b e n j a m i n f a l k e n b e r g

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Benjamin had his 18-month pediatrician wellness visit on 8/30/2007. He’s growing fine and healthy. :)

Stats:

• height: 33″ inches tall
• weight: 25 pounds, 9 ounces
• head: 19″

He went from “well above average” in height to “above average”, and from “below average” in weight to “just below average”.

No Hep-A shot like we should have gotten this visit; they were (and have been for some time) out of the shot… I guess we’ll get it this winter when he gets his flu shot, or at his 2-yr. appointment..?

We asked about a recent issue Benjamin’s having with hummus. He’s had it twice now, and it occasionally gets smeared on his cheeks and around his mouth. He tends to get really red and bumpy around his mouth within a half hour or less of contact. We think it might be an allergy, but we’re not sure. His doctor isn’t sure either, but suspects it could possibly be an allergic reaction. To what in the hummus, we have no idea. He eats everything, and has never had any sort of reaction with any other food, although there are some foods he still can’t have (nuts, shellfish, eggs) until he’s older.

So we’re keeping an eye out. I’d hate-hate-hate for it to be a legume thing, and spill over into peanuts or something. :(

This morning Dad’s working at his desk when he hears a repetitive noise behind him; he’s not sure what it is, so of course he turns to look…

It’s Benjamin, CLAPPING. We’ve been practicing clapping with him a little bit, but this was the first time he’s really done it on his own, deliberately, that we’ve noticed. He was watching his hands, as if studying the movements and the resulting sounds; it was very, very cute.

He went in for his nine-month wellness check with the pediatrician today, too. Stats:

• height: 28.5 inches tall
• weight: 19 lbs 15 ounces
• head: 18 inches around

Everything went well; he’s average weight, and slightly above-average height.

We were asked a number of questions about his development, and the only question we couldn’t answer yes to was “does he wave goodbye to people?”. He really doesn’t, but he also doesn’t really ever see Mom or Dad leave separately. Well, occasionally, but not that often…not often enough that he would have a lot of practice with the goodbye-waving, in any case. We do practice with him when we’re out and he’s socializing with other parents and kids at a store or something, and around his relatives.

The funny thing? Tonight, just a few hours after his doctor visit, Mom was taking him to bed, and he waved goodnight to his Dad! Very deliberate, and he even repeated it a few moments later. VERY COOL! We also blow kisses at him, so we figure he’ll pick that up on his own at some point soon, too. Very exciting!

He got his second flu shot today. Must have been a clean stick, as he barely cried. He takes shots pretty well.

He started calling his Mom “mama” a couple days ago! Dad’s with him most of the time during the day, so Dad’s kinda bummed it wasn’t “Dada”, but Dad will survive. ;) In the meantime, since he’s figured it out, Mom’s feeling both excited and a little frustrated, because he wants her ALL the time now, and there’s no denying it when he’s asking for her BY NAME. Hah!

He’s also able to take a few steps walking now! He walked about 5 steps tonight for Mom during the football game, before he plopped onto his butt, but it’s progress!

Stuff that makes parents so proud…

He’s moved on to stage-three baby foods and table foods now, too. There are of course a handful of foods he still can’t eat, to avoid potential allergies, but not a big deal… We’re eager to get away from the baby foods and let him start eating “real” foods.

He’s also been teething like CRAZY, and overnights haven’t been very fun… He’s got about 6 teeth now, and he’s gnawing on everything, and drooling like a maniac…

…happened today. We’d scheduled it for last week, but had some questions about thimerosal. Thimerosal, if you didn’t know, is a preservative in the flu shot; it consists of some mercury, which is generally not something you want accumulating in your body, and there have been claims over the years about mercury and thimerosal in particular creating greater risk of autism among other problems. It’s been in flu shots in particular for years and years and years.

In the end, we decided to get the shot. Better to be protected than not, especially given the jobs his parents have.

We were somewhat (read: very) disappointed that our pediatrician and his clinic don’t offer the thimerosal-free versions of the flu shot, but what can you do? As best as we could determine, the single-dose thimerosal-free shots for babies are in very short supply anyway, and not widely available. So you do what you have to do…

To top it all off, he has to go back in a little over a month for a second one! Kids under 1 year (but over 6 months) have to have TWO shots, at least a month apart. At least Benjamin doesn’t cry all that much with shots; a few seconds worth of unhappiness and he was done, basically.

Well, he felt better for a day or so; his shot issue seems to have cleared up, which was a relief.

He’s still teething, though, and you can tell he’s just not enjoying it at all. Poor little guy. :(

Our boy’s not been feeling very well. He had his 6-month wellness check (with shots) on the 23rd. He’s developed either an internal bruise or a reaction to one of the shots, and coupled with the teething and the evolving diet, he’s kind of a mess…

Officially, as of 23 August 2006, Benjamin is:

• 27 inches long
• 18 lbs 3 oz
• 17 1/4-inch head circumference

He’s in the top 25th percentile for height, and just slightly above average for weight. His hair is growing back really well now after he basically went bald. It was pretty light at first, but we’ve noticed it darkening a little bit the last week or so, too.

Additionally, it looks like his blue eyes are here to stay. His doctor says the color of eyes a baby has at six months is pretty much what they’re going to be. They’re a lovely blue!

Wish him well–and us, too; it’s kind of taxing… but definitely worth it, of course! :)

One more thing: he left a little bite mark on his mother’s finger last night! Two bottom teeth are very rapidly emerging (and his left bottom center one in particular at the moment)!

Yep… Yesterday was his 2-month checkup, and he got three shots in his upper thighs. All in all, he took it really well, we thought, but he was definitely NOT pleased about it!

He’s at 13 lbs 2 oz now, and getting longer/taller by the day!

One of the highlights was his Mom–the needlephobe–helping to hold his legs and she WATCHED him get the shots. Amazing! I’m making a joke about this a little bit, but seriously… I was surprised to see Mom handle the whole needle thing as well as she did. Kudos, Momma! ;)

We’re supposed to start supplementing his breastmilk diet with Vitamin D now, since apparently breastmilk doesn’t have enough of just that. That, or make sure he gets at least an hour’s worth of sun a week. We’re probably gonna go the sun route, since he definitely gets that with errands and the walks we all take together.

Next visit to the doc in two more months, and we get to discuss…..cereal?!? Already?!?!? Our boy’s growing WAY TOO FAST.