18 months (and 10 days)

Sam turned 18 months last week! He had his well-baby check too. He measured 2'8.5" tall, which is at 64% for boys his age, and 24lbs 6oz, which is 32% for boys his age. Long and lean, sounds about right. They also measure head circumference, which is 19.02" or 68%. The doc was impressed that Sam has never been on antibiotics in his short life and judged him to be a very healthy happy little boy (of course there was nothing happy about his mood when she checked him, he screamed the whole time!). At the time of his check-up I counted 8-9 words that he could say, which is not too shabby for his age. They look for 20 words by 20 months, but a lot can develop in the last month, she said. Since the visit, I think he's picked up a couple more words. New words this past month: woof-woof (for dog), hi, bye-bye, buh-buh (bunny), door, bubble, ball. New words the past week: hot and trash (when he *ahem* finds something on the floor, then runs with it over to the kitchen trashcan). New word yesterday: juice. Other developments: getting really good feeding himself with the spoon, first band-aid worthy boo-boo (middle finger of right hand got caught in a door, my fault), first skinned knee (a hot day in our backyard), allows mommy to "blow" his nose with a tissue, one-nap schedule totally stabilized and working great (6:30/7:00am wakeup, 12:00ish-2:00ish nap, 7:30 bedtime).

And today's update: Sam is sick! He has a low-grade/moderate fever, a smidgen of a runny nose, and an occasional cough. His spirits are down, he didn't nap more than 30 minutes yesterday, and his appetite's been almost nil, though he did down like 12 ounces of juice when he woke up yesterday (see his new word for the day above). Motrin lowers his fever and makes him feel better, but most of the day he just wimpered and glued himself to me, poor guy. Just when I've started weaning too. Not the first time I'll feel mommy-guilt, I'm sure. A little Sesame Street Old School (from my era--the 70's) made us both feel a little better.

Last night was bad: 5 or 6 wake-ups, hot and sweaty with fever, we comforted and alternated dosing motrin and tylenol, adjusted clothing and room temperature several times, changed a diaper, and finally, at 5:30 brought him into our bed to sleep on my chest, just like when he was a newborn. I was recently telling my brother, the brand-new dad, that the chest-sleeping really helps newborns sleep better, but that it doesn't last. Once they get a bit older, you can't do it anymore, so enjoy it while you can. Well, I wish Sam wasn't sick, but it sure was nice to sleep together like that one more time.

This morning, I think his fever broke because he is cool to the touch and in better spirits. He ate almost an entire 2-egg portion of scrambled eggs with salsa. At one point (before his tylenol re-dose) he whimpered and pointed to his teeth. I asked him if his teeth hurt, and he nodded affirmatively. So maybe he's teething too, which would explain all the drooling. Ok, I know this level of detail is not exactly interesting if you are not Sam's mommy, but I was proud that there was at least some communication about what has been bothering him. My little boy is growing up.