9+ Months...

Official stats from the boys 9 Month Well-Baby appt:

Matthew:
Weight: 19pds 12oz (approx 20-25th percentile)
Height: 29.25 inches long (75th percentile)
Head circumference: 18.25 inches (75th percentile)
Andrew:
Weight: 21pds exactly (50th percentile)
Height: 29.25 inches long (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18.25 inches (75th percentile)

Matthew now has a referral to a pediatric Gastriologist for his reflux issues. He's currently on both Prevacid and Zantac. We just started the Zantac so hopefully that helps. The poor little boy is suffering and in turn so are Mommy and Daddy. All of these sleepless nights are brutal.

I had a little bit of a nervous breakdown at/after the doctors. We had to fill out long questionnaires on what milestones the boys have met. They should have mailed it to us a week prior to fill out at home b/c I had no clue on a few of them...they were specific...like "Can your child hold on to the side of the crib standing w/out letting his body lean into the crib." Matthew passed w/ an A+ b/c he's so far advanced in every area. Andrew also did well in all areas except for gross motor skills. I told the doctor that he wasn't sitting up much and she said that was a developmental delay. That it could be that he's just a bit slower or it could mean that something bigger is going on. But she clearly said he should definitely be sitting up by now. We were told to wait a month and just observe b/c he supports his head well, rolls all over and can stand supporting his weight so he still passes the gross motor skills but just by a little. I of course couldn't let it go...and had to ask what the worse case scenario could be. She replied Muscular Dystrophy. OMG! Now shouldn't a doctor know better than to say that out loud to a anxious high strung Mom. I know I asked, but still! A better reply wound have been (It's much to early to tell so lets talk more on your next visit when we see how he's progressing).

So I'm crying & immediately get on the devil internet when we get home and look up muscular dystrophy. Which was a bad bad bad decision. No good info to be found my friends! Meanwhile Jerry has Andrew on the floor and calls me into the room. Andrew is sitting :-) In fact he was able to sit a few minutes no problem. How horrible does it sound that we hadn't practiced sitting w/ him. I would try to practice crawling but never though much of the sitting. I of course spent the next two days w/ Andrew on the floor "sitting" and he can now sit for hours on end like it's the easiest thing in the world! In fact my friends from my baby play-dates laughed at my concern when Andrew sat up for a straight hour during a baby story and song time at the library. I guess I've been a bad mommy in this department (guilt) but also a mommy trying to survive! I've just been putting Andrew in the exerciser too often. It was so easy to put Andrew in the exerciser while I dealt w/ a very fussy Matthew. Poor excuse I know. So basically it wasn't enough floor time for Andrew. He needs more practice then his brother. So its all about 24/7 floor time now. And Guess what????? Andrew crawled for the first time today! Yeah!

Did you see the pretty alphabet floor mats in the picture with Andrew? We bought enough to cover most of family room.

I am now certified in CPR. I took a CPR and First Aide class w/ a friend and we were the only two that showed up so it was great one on one attention. I also went to a presentation by Dr. Sears who wrote "The Vaccine Book". It confirmed all of my concerns about vaccinations. He isn't anti-vaccine. Just explains why you should do them slowly over a spread out schedule. So he went over each vaccination and which ones can be safely put off for a while, etc. It's a great book and I really liked him. You should read the book if you have any concerns in this area.

***I would also like to mention that I myself didn't crawl until a year and didn't walk until 17 months so I wasn't real concerned prior to this frightening appointment. And I've been a pretty decent athlete most of my life and am about to run a half marathon. No problems here. I wish we didn't have to stress over these milestones.


Andrew after lunch


Andrew surrounded by toys


Andrew enjoying his new alphabet floor mat


Matthew playing


Matthew trying to get my camera.


I think they're getting bored of the photo session.