18 Month Wellness

This afternoon we took Nolan to his 18 month wellness visit. It worked out for an additional purpose as Nolan suddenly came down with a yucky sickness. 

Yesterday, he woke up snotty nosed and hoarse. It's been pitiful. Add in a yucky cough, wheezing, and a fever and you've got one cranky toddler. 

Poor guy. 

As a result of his fever, he didn't not receive vaccinations today, so we have those rescheduled in two weeks. After he gets these vaccines, he won't be due back for a wellness check until his 2nd birthday! That's crazy. 

You take your kid to the doc basically every three months for the first year and a half of their life, and it feels strange to hear they're not due back for six months. Ha!

Illness aside, Nolan's been doing fantastic. Most of his update for this age range was posted in our 18 Month post, so I won't go repeating all of those things. 

He's added a few new words just in the last few weeks though: airplane and jacket. 

I'm still worried about language. The doctor still isn't. Sigh. 

She says he's making word associations, his vocabulary range is good for his age, and she's not worried about actual pronunciation right now. 

The only other concern I really have other than language was his inability to effectively use spoon/fork right now - even though he is pretty much okay with a fork. Again, she's not worried about fine motor skills either. 

I'm that parents, aren't I? The one the doctor dreads seeing because she knows she's going to spend the entire visit assuring me my child is fine. I mean, maybe I worry a bit too much, but I'd much rather focus on his weaknesses and address them, than just pretend he's a genius because of the things he can do. 

Cory jokes with me about it. I mean, our 18 month old knows over half of the alphabet now and he'll tell Nolan, "See, baby, you can do something that makes mama proud." 

It's a joke. Joke, people... 

I encourage that kid as much as a parent can, and send lots of positive energy his way. But, realistically, I do like to note the areas that need improving and focus on them. And I've never been a fan of wait it out strategies. If something's off, let's handle it now. Why do we wait to see if it magically gets better on it's own? 

Of course in all my training and jobs and therapies, speech is the one I don't know much about. Go figure.

Anyway... 

Other than that usual complaint, all checked out fine :)

He weighs 21 pounds, 6 ounces and stands 31.25 inches tall with a head circumference of 47cm. That puts him in the 21.1% for weight, the 13.6% for height, and the 38.2% for HC. Had a bit of a growth spurt :)  He was up 2 pounds and 2 inches from his 15 month appointment! 

Random note: This morning I told Nolan, "You're so dang cute." He looked at me with a big smile and said, "Tant to." lol  And because he is so dang cute... pictures: