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Elaina's 18-Month Well Toddler Visit

This past Monday Elaina had her 18-month well-todder doctor visit. I am having a hard time believing she is already 18 months old. Time has gone way too fast!!

Elaina's 18-month Stats

Height ~ 32 1/2 inches tall (75%)

Weight ~ 24 pounds 8 ounces (55%)

Head ~ 18 3/4 inches (75%)

She is growing well! She grew 2 1/2 inches since November. I'm always curious where Elaina falls in comparison to Zach despite the difference in sex - as that matters for the stats.  Central Peds had us come in at 15-months for his well-toddler visit whereas Elaina's was 2 months later so difficult to make any comparisons.  Zach was 30 inches tall so Elaina definitely is taller than Zach which is something Dave and I have remarked on just from memory.  Zach weighed more 26 pounds 8 ounces and his head was larger too at 19 1/4 inches.

Elaina is a strong walker now and will carry toys around and pulls large toys around as well.  She really enjoys her baby dolls and enjoys putting them in her baby stroller and goes for walks around the kitchen, entryway, playroom, and livingroom. 

She isn't talking too much yet; however, she is communicating. Daddy Dave and I just need to be more strict with the pacifier and restrict to bedtime and the confines of her crib only.  We've been lax with it as she tends to bite her pacifiers more than suck on them so she's using them as a soother for her aching gums. It's also prevented little toys from going in her mouth.  So there are upsides to the pacie but we do need to restrict it more so she'll be forced to use more words.  Elaina does use sign language.  She knows more, all done, baby, and others we don't know. She is great at pointing at things she wants. She does say mama, dada, Oh-OH and makes animal sounds for cow, lion, and puppy.  Not a woof-woof for puppy; instead she pants like a puppy. We think it's pretty darn cute!

We're all done with bottles and are now exclusively using sippy cups. She has also started using a spoon and fork but she's far from mastering those tools yet. She enjoys playing with them more than eating. But we just need to keep offering the tools so she can practices.

She can identify objects when we give her the name. "Go get your Dolly" and she'll get her doll, "go pick out a book Elaina" and she'll pick out a book. She also knows "night-night" because if you just say "night-night" she will start to cry. She's not a fan of going to bed. She likes being a part of everything.

She is starting to play make-believe games especially with Zach. Those two will play with the Little People Zoo Talkers and trade animals and make animals noises. They'll push trucks around together. Zach is so good and gentle with Elaina. He is a very patient big brother and really enjoys spending time with her. Elaina enjoys Zach just as much.They are so sweet together. Remind of these days when they are tweens and teens and they are yelling and fighting with each other more than they get along.

Our doctor gave us a long list of toys appropriate for 18-month old toddlers

• Board books with large pictures, simple stories
• Blocks and other stackable objects
• Simple shape sorters and pegboards
• Make-believe sets
• Digging Toys
• Unbreakable containers
• Balls of all colors and sizes
• Outdoor toys (slides, swings, sandbox)
• Beginner's tricycle
• Connecting toys (links, large stringing beads, s-shapes)
• stuffed animals
• musical instruments
• large crayons
• Toy telephone
• unbreakable mirrors
• wooden spoons, old magazines, baskets, carboard boxes and tubes, and other similar safe, unbreakable items found around the house.
  

I found this on Pinterest:

Isn't it cute?!?  Elaina already loves to dress up - trying on different hats and shoes. My dad (Grandpa D) is very handy so I sent him the plans to make this little cart and asked if he could make this for Elaina.  He said it was EASY and no problem so grandpa is going to make one for Elaina. Lucky little girl we have!! I'll do the paining and finishing. So come November when you are trying to figure what to get Elaina for her birthday - little dress-up outfits may be lots of fun! We'll add Zach's costumes and dress up items to this as well.Should create hours of endless fun!

Well that's all for today folks! Thanks for stopping by and reading our little blog.

