It was shocking when Dax turned one, but it almost seems more shocking that another 3 months have passed. We had his 15 month well check today and it was a little more eventful than usual.
First, the stats... Dax weighs 21 pounds 5 1/2 ounces (10th percentile), is 32 1/2 inches tall (75-90th percentile) and his head is 19 1/4 inches around (90th percentile). Continuing to grow longer and leaner, though Dr. Oie commented that he looks more like 35th percentile than 10th - I suppose it's a good thing that he doesn't look too skinny.
She also asked if he was saying at least 3-5 words. Um, by current count he's around 70. She was surprised by that and said that we'd have to talk about his future language development in terms of the expectations of a 2-3 year old then. Yay Dax!
The bad news, though, was Dax had his first x-ray. It was traumatic for everyone involved. Last week, Denise talked to me about his walking - she had noticed that he uses his two legs differently. Her daughter, a pediatric physical therapist, happened to stop by and pointed out that both ways to move were okay, but it was atypical to use them differently. She also thought she felt a clicking when she checked out his hips. It was a lucky coincidence that we happened to have an appointment just a few days later.
When I asked Dr. Oie about it, she was surprised because she had been checking his hips at all of his previous appointments. She first explained that it is normal for kids at Dax's age to use their legs differently because they are still developing their walking skills and that there is typically a lead leg so it may look different. She checked his hips anyway and thought that everything was normal. Her suggestion was to watch him and check in again at the 18 month appointment. We were almost in the clear. Then I opened my big mouth and asked if waiting would cause further problems if there actually was something that was not quite right. She said it wouldn't make a difference because at this point, if there was a hip issue, it would only be fixable with surgery. Woah, woah, woah, not a word that a Mommy ever wants to hear. I rationally knew that he was fine and that waiting would be fine, but emotionally I also knew that I would be concerned until then and started to tear up a little bit. Dr. Oie noticed and said that instead, we could do an x-ray today to make sure everything looked good. She also added that, in her 14 years, she only had 1 child who ended up having hip dysplasia that she couldn't feel and found on an x-ray. Well, I didn't want Dax to be the second and definitely didn't want to be worrying for months about surgery, so we did it.
Before the nurse came to get us, we were preparing Dax for the frog x-ray that Dr. Oie had mentioned. We would put him in the position we thought he'd have to be in and ribbit. He was unsure at first, but after a few tries, he was giggling. That was a good sign. Unfortunately, the second we got into the x-ray room he was scared and frog noises were no longer funny. Jake and I wore lead vests so we could be there with him and then held him still to make it quicker. Poor little guy hated the whole experience. It turned out everything looked good, but I had no regrets - it was completely worth the peace of mind I now have.
Unfortunately, that extra check just delayed the inevitable immunizations. Dax had three at this appointment and, while the nurse was awesome and so quick, it was no fun. It was also the first appointment where I was not nursing him after shots so we broke our own rule and gave him his nukie and blankie. It worked like a charm. And we were all thankful to have that appointment done!
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| Snuggling with bedtime lovies makes everything better |
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