diaper or force him to sit still. I refuse to admit that "the terrible twos" is a stage he must go through. Ken and I are working on a unified front as far as how to handle tantrums! Boy! Never thought all this would come upon us so quickly! We are praying for wisdom as we teach him obedience and discipline.
Gardner got two shots (MMR and chicken pox) as well as a blood test for anemia (12.5 iron level, which is perfect).
Other details: no peanut butter till 2 years old....rear-facing car seat until his legs appear crowded (it's safer than front-facing, even though it's technically allowed after 1 year and 20 lbs.)....how to administer dosages for his age of Tylenol and children's motrin in case of fever....and the go-ahead to get flu shots for all three of us, but to wait till after Thanksgiving to ensure it will carry us through the entire season.
All that to say, Treash spent a good 30-45 minutes with us in that exam room. We felt as if we were his only patients today. He sat, chatted, played peek-a-boo with Gardner, and made him laugh. You don't find that bedside manner every day....and we're so thankful for him being Gardner's pediatrician.
So, way to go, G! You were brave and a little trooper today. Once again, we're so proud of you.
Everyone with a baby knows what must follow a fun first birthday celebration....the dreaded first year checkup. This means more shots, which hurts me more than Gardner (my heart, I mean!). But I am happy to report that all is well with our Little G. For those of you who are detail-oriented, I will recount everything here for you.
Gardner weighed 19 lbs. 9 oz. (in the 10th percentile), and he was in the 35th percentile for height. His head size was in the exact middle (50th percentile). Dr. Treash was glad to hear that he was walking, talking, responding to commands of "no," etc. He said that we should continue to see verbal progress, so that he will be saying approximately 15 different words by 15 months old.
Dr. Treash did some "games" with Gardner to check his skills (clever that he turned his examination session into playtime!). He turned off the lights in the room and let Gardner play with the lighted ear scope. He checked to see if Gardner could firmly grasp it and hold it, as well as notice where he pointed the light on the wall. He even showed Gardner shadows and how it makes your fingers and toes look red when you put the light up behind them (this made him smile!).
He then put him on the ground and got him to take a few steps. Next, he let Gardner look outside (Gardner was fussing a bit because he'd just had his ears looked at!). Dr. Treash banged on the window pane with his palm, seeing if Gardner would copy him and do the same (he did). Gardner said "bye bye," "Daddy," and "hi" for him.
Dr. Treash answered a lot of the questions we had for him today. The first on our mind was the safety of the MMR vaccine. Long story short, the false correlation between the shot and autism was done by a group of 10 scientists in England years ago, all but one of which have since left that profession. (Interesting, too, is that the entire research project was funded by none other than a lawyer specializing in malpractice suits.) The findings of a link between MMR and autism were proven false five years ago....and Dr. T said that they continue to test it even now, with the same results. He said that people attribute autism to that shot because the shot is given at 12 months of age, when the symptoms of autism usually show up anyway (regression of speech and interactivity, etc.). Therefore, it is a temporal link rather than a causal link. (Sorry for the technical explanation, but I figured someone might be legitimately interested!)
Secondly, the switch to sippy cup. Dr. T said it needs to be a cold turkey thing...no more bottles at all. Gardner will drink out of a cup if he's distracted, but he will always still choose the bottle. Bottle use after 1 year can lead to tooth decay and also crooked teeth, so it's important to wean him from it now. Treash said it may take up to 12 hours for him to give in to only cup drinking, but that he will get it eventually...all babies can, and all of them do. It's hard for a mom to be firm with this switch, but I know that I am doing the best for Gardner in the long run. I will just have to trust Treash's guarantees that he won't become dehydrated in one day.
We can already tell that Gardner's independent spirit is shining through. He's beginning to put his hands on our face when he wants down, or fuss when we change his diaper or force him to sit still. I refuse to admit that "the terrible twos" is a stage he must go through. Ken and I are working on a unified front as far as how to handle tantrums! Boy! Never thought all this would come upon us so quickly! We are praying for wisdom as we teach him obedience and discipline.
Gardner got two shots (MMR and chicken pox) as well as a blood test for anemia (12.5 iron level, which is perfect).
Other details: no peanut butter till 2 years old....rear-facing car seat until his legs appear crowded (it's safer than front-facing, even though it's technically allowed after 1 year and 20 lbs.)....how to administer dosages for his age of Tylenol and children's motrin in case of fever....and the go-ahead to get flu shots for all three of us, but to wait till after Thanksgiving to ensure it will carry us through the entire season.
All that to say, Treash spent a good 30-45 minutes with us in that exam room. We felt as if we were his only patients today. He sat, chatted, played peek-a-boo with Gardner, and made him laugh. You don't find that bedside manner every day....and we're so thankful for him being Gardner's pediatrician.
So, way to go, G! You were brave and a little trooper today. Once again, we're so proud of you.
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