marion blythe at 15 months

Marion Blythe
15 months

My sweet baby is 15 months old now... and still very much a baby to me :). She has gone from very easy going to very assertive - she now knows what she wants and just how to get it!! Grace even told me last week, "Mom, I think Marion likes how she gets to be bad all the time and never go to time out." Ha! It really caught me off guard. Marion probably is getting old enough for an occasional time out, but I think I'll hold off a bit longer.She is still a bit behind on her gross motor skills. She pulls up on everything and cruises, and she climbs like a wild woman.... actually, she does everything but stand alone and walk. She doesn't try. In fact, her physical therapist and pediatrician both seem to think she is capable of standing alone and walking... if only she would try!

*Marion had her 15 month checkup today. She got 3 shots... ouch! She weighed 23 pounds and was 30 inches long, 50th percentile for both height and weight.

rewind...

Okay, I've been a bit busy. I'm going to go back a month.... both girls had their yearly check-ups! It was actually 2 days before the last time I took Grace to the ER for breathing trouble (bronchitis with asthma again). Grace, at 4 years old, was 42 and a half inches tall and weighed 43 pounds. She's in the 90th percentile for both height and weight.

Marion was 29 inches tall and weighed 21 pounds. She's in the 50th percentile for height and weight. Just for comparison, Grace was 31 inches and 26 pounds at one year old. Although it doesn't seem like too big of a difference, it really is. Grace was always in the 90th/95th percentile for height and weight. Both girls had great check-ups. Dr.M commented that Marion's muscle tone had become normal. Marion had a round of shots and Grace cheered her on and comforted her during them.

I'm suspicious that germs we picked up that day led us to the ER just 2 days later... but other than that, it was a good day :)

why do I worry like I do?

Marion's first time on the big swingset!

Remember all the stressing I did over Marion's hypotonia? The blood work came back normal and her pediatrician referred her for physical therapy. I decided to go through the Early Intervention program and take advantage of some tax dollars at work! Today an occupational therapist came to our house to evaluate her. The results...

She tested right on target at 7 months for both gross and fine motor skills. I was basically told that the standards I was comparing her to were too high. I know that all babies develop differently, but it's still hard impossible not to compare.

I do still feel like she's a little floppy and behind, but I am also reassured. I know that Marion demonstrated her abilities well and that she was scored very accurately. I thought a while about getting a second opinion, but I don't think I will at this time. They offered to come back in two months and reassess, and I will definitely take them up on that :)

had a bad day

So life wasn't so peachy today. When it rains it pours.... and then lightning strikes you, the floodwaters come in, and then the house burns down. I'll spare the major drama and focus on the kids... always fun to talk about them!

Both girls had check ups with the doctor today. Grace, for her three year- yeah a little late! - and Marion for her 6 month visit. Grace's went wonderfully - no shots, no nothing! - and she was rewarded with a huge scratch and sniff Strawberry Shortcake sticker... she still has it on!

Marion wasn't so thrilled. I went in with a big concern: that she wasn't bearing weight on her legs well. Dr.Myers confirmed that her arms and legs both had low muscle tone, and that there was some cause for concern. She did say though, that Marion is sitting well for a 6 month old, so her core body strength seems to be good.

On a hopeful note, she said Marion wasn't in awful shape, and it may just be that she's so laid back and lazy, that she hasn't developed the muscle tone that she should have by now.

Step 1 is blood work. They will run a c-peptide, a complete metabolic panel, and a tsh; not that I understand what any of that means. If it all comes back normal, she will start physical therapy. If it comes back with an issue, we'll go from there and make sure little May May gets taken care of.

I loaded the girls up and drove them next door to the hospital. It was the first time Marion had been back since birth. What a nightmare! An elder nurse told two younger nurses to get the blood by pricking Marion's foot and squeezing it out.... uh, fine for a drop... but they needed two vials!! After torturing her for quite a while and getting nowhere, one of the nurses said, "why are we doing it like this, this will take forever." By this time it was both Marion and I sobbing!So I ask if they think there is a better way and they tell me yes, getting a vein with a needle. Then they proceed with the squeezing drop by freakin drop! So I spoke up from my tears, as I held my screaming tortured baby... "well then, let's do THAT!"

