12-Month Appointment

I took Elsa to her one-year checkup on Tuesday morning, and Dr. Owen thought she looked fabulous overall. She is still quite the skinny thing, weighing in at 18 pounds, 9 ounces -- only 1 pound, 3 ounces more than she weighed at her last appointment in late June. She measured 29 inches in length (she grew an inch), and her head circumference measured 17.5 inches (up by a half inch). This puts her in the 10th percentile for weight, 50th percentile for height, and the 25th percentile for head circumference. Based on how I feel when I carry her these days, I was sure she was going to weigh at least 20 pounds, but I guess I just have that to look forward to.

Dr. Owen asked me some questions to see where Elsa is developmental-wise, and she seems to be right on track. I asked her about the cradle cap we have been dealing with for some time now, and the doctor did not seem concerned. She said it is really a cosmetic issue more than anything else, and said we could apply some borage oil to her scalp prior to giving her the nightly shampoo/scrub routine we have instituted. I also asked if I should be giving her a little juice each day, and she did not think it was necessary. So I then asked about introducing cow's milk. She thought it was fine if I wanted to try to give it to her, and once we started talking about future weaning, she thought trying to give her some cow's milk in replacement of her mid-morning nursing session might be a good idea. I've tried it, and so far Elsa is not a huge fan, but I'm going to keep trying. As for the weaning, I think I've decided to take it slow for a couple of different reasons, the first being that it is just that much easier on the baby and mother if the baby takes the lead. Elsa has dropped some of the nursing on her own up to this point, so I'm hoping that will continue. Another reason I am not in a hurry is that if this flu season is as bad as everyone seems to think it is going to be, I would rather continue to give her all the immunities I possibly can through the winter (and my friend, Alison, highly suggested this from her own experience). That being said, I am ready to drop this 9:00 a.m. feeding and just stick with three -- first thing in the morning, before her nap in the afternoon, and before bedtime. So with advice from my mother friends, I think I will not only continue to try to give her cow's milk, but will also just start giving her a morning snack. We will see how it goes. At some point, I would like to have my body back to myself. :)

Elsa received two vaccinations -- one was what I think was her last Hib vaccination, and the other was her first dose of the polio vaccine. Our doctor does not carry the flu shot in her office and declares it, for the most part, "dirty." (After I left the office, I wished I had asked for a better definition of a "dirty" shot.) And she said she believed the H1N1 vaccine will be even more dirty considering how quickly they have tried to pull it together. She said it was completely up to me whether we get either shot somewhere else, but it was clear she did not think it was necessary. I have only received a flu shot once, and I think that was the one year I actually got the flu, so I am definitely not sold on it myself. At this point, I'm not planning on going to get the shot(s) for either of us (and I don't think Jarrett has ever gotten one, so I really doubt he will bother... besides, he seems to have an immune system made of steel [knock on wood]). I asked what I should expect if Elsa did contract the flu -- and how serious it would actually be -- and she just basically said that she'll get sick and will get through it. But she said since I am still nursing and feed Elsa well otherwise, and am somewhat cautious about where I take her, that we should be fine.

In other Elsa news, both of her first bottom molars (on either side of her mouth) are nearly completely in at this point. Dr. Owen didn't seem too surprised, but our music teacher thought it odd that she was getting her molars before her bottom two side incisors, which I had also thought strange based on what the baby books state as far as the order baby teeth usually come in. But, anyway, she now has eight teeth out of twenty. I will be so glad when all of this teething is complete!

And speaking of our music teacher, Elsa started her second round of Kindermusik on Wednesday. She went from being one of the youngest in her summer class to one of the oldest in this class, with only one girl being older than she. Elsa seemed to enjoy the class, and was flashing big smiles at everyone around her, but she did have a few outbreaks of yelling loud enough that it was difficult to hear the instructor. I just hope she does not become as picky about the music played in class as she is about the music played in the car. She loves the CD we received in the first class, but definitely lets me know when she doesn't like a song... and continues to display her dislike until I change the track. Thank goodness the teenage years are a ways off.

And -- just for fun -- here are a couple of photos I took of Elsa on her birthday.