18 month check up

We just had Korben's 18 month check up with Dr. Beene. Little did she know, we had just been at the doctor on Friday for a sick visit. We rarely actually get to see her when he is sick since it is usually a last minute visit.

Korben weighed 27.8 pounds and was 34 inches long. He is still following the same percentiles, 75th% for his weight and 90th percentile for his height.

His left ear is still inflamed from the ear infections last week, so hopefully the antibiotics will wrap that up quickly. She thought his gums looked awfully swollen and said "OUCH" when she looked in his mouth. His bottom molars are in, although I know they still have some growing to do. You can only see the tips of the molars on the top, so those are probably causing him the most discomfort. The space in between his front teeth and molars is really red and swollen like something could come through there anytime. It will be so nice when he gets all of his pearly whites!

I told her my concern about Korben getting sick every 2.5-3 weeks with something. Once we talked about what he was actually getting sick with, I was reminded that it usually always something different, and almost always viral. She referred Korben to being in his "first year of exposure" and said it was normal for him to catch up to 10 things a year. Really? WOW. She said she would be worried if he continued to catch the same things over and over. In example, constant respiratory infections. He doesn't have the same thing all the time, in fact, he keeps us on our toes. His schedule tends to follow like this: stomach bug, fever virus, ear infection, then another type of stomach virus, another fever virus, allergies/teething. You just never know what you're going to get!

One thing that encouraged me was that I told her that he has obvious outdoor allergies right now (just like his momma). I've been avoiding strolling around our neighborhood lately because it seems like every time I do, his eyes start watering and he gets a cough and runny nose (and then a week later that mucous has turned itself into double ear infections...NOT worth a stroll around the block). She suggested Zyrtec for children. YAY! I didn't realize I could give him any sort of daily allergy medicine yet. She recommended that through this fall season I give it to him every single day. Sounds good to me, I hope it works!

He was really good at the appointment today, especially when he was in control of the situation. If HE got to place the stethoscope on his chest, the world was fine. If she did it, the world was over. While she examined him on the table, you would have thought he was being circumsized all over again in that room. Did you hear him screaming from where you were? I'm sure you did. She said his behavior was completely normal at his age, and usually gets a lot better by the 2 year old appointment. By the way, his next check up isn't until he is 2. It seems so far away, but it is less than 6 months from now! Of course, we will be back in October for flu shots, and if I know Korben like I think I do, we will make a few more visits before his next "well" visit.


Oh yeah, as much as I would like to forget about this incident, I better record it. Here is some drama that I wish had never happened. So, I was waiting for my appointment, and I'd held Korben as long as I could in the waiting room. We waited almost 30 minutes, and I can not hold him that long with him yelling "DOWN." So, I let him down, and let him play with that big standard toy that is in all doctor's offices. He was the only one playing with it, and I was going to sanitize his hands as soon as he was through playing with it. A 13 month old little girl walked over to it and started to play with it. Korben gently took her hands and moved it off the toy and said "NO, NO." Tacky? YES. Greedy? YES. Mean? Not really. He was gentle about it. Of course, I instantly grabbed his hands and told him that he needed to share with her. About 5 minutes went by. He seemed really happy. He was dancing around to the music on TV. The little girl was standing across the room by her mom. Everything seemed great. THEN, out of nowhere, he RAN up to the little girl, slapped her on the face with both hands, and pushed her down!!! I am embarrassed even typing about how horrific this scene was. The poor mom (who was there with her newborn- bless her heart!) looked at me with the most terrible expression! I picked up korben and said "No, No, No, No....we do NOT hit or push." I made him sit in my lap until the nurse called us back, which is the ultimate punishment for a little boy who wants to be on the move. So, to say the least, I have some work to do on teaching him to be kind with other children. This was our second incident with this. His best friend Brayden was his victim last week. I just didn't seem this coming with this innocent little girl!

For the most part, we had a very good check up. I am so thankful for my little boy. My wild, unpredictable, smart, and hilarious little boy.