One Year Appointment: Boo on Shots!

Helen Grace had her 12-month check-up on Friday, and our baby girl is growing up!

Weight: 21 lbs, 1 oz, 60th percentile

Height: 30 1/4 inches, 90th percentile

Head Circumference: 46 1/2 cm, 90th percentile

Poor baby had to get a finger prick to get her iron levels, two shots in the thighs, and a chicken pox vaccine in her arm. She actually didn’t even cry for the finger prick, but she was UPSET that she couldn’t eat her Band-Aid, hence the pout and hand-to-mouth in these pics. She got the first one off before we got back to the exam room, but Band-Aid #2 lasted until we got to the car. The shots on the other hand did not go so well. She cried halfway home- it about broke my heart. I am blaming some of the meltdown on the fact that our appointment fell too close to naptime, but once she calmed down, she fell right asleep in the car with wet tears still on her cheeks. Whew, glad we have three more months before more shots! Here’s what Helen Grace is up to these days…

• She has learned to arch her back and slide right off the couch. Recently, she has started hiking her leg and trying to climb back up on the couch and onto one of our laps, which is hilarious to watch!
• One of my favorite things that she does now is pat me on the back. Oh, it just melts me when she pulls me in for a hug, puts her head on my shoulder, and then pats my back. She also does it to her dolly. Very sweet.
• Helen Grace is very smart and has started doing the above noted cuddle/pat on the back to whomever is holding her when it’s time to get in her carseat. Grandparents fall right into her trap and insist on “just one more cuddle” before they let loose, and that just perpetuates into another five minutes of freedom. And it simultaneously breaks Mama’s heart and infuriates me that she is smart enough to work against me and also be so endearing to her grandparents while pushing me away!
• She hasn’t touched a paci in months. PTL!
• She does this hilarious little noise mostly when she first wakes up but sometimes during that day that she whispers at you. The best we can explain it is that it sounds like “zsa zsa,” and she says it really quietly, over and over, and has the biggest smile on her face. If only we knew what she was trying to say!
• She has four teeth on the bottom, four on top, and four molars (discovered by Dr. Barrett yesterday). That explains the brief tantrums we’ve had, and now that we are pumping her with Tylenol, she’s a much happier camper.
• Her car seat is front-facing, and she LOVES it, although she is still not happy on long car trips. We went to Jackson today, and she was really not happy to be in the car that long. We even pulled out the DVD player, but she was bored and would rarely sleep. We are going to blame it on the new teeth and soreness from shots…
• She plays a peek-a-boo game where she squats down where she *thinks* you can’t see her and then stands up with a “Peek-a-boo!!!” smile and laugh!
• She continues to play with her hair when she’s sleepy. Now that her hair is coming in so thick and curly, she has a lot to twirl and run her hands through. :)
• I’ve been trying to teach her to tap her hand over her mouth while making a noise to sound like an Indian. She will let me tap my hand on her mouth, but she never makes  a noise- just smiles at me! Today she finally started putting her own hand over her mouth and making the noise, and she cracked herself up at the sound she made! Another noise she has been making in the last day or so…Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma- music to my ears!
• She is still taking a good many steps at a time, but you either have to bribe her with something when she’s in a good mood or leave her alone and act like you aren’t watching. She would rather hand your finger and take off like lightning. That way, she can walk faster than I can keep up with at times! She also loves to push things around as she walks- kitchen chairs, the ottoman, her scooter, etc. Needless to say, we’ve had to put up the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs, and since the litter boxes are upstairs, we are still trying to figure out the best way for the cats to get up there…hmmm…we tend to leave it propped open when we’re gone or she’s asleep.
• Helen Grace experienced milk for the first time tonight- and she loved it! Dr. Barrett said that the bottle needs to be gone by 15 months, so we are still working hard to switch to purely the sippy cup. She does great with no valve in it, but obviously, if we are to use the sippy cup in public and with nice clothes on, we need to master sucking through the valve. Also, we need to cut out the bedtime bottle (since she has so many teeth that need to be squeaky clean during the night), so tonight we tried bedtime with no bottle. She gave us a little trouble but soon gave it and was out like a light. Cross your fingers that it was just that simple. We are still working on building her table food menu. She loves cheese, turkey, chicken, animal crackers, yogurt, cantaloupe, grapes, cheerios, green beans, ice cream, ramen noodles, and spaghetti o’s, just to name a few.