Leo's 18 mo checkup

Leo's last checkup went very well. He is in the 50th percentile for height, the 50th for head size, and 7th for weight. He's up to 23 lbs. now and back in the healthy range.

Leo's had persistent ear infections/fluid in the ears since December. We are taking him to a specialist on March 18 to determine if he will need to get tubes. Leo's speech is a little bit on the low end of the scale, but it may be related to his ear issues.

Otherwise, Leo is right on target in terms of health and development. He is still a happy, sweet boy most of the time, though he has learned to cross his arms and look sullen when he doesn't get his way.

Leo's latest checkup

Leo had his 15-month appointment last week (even though he's technically 16 months). His latest stats are:

• Weight: 21 lbs (15th percentile and back in the "healthy" range)
• Height: 31.5 inches (50th percentile)
• Head: 18.5 inches (50th percentile)

The doctor is very pleased with his development overall. He's ahead of the curve on fine motor skills, is right on track with language, and is a little slow on gross motor skills like walking. She mentioned that its pretty common for laid-back, relaxed babies like Leo to be a little slow developing gross motor skills, since they are generally content to be where they are and don't feel the need to zip around.

There was a little fluid in Leo's ears that threatened to go full ear infection, so we got some antibiotics just in case. Leo got six shots on this appointment--the four usual vaccinations for 15 months plus his boosters for flu and H1N1. I was concerned about it being a lot of shots at once, but our doctor talked me through the risks, which were very minimal, and in the end we did all six. He recovered quickly from the shots and was a little cranky for a couple of days. We weren't totally sure if it was the ears or the vaccinations, so we gave him the antibiotic just to be safe. He's fully recovered now and doing well.

Leo's latest checkup

Leo had his 12-month well child checkup yesterday. He is now

• 30.75 inches long (75th percentile)
  
• 19 lbs 3 oz (5th percentile).
  
• His head is 18.1 inches (25th percentile).
  

The doctor said that Leo's weight has slightly slipped off of the "curve" to maintain for optimal health. However, Mike was a skinny kid and so were both of our Dads, so it may be genetic. We were instructed to keep doing what we are doing: let him eat pretty much everything (except nuts, peanuts, and any seafood until age 2--due to my shellfish allergy) and lots of it.
Other than a little fluid in his ears that we'll need to watch, he is otherwise perfectly normal in health and development. The doctor noted his good-natured acceptance of her examination and he recovered very quickly from his three immunizations with the help of a graham cracker and a snuggle from Mom.

Growing fast!

Leo's growing so fast now that its hard to keep up. His latest accomplishments include:

• Last checkup earlier this month revealed that Leo is 29.75 inches long (89th percentile), 18 lbs 10 oz (12th percentile, but healthy), and has a head circumference of 45.5 inches (50th percentile). Other than his eczema, which we usually manage to keep under control, he's a perfectly healthy baby. The doctor noted that his skin was a bit yellow, but determined that it was due to Leo's love of sweet potatoes and squash and nothing to be worried about.
  
• Is still "army crawling", but has started to pull himself up to a kneeling and standing position (which is more like downward-dog pose in yoga). We're in for it now!
  
• Starting to feed himself some finger foods, but doesn't show a lot of enthusiasm for it yet.
• Loves to play peek a boo and patty cake, but doesn't really seem to "get" the So Big game. He doesn't clap either, although he loves it when we clap for him.
• Has learned how to hug--he throws his arms around my neck, squeezes, and I turn to mush. He also "kisses" occasionally, although its more like he's just putting his partially-open mouth against my cheek.
• Chatters a lot, and uses some syllables and sounds repeatedly, but no discernable words are coming yet. He seems to use "da" interchangeably for both Mike and me. He also clicks, raspberries, and makes other "mouth noises" often.
  
• Has both center bottom teeth, and we're expecting more soon since he appears to be teething like crazy right now.
• Although we generally don't let Leo watch TV, he loves the Disney cartoon Phineas and Ferb (which is hysterically funny for grownups too).
• Loves to be outside, especially when we go to the park to feed the ducks (and ducklings!).
• Loves books and being read to. Pat the Bunny is a new favorite, but Goodnight Moon is still the best.
  

