Elsie's One Year Doctor Appointment

This morning we had Elsie's one year doctor appointment.  For the most point it was pretty uneventful and was the quickest of them all I think.  We didn't get her pecentile so I did the best I could based on the charts to figure it out her stats for weight and height.  The went down just a little which I though they would but he said for the most part she is still staying on track with her growth curve.  Here is where she was at.

Weight:  19 lbs 4.5 oz (45%) I would have guessed she would have been over 20 lbs.
Height:  29.5 inches (70%)
Head:  45.4cm

So going into this appointment I thought she would be for sure over 30 inches tall and over 20 pounds.  In fact I told John we probably need to find a new back up car seat since her infant one only goes to 22 lbs and she had to be close to that.  Well she isn't.  I do know she hasn't grown much in the belly region because we are still on the same setting for waist for her diapers as she was back at 6 months.  On our little form we will out at the beginning of the appointment she met all the "milestones" for her age which is good of course.

On the agenda for shots today was the chicken pox vaccine, MMR, last dose of Hib, last dose of Pc, Hep A.  I declined the MMR for now.  I will probably get it for her later but I just felt uncomfortable with the number of vaccines in this round.  I actually should have waiting on the chicken pox and Hep A too but I didn't think much about it.  So maybe at her next appointment we will go with MMR but for now I wanted to wait.  She also had a finger prick done to get blood drawn to check for lead and for iron deficiencies (these were standard tests).

We actaully didn't have too many questions (or at least that we could remember these past few days).  Here are some of our questions/concerns

Q.  Elsie's pupils are still uneven.  Her left pupil is a little bigger than her right.
A.  Just like he had said when we brought it up at her 6M and 9M appointment at 12M they are referred to a opthamologist.  He doesn't see anything wrong with her eyes but they just want to check to make sure her retinas are okay.  We are scheduled to see the specialist in January.

Q.  So Elsie is waking up between 4:00 AM - 6:00 AM at night for a few ounces of milk in a bottle.  What should we be doing?  Do we not give it to her or is she actually hungry? She only does it for a couple weeks and then goes back to sleeping through the night.
A.  She probably doesn't need it right now.  At 9 months he said it was okay but now she really doesn't need it.  He said that we could do 15-30 minutes of protesting and if she doesn't calm down then give in.  He also said we could alternate good nights with bad but she should be able to go the whole night now without milk.  (I will elaborate on this when I do her 12 Month update).

Q.  When Elsie walks sometimes her left foot points outward.  Is this something to be concerned about?
A.  No.  Her legs and feet look fine, not bowlegged or anything.  He said she is just trying to get it figured out.

Q.  When do you give ibuprofren and when do you give tylenol?  What is the difference? We got our first dosage information for ibuprofren.
A.  Ibuprofren is much stronger than tylenol and has with that comes more side effects.  Tylenol is for a fussy, uncomfortable baby with a low fever.  This should be used first.  Ibuprofren is for fevers over 102 degrees and is much stronger.  If tylenol is not making them comfortable you can move on the this.

Q.  How much milk should Elsie be drinking a day?
A.  16-18 ounces total.  No more than 24 ounces a day and most of it should come before bed.

Q.  Sometimes Elsie gets really red and dry around her mouth from her runny nose and drool.  We have been alternating Aquaphor and CJs BUTTer on it.  Is there anything else we should be using?
A.  He said we can use a little bit of less than 1% hydrocortison when it gets really red and chapped and that will really help it.

Other little bits of information that he gave us:

• Should be mainly drinking from a cup-bedtime bottle is still okay but eventually should work on getting rid of it.  
• All foods are okay for her to eat just keep in mind about choking hazards
• Keep reading to her.  Very important for language development. 
• We should make a first visit to the dentist around this age. (So my dentist said not really until three do they need to be seen so a bit conflicting there).  
• Since her "Angel Kisses" are still visible at this point they will be for awhile.  Not forever but for a little bit longer than normal.  

He said  she is a beautiful healthy little girl!  Hopefully we won't have to see him again until her 18 Month checkup!