Big Foot

HL has officially outgrown his size 7 shoes. Shoe shopping this weekend!

Sitting in my Big Boy Chair

Sitting in my Big Boy Chair, originally uploaded by Kelly Sue.

…about to have breakfast with Momma.

Potty Training and Tallulah Doll Updates

Two quick things I thought were worth sharing:

1) Henry’s teachers said he’s so enthusiastic about potty training at school that they’d like us to get him some Pull-Ups and some small rewards for them to start using. So that’s pretty cool.

2) At HL’s request, I went out and got sushi for dinner tonight. When I got home, HL showed me how he had put his Tallulah doll in the swing to sleep. He sang “Rock-A-Bye Baby” and pushed the swing… way too hard. But still! His dad reported that he did it all on his own. Very sweet.

Booster Seat!

Henry Leo ate his dinner at the table in a booster seat instead of a high chair tonight. He seemed to like it all right, but Mom noted there was a lot more food on the floor than usual.

Still, I think we’ll try again tomorrow.

(He was characteristically unenthusiastic about dinner–he tends to come home from school ravenous and by the time supper’s on the table he’s stuffed himself with snacks. Tonight he ate popcorn and watched King Kong with Daddy while Mommy made dinner. When he sat down at the table he requested sushi and got lamb stew instead. It was an evening of disappointments.)

Oh, and as long as we’re marking milestones, he’s tinkled in the potty several times since our last success! Pretty amazing to me as we haven’t pushed him in that direction at all.

Blind Item: Guess Who Pee’d in the Potty Like a Big Boy For the First Time Today

Hint: it would not be a first for Daddy.

EDITED TO ADD: We found out from his teachers that it wasn’t actually the first time–it was the first time at home. Apparently he’d pee’d in the potty twice at school already.

Getting Ready for Baby Sister

First the good news:

I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think we’re just about weaned. He hasn’t nursed in three days, anyway. He still asks–particularly at night and more than once last night since his dad was away and he had all that attendant insecurity–but he’s pretty easily distracted and surprisingly responsive to the idea that though he’ll always be my baby, he’s not a little baby anymore. Then I try to talk about some of the great things about being a little boy. That seems to do it. I’m not going to check it off the list until it’s been a week, but three days is pretty good.

We’re also doing well with bedtime and nap time, though he’s not yet interested in sleeping in his AWESOME BIG BOY BED. For the moment, his awesome big boy bed is an awesome cat bed. Wah wah.

He still uses his high chair, which we’ll need for Tallulah eventually, but we’ve probably got a while yet. Still, I’ve got it on my list.  We’re going to need to transition him to a booster seat at the table.

Now the “meh” news:

Yesterday I asked Henry if he wanted a baby doll to help him practice for his little sister.  (A few people had suggested it and I’d dismissed it at first–because he’s never shown a lick of interest in anything people-shaped–but yesterday at school he played with a doll for a bit during drop off, so I figured maybe we’d give it a shot.)

“Yes!”

“Do you want Mommy to order you one, or do you want to pick one out yourself?”

“Pick it out!”

Okay, so before dinner we stopped by a toy store.  Of course, as soon as we walked in he wanted to know, “Where da animals at?”

I told him he could go look at the animals after we picked out a Tallulah doll, so he grabbed the first doll he could reach and again demanded animals.  (The doll he grabbed was African-American.  I’m not sure if that was just happenstance or if it was because Sabrina, his best friend here, was adopted from Africa.  I’d like to think it was because of Sabrina but he didn’t seem terribly deliberate.)

I asked him if he was sure that was the doll he wanted.  He switched it with another (this one a blonde caucasian, but honestly he didn’t seem to be paying attention) and called for animals.  I’m fairly certain he switched the dolls in hopes of shutting me up and getting to the animals.  At that point it was clear this was a losing battle so we headed for the Schleich bins with the blonde doll in tow.

Honestly, I should have put the doll back.  He spent all of maybe two minutes picking it out and most of that was under duress.  He then spent ten minutes with the animals figurines and literally had to be carried away in tears.  (Can you tell I don’t like the doll?  I’m sure it doesn’t help that I think it’s kind of ugly.  And not in that so-ugly-it’s-cute way.  Just ugly-ugly.)