Elaina's One Year Doctor Visit

Way back on November 10 was Elaina's one year well baby doctor visit. She turned one on November 4th. So I'm a little behind getting the stats up on the blog. Life is busy in our household...deal with it. *giggle*

Elaina's One Year Stats

Height ~ 30 Inches tall (80%)

Weight ~ 21 pounds 3 ounces (55%)

Head ~ 18 1/4 inches (80%)

She is growing great - she is tall and lean. I chose the photo at left for this post because she received five shots in her visit and this is the face she made as the nurse started to give her said shots. Nope she was not happy at all. Her lower lip curled up and then the tears and sobs started. Poor baby girl! (However, in this photo she was a bit afraid of the leaves not shots...this photo is one of the photos from her one year photo session.)

Elaina is babbling away. She says mama and dada and is playing with sounds to practice speaking. She is very much a pacifier baby so during the day it is taking the pacifier away to allow her to use those words of hers.

Elaina is feeding herself with fingers and she'll play with a spoon while eating. We're excited to start new foods like strawberries and milk.  She is also drinking for a sippy cup at meals; however, this mom is still hesitant to give up her bottles entirely. I enjoy feeding her at night a bit too much. It's our time.

She recognizes the names of familiar people and objects. We're still working on body parts.

She is cruising along the couch and can stand independently but she hasn't ventured to take those first steps on her own yet.

Elaina is very much a mommies girl. But she does warm up to others well.

Currently Elaina loves playing with Little People. She loves to put the people into the cars and into the barn and zoo. She also enjoys stacking blocks. She has very good hand eye corridination and is precise with her hands and fingers. She also LOVES books just as Zach did at this age. She will sit and page through books for over 15 minutes at a time. She loves books. (So does her mom!)

Her next well baby visit isn't until she is 18 months old so we'll see how much she grows and changes between now and May.

That's all for now! Thanks for reading folks!

Elaina's 9-Month Doctor Visit

written 8/8/2011 | Back-posted to 8/4/2011

Today was Elaina's 9-month well baby doctor appointment. She turns nine months today actually.

It seems like just a couple weeks ago she was turning six months but that was twelve weeks ago. In another twelve weeks Elaina will be one-year-old.

 

Elaina's 9-month Stats

Height: 28 1/4 inches tall (75%)

Weight: 19 pounds (55%)

Head: 17 3/4 inches (75%)

She is growing well! She hovers right in the middle of the growth charts just as Zach did.

I like to look back and compare Elaina to Zach from time to time just to give myself some perspective. Now we can't make comparisons because Zach is a boy and Elaina is a girl. So there are going to many differences with just that fact. Zach's stats at 9-months: weight: 23 pounds 6 ounces (4 lbs 6 ounces heavier than Elaina), length 29 1/4 inches (1-inch difference between them), and head 18 1/4 inches (1 1/2 inches difference).

What has little miss Elaina been up to?  Let's do a run through....

• She has mastered the 'army crawl' and can get pretty much anywhere she is determined to get to.
• She is also crawling more and more on all fours and will go forward and backward. I think it depends on what she is wearing if she has bare knees she tends to drop back down to the army crawl.
  
• Elaina has mastered sitting up from her belly and getting down again. Yes...our baby is mobile.
  
• She LOVES to stand and can pull herself up to a standing position with effort.
  
• Elaina seems to prefer Zach's toys over her own. Imagine that!?! She will cross a room with determined speed passing her toys to play with his instead.
  
• She has figured out how many of her toys make NOISE and giggles with glee when she turns them on or changes the noise.
  
• She feeds herself puffs, cheerios, wagon wheels, peas, carrots, peaches, and pears. She doesn't seem to like bananas nor green beans.
• She will push away her food and bottle when she is done eating. I could swear she shakes her head no but that could just be my imagination. 
  
• Elaina is now hesistant around strangers and prefers to be held by mommy or daddy when she doesn't know the other person.
  
