18 (19) Month Check Up

Roan had his 18 month check up today...though he's technically 19 months. He proved to be slightly more squirmy and tantrum-y this visit than in the past. He's been throwing more tantrums in general, actually. We used to attribute this to teething...now we know it's here to stay (until he grows out of it). His tantrums are short-lived, thank heavens, but they're still there. He threw up this morning and napped on me (which I loved that part)...no idea why he threw up or why he was acting so lethargic, but after 11:30, he was back to normal.

The doctor came in the room and Roan immediately said "Doctor!" which impressed Dr. Breitzer :) Anyway, here are his stats:

Weight: 26.9 lbs, putting him in the 63-64th percentile for weight.

Height: 33.2-33.3 inches, putting him in the 76th percentile for height.

Head circumference: 90th percentile!! That's up from 73rd percentile at 15 months.

I asked the doctor if he had any advice or print-offs about tantrums and how to handle them. Sean and I just aren't really used to Roan acting this way...firstly because he's our first child and also because he's just never really been a tantrum-thrower. He's still a great kid and we are very blessed, but up until now we have rarely had issues with him. He's made it pretty easy on us.

His tantrums center around lack of simple problem-solving skills (i.e. moving objects that are in the way or so another object can fit through a space, etc) and communication frustrations. He knows words like "help" and "please", but he needs to learn how to use them in context. We need to remind him to say help or please, so he's just learning that.

Another behavior we're not used to is his picky eating. This is also something we used to attribute to teething. I did some research online and we have started to give him a variety of food on his tray rather than one thing at a time. This has been a tremendous help! Tonight he had fish sticks, some of an English muffin with cheese on it, cucumbers, and a lot of peas.That boy loves his peas! I feel that since we've started doing this (so he can eat what he wants when he wants of what we've made for him), our food battles have drastically reduced!

We're still working on eating with a spoon and drinking from a non-straw-sippy cup. He can handle the spoon ok and he's got the jist of it, he's just not that great at actually getting the food on the spoon yet. And as far as drinking from a cup...well, I just don't feel like pushing that just yet. He's only ever used straw cups. I have tried to give him sips from an actual cup and he does great with my help (occasionally spilling it on himself), but leaving him alone with a cup...not yet. I bought two different kinds of transition/training cups and have been kinda frustrated with their designs. So we'll see. I'm considering that one to be more of a gradual process than a "he needs to do this right now" thing.

One of the packets the doctor gave us said we could attempt potty training, but Dr. B told us he thinks Roan is still too young for it...so I'm just not sure on that. I've been thinking about potty training since I know that is the next milestone. I know a lot of people who didn't force it and just let their child learn on their own time and I definitely see the validity in the arguments for that method. On the other hand, the thought of Roan being out of diapers also sounds fabulous. This is another "we'll see" thing but I might lean more towards taking it slow and not forcing it. He's shown us time and again that he does not like being forced to do things. He's definitely Mr. Independent, let-me-do-it-when-I-wanna-do-it. I haven't researched it a lot, to be honest, which is why I'm not jumping right in to potty training just yet. He recognizes toilets and says "potty", which is good.

All in all, Roan is still growing strong and healthy and continues to amaze us :) And he melts my heart when he says "Luf eweee!" (Love you!) I've been loving my time home with him and that kinda makes me dread returning to work..but I have until September and I'm soaking up every minute!

"Helping" with laundry...