We did play pretend with doll Tallulah a bit this morning, but I really had to take the lead.  He was at his most engaged when she was opening imaginary presents (“Animals for Tuella!”) and when we put a “bambaid” on her leg.

It might catch on if we push it but I don’t have high hopes.  If I hadn’t taken the tag off, I’d probably return it.

–Mom

2 Year Old Check Up

HL had his 2 year old check up today and his first appointment with the doctor’s office in Portland. First I should say that he looooved his doctor and kept asking for him on the way out. He wanted to say goodbye. So that was nice.

Stats-wise, he’s 2 feet 11 1/4 inches tall, which puts him in the 80th percentile for height. That’s dropped a bit. He weighs 28.2 pounds — 60th percentile. His head is 51 cm. (They forgot to put what percent that is.) His BMI is 16, which puts him in the 35th percentile. (There’s a little note that says that the 85th percentile and above is overweight.)

His previous stats are here. I’ll update the chart when I’m at my other machine.

They pricked his fingers to re-check his lead level. He handled that amazingly well — especially since they had to do it twice.

He got some shots. He cried. His mommy cried. (Oops.)

The water in Portland doesn’t contain fluoride, so we got a prescription for a supplement.

The exam went well. I daresay he even had fun with everything but the shots. The doctor let him listen to his heart with the stethoscope. HL really got a kick out of that.

When we were all done he ate lunch from his lunchbox in the car and we got to school just in time for his nap! All in all, I think it went pretty well. Unless there’s a problem, they don’t need to see him again until he’s 3. (We did make an appt for a flu shot later in the month, however.)

That’s all I’ve got, I think.

(Grandma Karen: the 2T pants I bought him at Old Navy yesterday are waaay too big. I think I’m going to return them. 2T tops fit perfectly, though.)

Henry’s Haircut

Henry’s Haircut, originally uploaded by Kelly Sue.

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HL’s 18 month Check Up Stats

HL’s Stats, originally uploaded by Kelly Sue.

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Get the Lead Out

So…

Henry had his check up yesterday. For those of you playing along at home, his stats:

Weight = 50th percentile
Height = >97th percentile (“Off the charts,” the nurse said. I suspect he may have been mismeasured. We’ll find out at his 18 month check up, I guess.)
Head Circ = 95th percentile

…he seems to have had a growth spurt height-wise (clearly, he doesn’t take after his mother) (unless this is both his first and last growth spurt), but the rest of him is falling neatly in the proscribed curve. He’s hitting all his milestones and he’s as verbal a kid as there’s ever been. The dry skin patches on his legs and elbows? Nothing a little Aquaphor Healing Ointment won’t clear right up.

Here’s the unnerving part: the doctor had some concern about the level of lead in his blood at his one year screening. Apparently there is no “normal” level – the normal level of lead in the blood is 0. They screen for anything over 10. (Ten what?) Most of the kids our doctor sees have levels of less than or equal to 3. Henry’s level at his 1yr exam was 7. It’s still under 10, but it’s high enough to catch their attention. He was retested yesterday and we should have the results in a couple of days. In the meantime, we’re doing a little research and we bought some lead testing kits.

We do live in a 100 year old house and we did have the kitchen remodeled right before Henry was born. Who knows what that stirred up.

Has anyone reading this been through anything similar? Any tips or tales would be appreciated.

Edited to Add:

Terry sent us a bunch of info that I’ve just started making my way through. This (from here) was helpful:

5-9 µg/dl

If the blood was taken from your child’s finger or heel it may be in this range due to contamination. If
the test was a venous draw it MAY be a sign of recent exposure to lead. At this level no medical
management is needed, but parents should take steps to identify possible sources of lead in their
child’s environment in order to prevent any further exposure. There is no totally safe level of lead for
children. Recent research has shown that lead levels below 10 µg/dl can lower intelligence. You
should keep your child away from lead around the home and give your child healthy foods. Lead
absorption is increased when there is not enough iron or calcium in a child’s diet. Serve foods high in
calcium, iron, and vitamin C and low in fat.

…Henry’s test was taken from his heel — both at his 1 year exam and at the retest yesterday. So… the possibility of contamination is comforting. And the notion that I might be able to help nutritionally alleviates some of the feeling of powerlessness.