• She is still toothless...not to be confused with Toothless from "How to Train your Dragon."
• She wears 9-12 month clothes. Some 6-12 month items still fit.  She wears a size 3 shoe now the size 2 are a bit snug.
• LOVES to swing! She giggles with such abandon when she is swinging in a swing.
  
• Enjoys going for walks in the stroller. She will put her feet up up the tray and just chill out and watch the world go by as we walk along.
  
• Loves the water - whether it is bath time or at our community pool
  
• Imitates sounds that we make. She makes a tongue clicking sounds, blows raspberries, and buzzes her lips.
• She will lunge forward with her mouth open towards you - I'm assuming she's giving kisses. :)
• She lifts her arms up when she wants you to pick her up.
• She LOVES her big brother and smiles and giggles when she sees him. She can be upset and see him and she forgets she was upset and interacts with him.
  
• We need to lower her crib - she can pull herself up and peer over the side to look at Zach.
• She HATES having a wet diaper. Poopie even more.
• She lights up when she sees her pacifier. She enjoys her pacifier a bit too much perhaps...oh well. Once she's one it will be confined to the crib only.
  
• She enjoys little games like peek (a-boo), this little piggy and pat-a-cake.
  
• She likes to look IN things.
  
• Elaina loves to jump and bounce!
• She also enjoys music.
  

Well that's all I can think of for now. Thanks for stopping by to catch up with our little blog.

Elaina's 6-Month Doctor Visit

This past Monday (May 9)  was Elaina's 6-month well baby doctor appointment. She turned six months the prior Wednesday. The time of her being a baby is flying by so FAST! Is there anyway to stop time for awhile? Yikes! As we did with Zach's appointments we both go to all of her well baby doctor appointments.  Why? We both have different experiences and perspectives with Zach and Elaina so if we both go we think it gives the doctor a more rounded perspective of our children.

Drumroll please....

 

Elaina's 6-month Stats

Height: 26 1/2 inches long (80%)

Weight: 16 pounds, 2 ounces (55%)

Head: 17 inches (70%)

 

Elaina is doing GREAT! Doc R-D was again very impressed with Elaina. She even commented, "You two have such happy kids." (what a day brightener!!) Elaina was all smiles, giggles and babble for Doc R-D. Which is great for her to see. 

In the doctor's office Dave even saw for the first time Elaina intentionally MOVE her BODY to reach for her pacifier. (She and I have been playing this game for about a week or two now.)  I'll put a toy or her favorite thing of all time, her pacifier, out of reach but so she can see it. She will roll over and scoot herself on her tummy (army crawl) to reach the object with her hand.

So yes, Elaina is officially moving and scooting. Not very fast, but she is moving with intention. You can no longer put her on the floor and expect to find her in the same place. In fact your more apt to find her where all the "stuff" on the floor is.  (Time to better organize Zach's toys in the living room and decide what can be stored there. )

Elaina uses her thumb and fingers to grasp and pick up objects. She really enjoys picking things up and examining things. She also appreciates and enjoys cause and effect. If she pushes this button this happens or if she rolls this toy it makes this noise.  The past four mornings I've found her in the corner of her crib by her aquariam. She has figured out if she kicks or hits the button with her hand she turns on the lights and music. She no longer cries when she awakes in the morning she rolls over to her aquarium and kicks/hits the button and sits and watches the fish swim by as she plays with her pacifier. No crying to nurse. She just is waiting for me to come into the room to only the sound of music from her aquarium. It's fun to peer down at her in her crib and see her just captivated by the music and motion until she sees me. She smiles so widely that her pacifier falls out of her mouth and her arms and legs extend into the air for me to pick her up. If I step away out of sight and pop back and say peek-a-boo she will laugh. If I do it more than once she gets upset. Hey I would too if I've been patiently waiting for mommy to get up to eat too! 

