80 weeks

Today, Banner turns 40 weeks old. Add 40 weeks (exactly) of pregnancy, and that makes Banner a complete 80 weeks old. In honor of that milestone, I want to report what the doctor told us at his appointment a couple days ago. First of all, we get to add meats to his diet now. (We're waiting on dairy still, not as an allergy precaution but as a means of not enticing him away from fruits and veggies in order to like cheese or yogurt more.... so this is more of a behavioral tactic than a medical one.) Banner also got two shots at his appointment: another polio shot and another Hep B shot (I still want to write a separate post about vaccines and my opinions on them... that will have to wait for now). And, he was given a hemoglobin test, which came back one-tenth of a point below normal, but the doctor wasn't worried (of course, I was and asked lots of questions.... and I later found out that overhydration can be a contributing factor to that, and since he had LOTS of water at his 9-month photo shoot earlier that morning, I'm going to make myself feel better and think that's all it was....). Anyway, we got our questions answered, Banner got a clean bill of health, and we got his new stats:

-Height: 27 3/4 inches = 35th percentile
-Weight: 21 pounds, 9.5 oz = 70th percentile
-Head: 46 cm = 75th percentile

The doctor is pretty sure the nurse mismeasured Banner's height, and he said we'll just get a new measurement at 12 months; he's not worried about that at all. I wish they had remeasured right then, but oh well. . . not worth the aggravation of asking Banner to cooperate over what could be a small error.

We were also told that Banner is developmentally scoring as a 10.5 month old. We were pleased with that. I'm not in any hurry for this kid to walk, although I'm sure walking will be more helpful. He's already into everything anyway, why not let that just be on two feet instead of all fours?!

I've gotten all this week to hang out with Banner on my own again since I'm on Spring Break. It's been so wonderful, such a treat, and I can feel that separation anxiety really emerging - and for Banner, too! - ha! I'm going to miss him so much when Monday rolls around and I'm back at work. He's such a pleasure to watch. The other day, I watched him interact with his Curious George stuffed animal. He gave numerous kisses on George's mouth in between trying to gouge his eyes out and nibble his feet. I am loving watching him look out windows while he babbles, blows bubbles, or makes raspberries. I love how he tags along with me in the kitchen and how curious he is about what we're doing, where we're going, the sounds he hears, etc. I love shopping with him now, too - which is WAY different than before. It's just so fun to watch him watch! And, feeding him new finger foods has been really exciting (yes, it's the little things in life!!). A few days ago I actually teared up when he was eating his bits of carrots, corn, peas, and green beans so well . . . I was so proud of him! (I know, I'm one of THOSE moms!)

So, anyway, wish me luck next week when Spring Break is officially over. Just 11 more weeks in the school year, which also means just about 12 more weeks until Banner is 1 year old - and that makes 80 weeks sound like nothing!