Next, she was stuck in the arm, and the vials filled at a rate ten billions times that of the drop by drop method.I calmed my poor baby and after three hours in the doctor's office and hospital, headed home with my girls. Marion is pretty beat up... did I forget to mention her three shots??but she seems over it :)That smile always makes me feel better too :)

2 month appointment

Marion had her 2 month check up with Dr.Myers last week. She was 11 pounds and 9 ounces, which puts her in the 75th percentile for weight. She was 22 and 1/4 inches long, which puts her in the 50th percentile for height. I was a little surprised, since she looks so much like Jeremy, I expected her to be taller! Her head circumference was 15 and 1/4 inches, the 10th percentile! What a cute little head you have Marion! :)
For comparison, at 2 months, Grace was 13 pounds and 4 ounces and 23 and 3/4 inches long. She was just over the 95th percentile for weight and height!

say ahhhh!

On Tuesday Grace had her 3rd dental appointment. She started going when she turned 2 and has been every 6 months since. She sees a wonderful pediatric dentist. Really, it's more so the hygienists that are so fabulous. They play "tickle your teeth," and even let her play with the tools! All of that plus a princess toothbrush and a special prize at the end (this time it was a pink jump rope). Needless to say, Grace loves to go!
I, on the other hand, was a little apprehensive this time... umm... petrified, yeah. A few months ago I noticed lots of dark browns lines on most of Grace's front teeth. I scrubbed and scrubbed since and they weren't fading. Had I let my child get cavities on every freakin tooth in her mouth?! I was scared to death and ready to accept the Terrible Mom of the Year Award for letting my little girl's teeth rot.
I had been dreading the appointment but was anxious for it at the same time. When the hygentist called Grace's name, I ignored the sign that asked parents to stay in the waiting room and marched right back beside Grace. I quickly explained my concerns and she looked inside. She suspected the brown lines were iron stains, common in children who take vitamins. After about 10 seconds of scrubbing with some pumice grit, Grace's teeth are pearly white again... whew! Supposedly the iron stains cause no harm, but I'm glad they're gone. Grace had another happy day at the dentist - no cavities!

marion's first doctor appointment

Marion had her first doctor appointment today. She was just ever so slightly below her birth weight (she was 6 lbs., 12.5 oz today and 6 lbs., 12.8 oz at birth), which is great for being only 11 days old. The guideline is that they should be back up to birth weight by 2 weeks. I had been concerned that I thought she looked yellow, and Dr.Myers agreed that she was a little yellow, but not enough to warrant any action. She said it was normal for breastfed babies to be slightly yellow for up to 6 weeks.

Marion really changed today... she woke up! She stayed awake and alert for about 3 hours today. She really hadn't been staying up for more than 5 minutes before today! We had lots of fun playing with her... she really watched us and interacted for the first time!

ouch!

Grace visited the doctor today for her flu vaccine. The mist version seems to be the thing this year, I actually don't think any of her friends got the shot. I let Grace choose which she wanted, a flu shot, or flu mist sprayed into her nose. She overwhelmingly went for the shot! She had been bragging to everyone for 2 days that she was getting a flu shot and today was the day.

First came the nurse, who whispered, "You want the mist, right?"

"No, actually, I gave her a choice and she really wants the shot."

"Really!? Well that's a first!"

Grace was sticking to her guns, and when the nurse returned with the syringe, Grace pulled up her sleeve and confidently told Ms.Nurse exactly where she could put it! Then it happened.... the sting... Grace had a look of total shock on her face. She winced in pain, but there were no tears or crying. Poor baby, it wasn't as glamorous as she had thought. The whole way home she repeated, "I don't like my flu shot. My flu shot hurt." She wasn't even amused by the round purple Tweety Bird band-aid, which she would have thought very cool under other circumstances. I did ask her if she would like to get the spray in her nose next year instead of the shot... the answer was "I don't want nose spray and I don't want shot." Well, she has a year to decide.

Grace waiting for her flu shot, still very excited about it!