9 Month Doctor Visit

This afternoon Nadia had her 9 month check-up. Thankfully there aren't any shots at this appointment although they did prick her heel to check for anemia. Her level was 11.6 which was just a smidge below the normal level (12-16), but they weren't concerned since it was so close to being normal. She weighed in at 18lbs 9 oz which is about what I was expecting (minus clothes); she gained 3 lbs since her 6 month visit. That puts her at the 38th percentile which is virtually the same as at her 6 month visit (37th). Her head circumference was 17.75 inches which is the 76th percentile; she was at the 64th %ile at her 6 month visit. I am questionning the accuracy of the length measurement as supposedly she only grew 1/2 inch in the last 3 months. I know in the first month of her life she had all different height measurements - sometimes supposedly she was shrinking, LOL. Given how the clothes that fit her 3 months ago do NOT fit now (in terms of length), I just don't think she grew only 1/2 inch. I think either the last measurement was inaccurate, this one was, or they both were. :-) If she really is 26 1/2 inches long then she's in the 12th percentile; she was in the 49th percentile for length at 6 months. I'd say about half of the clothes she wears now are size 9 months, and the other half are size 12 months. I don't think that puts her at the 12th percentile given she's 9 months old.

The doctor said she can start eating meat, and she encouraged us to wean her from the bottle to a cup which we have been trying to do. Today she did drink a few ounces from the nuby. After I first purchased the new ones (about a month ago), the nuk was the one she drank out, but now she won't drink from that one. We've transitioned her from the slow flow to medium flow nipples for her bottle, and today I bought some fast flow ones. I think if she gets used to those for her bottle that will help her with the nuby sippy cup. She didn't spill this time with the nuby (which she did a few weeks ago), but she was still gagged a bit from the speed of the flow.

I was able to say "yes" as far as what Nadia could do in answer to all the doctor's with the exception of waving "hi" or "bye bye" as she doesn't do that yet. She does sit, crawl, pull herself up to stand, cruise, and she says the word dada when she sees Daddy or talks to him on the phone. I also told the doctor that Nadia can stand without holding on to anything for maybe 20 seconds at a time. I didn't say anything to the doctor about this, but I admit I am starting to get impatient about waiting to hear her say mama. Hopefully that will be the next word she learns how to say. :-)

She again suggested I fill the Rx for the flouride for Nadia, but I think I'll still pass on that. She suggested also testing for lead in addition to the hemoglobin, but since our house is less than 10 years old I declined that test. Her final suggestion was for a referral for Nadia to see an opthalmologist. She is fairly certain Nadia's eyes are fine, but she couldn't 100% rule out a "lazy eye." She tried to show me, but when she repeated the test she said everything was perfectly symmetrical. She did the test about 5 times and only once thought maybe one was a little off. I'm not concerned At All, but I'll take her to the eye doctor just to be sure everything is fine.

She asked about Nadia's bms, and I told her that lately she usually has one poopy diaper a day, and usually it is within one hour of when she gets up in the morning. If she stays in this routine, then it will help when it comes time to potty training as I'll sit her on the potty after breakfast as she usually poops within 30 minutes of finishing eating breakfast.

Nadia did have a couple of short (10 minute or less) naps in the car this afternoon. It's nice not to be worried about those any more as I know they won't interfere with her sleep at night especially since her two naps today were shorter than usual. I have been trying to push her nap times back to 9am and 1pm. Yesterday I was aiming for 12:30, but at 12:00 she laid down (even her head) on the kitchen floor so I knew it was definitely nap time (see photo below). Last night she went to bed at 6:45 (and fell asleep a little before 7pm), and she didn't wake up this morning until 6:38am. WOOHOO! It was nice to stay in bed until 6:45am especially as I went to bed later than usual as Paul & I watched a movie (Marley & Me) after I got home from class last night. It's so nice to go from her sleeping 10 to almost 12 hours at night.