Catching up

I am finally getting my act together enough to post an update on the last couple of months with the Napolitano clan.

January:

• It snowed. A lot.
• Leo started daycare and absolutely loves it. He is the youngest child there and most days when I go to pick him up there are 2-3 new friends among the older kids hanging out and playing with him.
  
• Leo turned 6 months old on January 28. Its so hard to believe that it's been only half a year since he came into our lives--we can't imagine life without him.

February:

• Still snowing.
• Leo started really "talking", offering babbled commentary on most of his activities during the day.
• We went to visit our wonderful friends the Kelleys in Berkeley. Leo did very well on both flights and handled traveling and new surroundings like a champ. We got to see lots of our friends and Leo's "cousins" Eli, Yael, and Ari Kelley had a great time playing with him. Mike and I enjoyed having some downtime and seeing the color green on trees, grass, etc.
  
• Everybody got sick: Leo got a cold, Daddy got the flu, and Mommy got pneumonia. Fun times.
• Leo moved to formula and starter solid foods. He's generally open minded and will try almost anything once, although peas were his first (and so far, only) "instant reject" food. Fruits and oatmeal are favorites. Veggies other than carrots are less enthusiastically received.
  

March so far:

• Still freaking snowing, after a taunting warm spell.
• Leo had his 6-month checkup. He is now 16 lbs 5.5 oz (20th percentile) and 27.75 inches long (75th percentile). His head measurement is 17.25" (50th percentile). He is doing very well developmentally.
• Leo got his first ear infections--both ears at once. They're clearing up now and he's mostly back to his normal self.
• Leo has learned how to: stick out his tongue (and mimic others who are doing so); "sidewinder" crawl on his belly; and sit up very briefly on his own. "Peekaboo" and "This is the way the Lady/Gentleman/Farmer rides" are his favorite games.
  
• We had one of our "hootenany" sessions at our friends, the Holts, home. Leo enjoyed singing along, in his own special way.
  

Leo's four-month checkup

Leo had his four-month checkup last week. Here are his latest stats:

• Length: 25.75 inches (80th percentile)
• Weight: 13 lbs 5.5 ounces (25th percentile)
• Head: 16.25 inches (25th percentile)

The doctor wants Leo to get a little plumper, so we've started giving him formula at every feeding in addition to nursing. She also gave us the go-ahead to feed him rice cereal with a spoon. Otherwise, everything is going very well--Leo is in good health and a happy baby. The doctor advised us that he will be drooling a lot (check!) and putting everything in his mouth (yep!), so he's right on track. :o) She was surprised to hear that Leo is already rolling over and said that he is very strong. Leo got more immunizations and was a little out of sorts for a couple of days, but seems to be getting better.

Leo's two-month checkup

Leo had his two-month checkup this morning. Here are his "stats":

• Height: 24" (still in the 90th percentile)
• Weight: 11 lbs 9 oz (in the 50th percentile but still healthy)
• Head: 15.5 inches (also the 50th percentile)

Leo has a touch of eczema, which we will be able to treat by eliminating all dyes and fragrances from his soap, detergent, lotions, etc. and using steroid cream. Otherwise, he is in perfect health--the pediatrician said his head shape looks great, all organs operating normally, and he is a bit ahead of the curve in developmental things like grasping and sleep. To keep him healthy, Leo got his first set of vaccinations today. It was just two shots but he was quite upset for a few minutes. He's fine now; we're watching him for reactions (fever, crankiness) but he should pull through just fine.

Leo's 2-week checkup

Leo had his two-week checkup today and is doing very well. Here are the statistics:

• Weight: 9.0 lbs (75th percentile)
• Length: 21.5 inches (90th percentile)
• Head: 15 inches (75th percentile)

His jaundice is officially gone and all of his internal organs, eyes, throat, and ears are "perfect". The only upsetting part was the heel blood draw for the PKU test (a test required by Utah to screen for some birth defects)--Leo proved there's nothing wrong with his lungs! The pediatrician said, "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it because this is a happy and healthy baby." Those were wonderful words to hear, especially since I often feel like such a noob.