Health and Growth Updates

Tooth #12 is making an appearance, with plenty of drool, of course!  Thankfully, Gail likes to get her teeth brushed, since the baby toothpaste is apple-banana flavor.

Sadly, Gail has round 4 of being sick, having been totally healthy for less than a week this time before getting really stuffy and having quite the runny nose again. We've called off two fun activities today so she could just nap and try to heal. Even though the winter hasn't been too harsh, I'm really looking forward to playing in the sun so we can say a real good-bye to the germs.

Wednesday was Gail's one-year check-up, and her growth is slowing down a little. She's a few ounces shy of 22 pounds, and 30.5 inches, dropping her to the 89th percentile for height. Now, the sleeves of her 12-month shirts are getting too short already, but at least she wore that size for over 3 months!

This doctor appointment was particularly tough for Gail. She had to have a finger prick, first of all, and a little machine read her iron level while she got 3 vaccinations. Our doctor said technically 6 are recommended at this age (!!!!!) but she prefers to do 3 now and 3 in three months. I'm a firm supporter of that plan. Six needles would be miserable! Nowadays there is a vaccine for chicken pox, which seems nice, since not only will that prevent her from getting chicken pox, she shouldn't get shingles later on. As I had a round of shingles on my neck in middle school, I'm happy for Gail!

While the shots were happening, the little machine beeped, and the nurse said, "Oh, it's low." No surprise there, since mine has been low my whole life! Well, as confirmation we were sent to the lab to do an actual blood draw, and since we were already taking blood they are testing for lead levels as well since our house was built prior to 1978.

All told, Gail was miserable by the end of over 2 hours at the medical center, and having been poked 5 times total. We are waiting for the call with the results still, so I'll relay that information when it comes.

For now, here's Gail racing for one of her current favorite toys::