16 Months

Last Friday Korben had his 15 month check up with Dr. Beene. Ironically, it was his 16 month birthday on that day. He is really struggling with separation/stranger anxiety these days and he was not very thrilled with the check-in process with Dr. Beene's nurse. I think all of the x-rays Korben had to have after his broken arm really made him scared of nurses. Even though he cried some of the time, the nurse told me that he behaved better than about 80% of most of the babies his age. She said this is the age they hate going to the doctor the most because separation anxiety has peaked. That was encouraging to hear that we weren't the only ones dealing with this.

By the time Dr. Beene came in to see him, he had really calmed down and made himself right at home with all of the toys in the exam room. It was the first check up Korben has had since he could walk, so it was really nice to let him walk around in the room while Dr. Beene and I chatted about him. It made him feel so much more comfortable with the situation because he felt in control. He started bringing Dr. Beene toys and "telling" her about them. She saw how verbal he was. She just kept telling me how intelligent she could tell he was. Of course, that is music to a momma's ears!

The only big issue I wanted to talk with her about was something he was dealing with last week. It seems as though he was having some night terrors. For a few nights in a row he would wake up screaming, sweating, and shaking. I would go in his room, hold him, and rock him for a little bit. He would always fall right back to sleep, and honestly, it never even seemed like he was really "awake." I ran it all by her, and she agreed that is what it sounded like. She said it is normal at this age, and she thought I was responding in the right ways. It is hard to know exactly what is going on since he can't verbalize what he is feeling. All I know is that he has slept great the past couple nights, so hopefully that will continue!


He was 33 and 1/8 of an inch which put him in the 90th percentile for his height, and he was 25 lbs and 12 ounces which put him in the 60th for his weight. He is wearing a size 7 shoe, size 5 diaper, and 18 month clothes. It is weird how he has actually gone down a size in clothes since he was 12 months. His tummy has gotten smaller, as he has stretched out and gotten taller!

One random fact about Korben right now is that he only has 7 teeth. When he turned one, he had 6. In four months he has only cut ONE tooth! I'm not seeing any sign of any teeth coming in right now. That probably means that he'll end up getting 10 in at one time...Lord, help us all!

Can I just say that Korben is so STINKING fun right now!!!! I love 16 months! We had a full week of just Mommy/Son time last week while Aaron was in New Orleans and I feel like we bonded on a deeper level. I feel like a switch has been flipped and he all of a sudden knows exactly what I'm talking about when I say things.

-He can obey simple instructions such as: pick up the ball, go get your bear, find your milk.

-If I say "lets go potty", Korben goes straight for the bathroom. Every single time he shuts the door behind us and then walks to me and hands me the toilet paper.

-If I say, "lets go outside" he knows he has to put his shoes on so he plops down in front of me so I'll put his shoes on his feet.

-If I ask him if he wants to eat, he goes into the kitchen.

He really does everything we do. When I take him with me to my weight watchers meetings to weigh in, he has started thinking he needs to get on the scale after I do! It is so cute! Tonight we took him to his first softball game. Every time Aaron yelled for someone on the field, Korben yelled. If Aaron clapped, Korben clapped. He mirrors us all day long.


He has quite a repertoire of "tricks" I ask him to do for people. He does all of these things on command without you even having to show him what you are talking about.

Waves/Say HI and Bye Bye
Jumps
Shakes
Can touch his nose, hair, tummy
Blows kisses, gives hugs and kisses
Gives high fives, the rock (fist bump)


Things he loves:

Music and DANCING
Sesame street and baby Einstein (anything with puppets)
Stuffed animals
Kids
Babies (or as Korben so sweetly says, Beebees)
The water hose. He doesn't love being submerged in his kiddie pool, but he loves to stand in it and "water" the grass.
Running
Tackling pillows
Talking on cell phones (only when no one is actually on the line...of course)
Throwing balls


He can say so many words now. The newest words that I have heard are peek-boo, cookie, and today he said CHICKEN!

About a month ago, Korben's picky eating was about to drive me up the wall. The only things I could get him to eat at the time were scrambled eggs,green beans, pasta with soy cheese, and pasta pick-ups by Gerber. That may sound like a lot of things to you, but for 3 meals a day, everyday, those things get old! Thankfully, since then he has been willing to try some new things, and his appetite has seemed to greatly pick up. Right now he is loving fish sticks, chicken nuggets or popcorn chicken, penne florentine (a baked pasta dish I make that I put his soy cheese in. I'm thrilled to say that the dish has spinach in it and he even eats it without even knowing it!), hash browns...and of course all of his regular old foods. The only fruit he will eat is a banana. He went through a stage where he didn't want bananas, but now he wants them all the time. He will look up at the kitchen counter and go "Nana" until I give him one. The past two days he has eaten two a day. He likes to hold the banana himself and walk around the house and eat it.

For the record, Korben is very unpredictable with food. Everything that I just told you he likes right now, he may reject tomorrow and not want again for the next month. It is one day at a time with this boy. However, he is eating GREAT right now, and I could not be happier with his eating habits. He drinks about 5 sippy cups a day of soy milk, and usually one sippy cup of apple juice. He is quite the drinker.


The biggest stresser I am currently having is SUNDAY MORNINGS! Korben still really needs a morning nap every morning around 10. Korben functions at his full capacity if he has a morning and afternoon nap. Some days he can get by on just one, but he is not quite ready for that. It seems like life will be a lot easier when he makes that transition. From what I read, he will drop that between 18 and 24 months. Korben has been by the book on his sleep schedule since day one, so I assume this will be no different.

He is at church from 9:15-12:15, and is already getting sleepy on our drive there. The moment we walk in the doors he is clinging to me like a little monkey. He does not want to be dropped off. Of course, when I drop him off in the nursery he screams bloody murder, but usually by the time I get to the other end of the hall people tell me that he is happy and playing. That is the only way I can enjoy being in church is if I know he is happy. The past two weeks have not been good weeks in the nursery for Korben at all. I don't want to go into all the details, but I have almost cried with him on the way home from church the past two weeks. Separation anxiety PAIRED with lack of sleep is not a good combination for a fun time at church. I feel very calm and matter-of-fact about this situation now, but if you would have talked to me on Sunday afternoon I would have acted like this was the biggest deal in the world. I know it is not. I know he will grow out of this in no time, and I will wish he actually did want to be seen with me at church!

I really believe once Wednesday and Sunday nights start back up in the fall, he will be better. The more (well-rested) opportunities he has to realize that I AM coming back, the better! I can't wait for everyone at church to know the Korben I know!


I never knew I could feel love like I feel for Korben. My heart feels like it is about to explode every day because I am so proud of him. Of all the times in my life I have tried to "rush" the time by, I don't want to rush anything anymore! I feel like things are going too fast! I love my life, and I do not take a single day for granted. I give God all the credit, glory, and honor for every blessing. I truly know that every good and perfect gift is from Him. I know that our blessings are not because of anything we have done, and definitely not because of anything we deserve...they are just gifts from him. I am daily thankful for my little 16 month old gift from God!