schmits.org

Welcome to schmits.org: , , , and virtual front porch. This web site is just that; a place to visit for family, friends, and anyone, who are too far away, to stop by in person. Pull up a chair and stay a while....

Fifteen Months

Andrea's fifteen-month well check was this afternoon. Her head circumference is 19" which is hovering just above the 95th percentile. Her length is 32" which places Andrea at the 90th percentile. And her weight, 21 lbs 15 oz, is midway between the 25th and 50th percentile. She got two immunizations, one in each leg. She had practically no reaction to the first shot. Had it stopped at one shot, she may not have shed a single tear. However, after the second, she cried in protest, but calmed down pretty readily.

Unfortunately, I learned that our second favorite pediatrician is leaving the practice today. He's the one that we have seen most often for sick visits recently. There is one new doctor who I haven't seen with either kid yet, so perhaps there's another good option there. I only strongly dislike one out of the approximately ten doctors they have, so I guess my odds still are pretty reasonable to stay away from him.

Overall, Andrea is healthy. Let's see if we can stay out of the doctor's office with her until her next well check at 18 months! And that appointment will once again be with our favorite pediatrician in the practice.

Tooth Surprise!

Today, I noticed Andrea's eighth tooth. It is on the upper right of her mouth. The surprise is that it is her first molar, not the lateral incisor, on the upper right. She currently has all four central incisors, the three lateral incisors other than the upper right, and the upper right first molar. No idea why this tooth decided to pre-empt all those which I expected before it! It is possible that the tooth has been there for a few days, as it is quite visible. Tooth number seven has been visible for less than a week. It was peeking through the gums on July 17th, but only barely; it was the upper left lateral incisor.

Andrea's teeth all have arrived within the expected window published by the American Dental Association (ADA), except for her upper lateral incisors. One was two months late and the other is two months and counting. It was a surprise to me to notice that range for the upper lateral incisors is actually earlier than the lower lateral incisors. Similarly, the first molars and canines erupt earlier on the top than the bottom.

According to the chart of unknown origin on Dr. Greene's website, this most recent tooth is the first to fall in the normal range. Andrea is well behind the pace Dylan had for tooth eruption, as he had twelve teeth by this age. Surprisingly, I have been better at recording when Andrea's teeth have erupted.

Later this week, I expect to have an update on Andrea's overall health, as she goes in for her fifteen-month well check on Wednesday afternoon.

Andrea's First IM

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What was she trying to say? Is it a code? Is it in base 3? Is it the start to a numerical sequence?

Happy Birthday, Andrea!

Andrea's birthday was last Thursday. We celebrated in a low-key manner. We made an applesauce cake with cream cheese frosting and served Breyer's french vanilla ice cream with it. Mommy, Daddy, and Dylan sang "Happy Birthday" and Andrea watched her birthday cake. She was reaching for it. I'm not sure if it was the fact that it looked like something to eat or if it was the flame on the candle. Dylan sang the last verse, the part about how old are you now, to Andrea. It was very cute as he sang, "how old are you, sweetie." Dylan then blew out the candle for Andrea. Andrea seemed to enjoy her cake and frosting. She was not a fan of the ice cream, which I blame on the temperature. It was clear from her face that she did not like it! She tried a second bite, and had a very similar response. Dylan opened a few presents on her birthday for her and both Andrea and Dylan had fun playing with them.

Andrea had her one-year well check on Monday. She is a healthy little girl. She is tall and skinny! Her height of 30 1/2" puts her at about the 90th percentile, as does her head circumference of 18 1/2". The head size explains why Dylan's old 12-18 month size hat barely fits. Andrea's weight is only 19 lbs 12 1/2 oz, which is just above the 25th percentile. So, we'll keep her rear-facing in the car for a bit longer.

First Steps

Andrea took her first unassisted steps today. At least, the first that I saw. I'll have to probe to learn whether she took any this past week at school.

Andrea's first steps were away from me; Dylan's first steps were toward me. After her nap today, I set her down on the floor. On her feet, not in a sitting position, since she has a strong preference to be standing. She balanced for a few seconds without support. Then, she took a couple of steps toward the coffee table, which was only a couple of steps away.

