16 Month Chunks (Tomorrow Is Another Day...)

We had our 16 month well baby visit yesterday, and were overjoyed to learn that our little wees have finally leaped onto the growth chart! This has been a pretty long journey, as we've been struggling with weight gain since we first came home from the hospital. The girls seemed to be getting enough to eat at every feeding, and later at every meal, but when we put them on the scale, the number just didn't want to creep up as high as the charts told us it should.

All along, I've felt strongly that both girls are just fine, if on the smaller side. Both Colby and I have a pretty extensive family history of small babies, so I tried not to let it get to me too much. But when the doctor is constantly on your back about it, and you're having to make extra visits to the hospital for weight checks and testing, it's hard not to feel a little bit of stress and pressure.

So, when we saw that both girls had gained enough to break the 20 pound mark, we were pretty thrilled, then the news that Charlotte is in the 7th percentile and Annabelle in the 9th was just the cherry on the chunky baby thigh sundae. So, it seems like we can stop worrying and just count ourselves very lucky about how much wear we've been able to get out of our 12 month sized clothing!

Of course, as it always seems to go with parenting, you get one box checked and squared away, and before you know it, another issue arises. For those who don't know, when we go to our well baby visits, we fill out something called an ASQ--the Ages & Stages Questionnaire. It asks a variety of questions pertaining to the child's motor skills, problem solving, language and so on and allows the doctor to more closely track development. It is also the bane of my existence.

Look, I'm never going to be accused of being the most hard-driving parent when it comes to pushing my children toward achieving goals. I take a pretty relaxed attitude to their development, and figure they'll hit their milestones when they're good and ready. So far, we've never been very far off the mark of "average". They're walking, they're saying a few words each, they communicate the important stuff. Am I conducting daily tests to see if they can get a cheerio out of a water bottle, or use a stick to fish a toy out from under the couch? No. No I am not. So, typically I can answer about 75% of the questions on the ASQ with authority. The other 25%... it's sort of a dart throwing approach.

But she can read!!

Unfortunately, that has led to a little question about Charlotte's fine motor skills and her problem solving skills. I mean... she's 16 months old, so I'm not too worked up over it at this point, and I haven't seen anything that has given me cause for concern. That said, it's an in home assessment, it's free and it's non-invasive, so I figure another set of eyes on my girls can't hurt anything. I've worked with kids enough to know that the parent is frequently the last person to see when there's a problem.

Aside from these oh so harrowing medical concerns, things have been really fun lately. We've gone to the park a couple of times over the last week, and it's been fun watching them spread their wings and fly... far, far away from me. Like, seriously kid, come back. You're not even 2, let's save the running off and surviving on one's own in the wilderness for maybe 4 or 5. If I told you I was seriously considering toddler leashes, how hard would you judge me? What if I told you there was a stuffed giraffe involved?

Comments

Oh, gosh I feel the same way about those silly questionnaires! We definitely do not practice our cheerio in the waterbottle trick...like, ever. My boys really don't have many words yet, but they are "talking" a lot (just a bunch of random sounds that I figure will eventually turn into words?). I can tell their receptive language is growing leaps and bounds at least.

Posted by: Janet | March 19, 2014 at 03:32 PM

We have a monkey leash and will use it. My mom used leashes for my twin sis and I. In my opinion it's better than losing a kid or pinning them to a stroller, or you ;) glad your girls are getting chunky! Though as you said I'm sure they're just little, I think growth charts and perceptions tend to be a little skewed...

Posted by: Katie | March 19, 2014 at 04:09 PM