12 Month Appointment

Today was the big 12 month appointment! James and I went over to see Dr. Hirsh this morning at 11am and we saw Dr. Hirsh 33 weeks pregnant! Congratulations Dr. Hirsh! She won't be at James' 15 month appointment but will be back for the 18th month. So for the 15th month, we're either going to see Dr. King or Dr. Weissbluth. The photo above was taken just before we left - such a character. Right now, James is sleeping off three shots he received - shots are never fun.

Dr. Hirsh could not believe that James was cruising before crawling so Mom asked if she wanted to see him and she said yes so James was cruising along in the doctor's office wearing nothing but a smile. It's a great memory to have and I don't think I will ever ever ever forget it. And for the stats: James head circumference is 47.5cm, the 75-90th percentile; his weight is 24lbs 14 ounces, the 75-90th percentile; and his height is 30in, the 50-75 percentile. Dr. Hirsh said James is growing perfectly and is very very strong. Mom had to hold him down for the ear and mouth exam and the shots. I don't want to talk about holding him down for the shots - except that I am proud of myself for not taking the easy way out and just pinning his arms down. I just hugged him and held him as tightly and as lovingly as I could and kept telling him it would be over soon. Poor guy left with tears in his eyes and sniffling. Every nurse and doctor that we passed said, "Aw it's ok big guy." Could melt your heart.

Because James hasn't crawled yet or hasn't gotten himself to sitting, we've got to journey up to the burbs to visit a physical therapy place for babies so that we can learn some exercises to strengthen James' core muscles. We just have to go once and Dr. Hirsh said that she's not worried at all - and Mom and Dad are 100% confident that James is pretty much the best thing in the world. So, we'll learn some exercises.

No more bottles. YIKES! Dr. Hirsh said that we can finish the formula we have now but after it's gone, it's time to switch to milk. We can go full fat or 2%. And it's going to be around 10 ounces a day. We can either go the sippy cup or real cup route. I asked if it was easier to replace one bottle a day or go cold turkey and she said that most of her parents tell her that cold turkey is the way to go - the little ones are fussy for a couple of days but pretty quickly they realize the cup is the new bottle. Holy cow. I can't tell you how nervous this makes me. And a little sad too. I love cuddling with James while he drinks his ba-ba. Sigh. Our little baby is not a baby anymore.

Tomorrow is the big day ... the Big 1 Year. Wow. My head is spinning. The other night, while we were giving James his bath, Doug and I were talking and I was being sad about James turning one and Doug said, "Meg, think about all the milestones we witnessed - think about all the things that James has accomplished and that he can do now." It is pretty amazing when you think about it. We are so proud, blessed and lucky to have James as our son. We love you little one!