1 Year

Ben's 1 year checkup went well. He weighs 19.2 lbs and is 30 inches, which means he is in the fifth percentile for weight and the fiftieth for height. Those are the same percentiles from his 6 month appointment. The nurse kept remarking, "he's so tall!" and the PA kept saying, "he's so thin." Two different outlooks, I guess.  

The PA wanted to make sure he was eating enough and that I was feeding him plenty of fat, (like cheese, yogurt, and butter.) She was glad to hear that I am still nursing 3-4 times a day, since breast milk has more fat than whole cow's milk. She seemed slightly concerned, but Benjamin is obviously healthy so there isn't anything to worry about. His personal growth curve has remained very steady, so that is a good sign. There would be more concern if he had gained a lot of weight and then suddenly stopped, or lost weight. I told her that he had gotten pickier over the past month and wasn't eating as much, (which is normal for his age) and she said we could reassess the situation at his 15 month appointment. Then he went home and gorged himself on BBQ chicken, peas, 2 pieces of bread and butter, and a piece of toast with honey, so what do I know? 

Benjamin was the ideal patient. He smiled at everyone, and didn't even blink when the nurse pricked his finger to draw blood for his iron test. She had to squeeze his finger for a long time because his blood was moving slow, and he just sat there and stared at the test tube. The nurse said she has a favorite little boy now! She also mentioned that magic phrase, "he's so laid back!" When I told her he is always like that, she told Joel and I we had done a good job. I was a proud mama! Ben cried when he got his shots, but stopped immediately and was in a great mood the rest of the evening. We found out he has two teeth coming in, and they will probably pop through in the next couple of days.  

We didn't really have any serious concerns to discuss with the PA, but I did have one question. At this age, babies are supposed to be saying mama and dada, and then one other word (like baba.) Benjamin went through a phase of saying mama and dada constantly, and now he just looks at us with amusement whenever we try to make him say those words. This actually happens a lot; we try to teach him various things, or get him to repeat actions or words that he knows, and he won't do it. I've started to worry a little bit about this. Periodically, I've wondered if Benjamin is on the right track developmentally. I've worked with him on pointing to parts of the body, (like belly button and nose) and various words, like "gentle." I'm always trying to teach him new things, and constantly reinforcing what he already knows, and every time he just looks at me with that same little smile.  So, I told the PA all of this and let her know I'm probably just being over-anxious, blah blah blah....And she said, "weeeeeell, if you still feel this way at 15 months we can do some tests." And then she looked at me and said, "but I think that sounds more like a personality issue. I think he just doesn't want to do those things."

WHAT!!!

Well, crap. I forgot that now I'm dealing with a person. It never occurred to me that Ben might be making his own decisions. I mean, I know he doesn't like certain things like having his diaper changed, or getting in the car seat, but this is different. The fact that he is so polite about it cracks me up. Like, he just smiles at me, but inside he's thinking, "nope." No fuss, no tantrums, just...."um....no." Because Benjamin is so relaxed most of the time, I guess it had never occurred to me that he would deliberately not do something I ask him to do, at least not at this age! Man, the Super Nanny is totally going to be coming to my house in a few years. I'll be that mom who keeps saying, "I don't know how this happened! He's always been so sweet!" He's totally gonna play me like a violin.