Andrea took quite a few more steps this afternoon and evening. She first played the game of take two steps from the coffee table to the couch, where Mommy was sitting, and fall into Mommy's lap. While Dylan and Geoff were still coloring Easter eggs, she took some steps around the sunroom. I counted five in a row at one point. She definitely continues to be a bit more reckless than Dylan ever was, which means I need to stay close enough to prevent face plants.

Wonders of Spring

Andrea is seeing the signs of spring for the first time. This evening, I walked around the backyard with Andrea. We looked at and touched the buds on the maple trees and magnolia trees. She enjoyed feeling the evergreen tree leaves. Walking in the yard, while holding my hands, she stopped to reach for a tree branch that had fallen to the ground. Geoff took a couple of pictures, but they don't do justice to the glimmer of amazement and excitement that were in her eyes. On our way inside, Andrea and I paused and looked at the buds on the magnolia tree once more; I suggested that she always take time to smell the flowers.

The Banana Connection

We started Andrea on solid foods at six months old. In the past four weeks, we have introduced her to a new food every 3 or 4 days. Her food repertoire now consists of breastmilk, rice cereal, barley cereal, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, green beans, squash, and bananas. As we did with Dylan, we attempt to capture each new taste with a photo. Andrea enjoys posing for pictures, so there are many smiles before she takes a bite. And, there are many smiles after she takes a bite.

Last night was the first time that I thought Andrea showed any reaction other than a smile to tasting a food. Previously, when we introduced peas, she seemed less interested than she had in carrots. She still smiled, but she ate less. Last night, we introduced Andrea to bananas in the Gerber Stage 1 form factor. After consuming about three quarters of the container, she started to cry and to look at me; Geoff was feeding her. He and I switched, and I fed Andrea the last few bites of banana before switching to cereal. She didn't quite finish her bananas, and actually spit the last few bites out.

Tonight, I made the banana connection. I was feeding Andrea bananas again, and she continued to make faces. Dylan was actually asking me why Andrea was shaking her head and making those faces. About halfway through the container, she refused to eat any more bananas. And, that's when it struck me. Andrea has never liked bananas. It was the one food that I had a strong aversion to while I was pregnant. We'll see whether she ever develops a taste for them. Or, perhaps she'll be like my good friend Sarah at work, who has never liked bananas.

This means Andrea is going to love chocolate...

Andrea at Six Months

Andrea is now six months and ten days old. We had her well-check last week, and got confirmation that she is growing and developing well. She now measures 26 1/4" long, weighs 16 lbs 4.5 oz., and has a head that is 17" in circumference. This puts her between the 50th and 75th percentiles on all measurements.

The other milestone she's recently (i.e. in the last two or so days) reached is regarding motion. The gates are now closed in our house, as Andrea is able to propel herself across the room with decent speed. Here's a short video to see Andrea on the Move. Be forewarned that in the second half of the video, she's wearing one of her Halloween costumes - a cow. It's not my attempt to rebel against all the pink outfits. Really.

And about those pictures... there are literally hundreds of them waiting for me to edit and post. I'll get there some day. I promise. If you want to see them sooner, come visit us sometime!

Four-Month Well Check

Andrea visited the doctor this afternoon. She came away with a clean bill of health, good progress on development milestones, and four bandaids from her shots.

Andrea continues to grow well. She is still long, although Geoff will point out how inaccurate this measurement can be. She measured in at 26" on the second attempt which places her at about the 95th percentile; the first measurement by the nurse was 27" which is well off the chart for a four-month old. Her weight was 15 lbs 1 oz which is between the 75th and 90th percentiles. Finally, her head size was 16 1/2" or at the 75th percentile.

I have plenty more thoughts and many pictures to share from the last couple of months. I hope to have a few spare moments sometime soon...

Two Months!

It's been two months since Andrea was born. She had her two-month well check up this afternoon. She continues to grow well. She is now 12 lbs, 4.5 oz which is at about the 90th percentile. She is 24.5 inches long which is above the 95th percentile. And her head is now 15 1/2" in circumference which is between the 50th and 75th percentiles. It was also the day of vaccinations; she received four shots in her legs.

Andrea's next well check will be when she is four months old.