15 Months Old

Southern had his 15-month check up at the doctor's yesterday. His doctor is popular, and there is usually a little wait, but Southern didn't mind. He made a new friend. He and another little boy played with a train together in the waiting room. The little boy was playing with it when we got there, and when Southern noticed, he started making his car sounds and ran right over to join in the fun.

The nurse soon called us in. She first weighed and measured Southern. He weighed 23.781 lbs (47th percentile), was 32.75 inches long (91st percentile), and his head circumference was 18.5 (49th percentile). He grew an inch and half and gained 0.4 lbs since his last check up at 12 months old. Then she took us to the exam room. Each room is a different theme, and we got the dinosaur room this time! Southern loved it. As soon as we walked in, he started growling. haha!

We waited in the exam room for awhile, looking and growling at dinosaurs and reading a few dinosaur-themed books. Then the doctor came in. He was very pleased. He says all too often kids Southern's age just live on junk - french fries, candy, etc. - and that he could tell from Southern's weight/height ratio that this wasn't the case with us. Yay! And that is true, Southern eats whole grains, dairy products, and veggies each day with fruits and meats about 4-5 times a week. He'll sometimes eat sweets but not very often. I'm glad the extra effort I'm putting in is paying off. Fast food is so much easier but not always healthy.

He then did Southern's exam, proclaiming him a growing healthy boy. We also talked about Southern's development. He's perfect on the walking and coordination development mark for his age, but he is not talking yet. The doctor said that at his age, the mark is 3-5 words. I was telling him how Southern has different sounds for dog, ball, duck, etc., and he said that that counted as the 3-5 word mark in his eyes. He said as long as Southern is recognizing that those things have different sounding names and is trying, pronunciation doesn't matter yet. He said that by the 18-month check up, he wants Southern onto 5-10 "words". Let's hope all my reading to him will pay off.

We concluded the check up with two shots. Southern got a Haemophilus Influenzae Type b (Hib) Vaccine and a Diphtheria Tetanus & Pertussis Vaccine. He took the first one like a trooper but then cried with the second one. It was short-lived though as I soon picked him up, and he calmed down.

And speaking of fast food, we took Southern out for a treat after his doctor's appointment. We went to Chick-fil-a and got him a kid's meal of chicken nuggets, fruit, and milk. He loved it! He ate the chicken first, and quickly. He took his time with the fruit but ate most of it. Daddy had to help with the leftovers, but I don't think he minded too much! ;)