9 month pediatrician check

Weight: 20 pounds 5.6 ounces, 75th percentile

Height: 28.5 inches, 80th percentile

Head Circumference: 45cm., 76th percentile

Audrey had her 9 month checkup today. We had to change doctors because her pediatrician, Dr. Blumberg, took a position at Texas Children's Hospital. Her new doctor is Dr. Sperling. We had seen her once before for a sick visit and she would always pop in during other visits just to check out Audrey's freakish hemotoma (which is now gone, yay!). We really like her so we don't mind having to change. Oddly enough, we have a small outside connection to both of these doctors. Dr. Blumberg is the husband of a librarian I worked with at WHS and Dr. Sperling went to medical school with my OB who delivered Audrey, Dr. Campaigne.

Her visit went well. As you see, she's growing! Although her weight is a little high, it's perfect because it's proportionate to her height. She met all of her developmental milestones- scooting, reaching for objects, babbling, touching things with her first finger, and responding when you talk to her. Fortunately, she doesn't have separation anxiety like many babies her age. We're keeping our fingers crossed. They did have to dig wax out of her ear for the third time, but fortunately this time it didn't lead to a meltdown. Since she hasn't been spitting up much we're going to stop the Zantac and see how she does without it. Most kids with reflux grow out of it around this age. We talked about diet. She gave me a better, more detailed handout than what we received previously and Audrey is right on track with those guidelines....except for the fudgecicles, but she said that wouldn't hurt her. Over the next couple months we'll start giving her more table foods. Right now she doesn't care for them. She's had some scrambled egg yolk and some Gerber Puffs (like Cheerios, but they dissolve much more easily). She makes a nasty and confused face when she gets a bite, but after she swallows it she'll open her mouth for another bite. She'll only take about 6 little bites, but it's a start. She only has the 2 bottom teeth, so I imagine mashing everything with your gums might be a little weird. We do need to start brushing her teeth and gums now, so we'll see how she likes that. She didn't need any shots today, but she will for her 12 month visit. We scheduled that for the day before her birthday so she wouldn't think we were meanies. It's amazing how quickly things change! At 12 months we should be transitioning to the sippy cup, on whole milk, getting off the pacifier, done with baby food, and eating a few new foods that are current no-no's (honey, egg whites, certain berries). She's already drinking an ounce or two of water from the sippy cup everyday so I think that we're off to a decent start. That's all the news for now!