Elaina enjoys Pat-a-Cake and Peek-a Boo. She can almost sit without support but as Dr. R-D said, she's so busy that she's interrupting her balance to check things out. So she has the strength to sit up independently just not the balance. She can stand with support though and really enjoys being on her feet.

She will bang objects together and enjoys the noise she can make with certain toys. She enjoys praise and applause. (Doesn't everyone?) She especially likes interacting with Zach. Zach enjoys the smiles he gets from her when he brings her toys to her or if he acts goofey and silly around her she'll belly laugh at him which he thinks is a hoot!

She has started to imitate people. If you make certain noises with your mouth she will try to do it too.

We are still breastfeeding Elaina. But she will now take a 100% formula bottle too. Which is good because my pumping supply is starting to dwindle to the point that I can no longer provide the 18 ounces of breast milk needed for her three bottles while she is in daycare all day.  We have fully introduced foods to her as well. She's been eating rice cereal, oatmeal, peas and sweet potatoes and is starting to open her mouth like a little bird to eat. She's growing so fast!

We also discovered at this 'well-baby' Elaina had an ear infection. She wasn't showing signs she had an ear infection - no pulling on her ears or waking all hours at night. Her only symption was  a cough. We know for next time to get her checked out when she develops a cough - she may have an ear infection.  She's now on antibiotics for the ear infection, and doing great!

Elaina is growing, moving and shaking! Thanks for reading folks!

Elaina's 4-month Doctor's Visit

This past Tuesday (March 22) was Elaina's 4-month well baby doctor appointment. She actually turned four months on March 4th but unfortunately I forgot to schedule her appointment at her prior appointment so it ended up being a bit later than normal. Oh well...such is life!

Her stats:

Height: 25 1/4 inches tall (80%)

Weight: 14 pounds 7.5 ounces (80%)

Head: 16 1/2 inches (80%)

In comparison Zach's stats at his 4-month well baby Doctor's visit:

Weight: 17 pounds 7 ounces (86%)
Length: 25 1/4 inches (48%)
Head: 17 1/4 inches (80%)

I'm not sure if the length percentage was a typo or not. But you can see the comparisons between Zach and Elaina which is fun to see. It will be interesting to see how this changes. I'm sure there will be differences just because they are different genders.

Our doctor was again impressed with Elaina. Elaina interacted with her and even giggled and smiled for her. Which is not all that surprising because all you need to do is smile at Elaina and she'll smile right back. She's a very happy baby.  But when she's unhappy - she will let you know! She also...

• Follows the sound of my (mom's) voice
• Can roll from back to stomach
• Stand with support
• Follow moving objects with her eyes
• Transfer objects from hand to hand
• She tries to imitate sounds we make when we talk to her
• She babbles back when we speak to her
• She recognizes her own name
• Reaches for objects and brings them to her mouth.

We are still breastfeeding Elaina. In fact we tried to give her formula and she just spits it out. So the pressure is on for me to continue to nurse her. Not that it is stressful. I enjoy nursing her. I just do not enjoy the whole pumping thing. Also because Elaina is not at the breast for every feeding my milk supply is starting to dwindle a little. So we've been cutting her daycare bottles with formula so we don't have issues. She's fine as long as the ratio is 50/50 you get below that and she will just refuse the bottle. Yes, she is a little stubborn. Both Dave and I are trying to figure out where on earth she got her stubborness from. (yes, I'm being a bit scarcastic as BOTH Dave and I are very stubborn.)  She'll be five months in two weeks so we can start thinking about introducing some cereal by the middle of next month. Yikes this time has gone by so quickly!

At Elaina's 'well-baby' visit we discovered she had an ear infection. She wasn't showing signs she had an ear infection - no pulling on her ears or waking all hours at night. She woke up a couple of times but we thought it was due to her cough. Because once we replaced the pacifier in her mouth after a coughing fit she was fine. So she's now on antibiotics for the ear infection. Poor baby!

Elaina is growing well and developing marvelously! Yeah!