Julia had her three year checkup. All looked good from the doctor with all the standard questions. He was interested to hear about her current speech therapy sessions and my assessment on her improvement. Lucky girl didn’t need any shots except her flu shot. She was very brave and took it with just a few whimpers.

Her current height is 37-1/2 inches and weight is 38.6 lbs. This places her in the 50th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight. In the last three months she has grown one inch and gained almost one pound more. She still loves for us to lug her around any chance she can get. That is definitely going to be impacted by her getting bigger.

Mommy’s favorite thing from the visit was Julia’s eye exam. The chart is a picture chart. We stopped and reviewed the shapes before starting the exam. There was the standard- star, o, heart, and flag. Then there were the more creative answers of a “t” instead of plus and “teapot” instead of cup. The cup did look like a tea cup, it was so sweet neither the nurse or I corrected her. She did great with the test holding her hand over each eye and giving answers. The nurse picked all the “teacups” on the chart for her to say.

Julia had her 2-1/2 year check up. We didn’t make it until she was 2 years and 9 months, but oh well. She seems to be great. The doctor listened for her heart murmur and couldn’t hear it. He wants us to go back to the specialist for her 3 year checkup as the the specialist requested. We discussed briefly her speech. For weight and height she is also doing well. Her weight is slowing increasing in percentile and is right around the 25 percentile and her height places her at the 50 percentile. She weighed in at 27 lb 6 oz (an increase of 3 lb 7 oz in 9 months) and measured 36-1/2 inches (an increase of 2-3/4 inches in 9 months). Julia will go back for her checkup at her third birthday.

The morning of Julia’s check-up Emily complained of an earache. The doctor checked it out for us and determined that she has swimmers ear. Not a huge shock given how much swimming we did in the last two weeks. She was also measured for the visit. She weighted in at 37 lb 10 oz (an increase of 2 lbs 10 oz in 7 months) and measured 43-1/4 inches (an increase of 1-3/4 inches in 7 months)

Julia – the girl of a thousand faces!

Julia visited the ENT today. She warmed up to the doctor and even gave him a high-five after a while of playing and talking. He said her level of being tongue-tied is moderate, and while it was our option of treatment, he thought she would benefit from the surgery. It is to be short and simple, but will require a trip to the hospital because of her age. We will schedule this for the middle of April.

They did a hearing test on Julia to eliminate that as an issue for her. She was a bit distracted during a portion of the test and they will re-test her the next time we go in on that portion, but from the results they did get, she does not seem to have any hearing issues.

The doctor agreed that Julia needed to have speech therapy and was pleased that she was going to get some. He felt that she would improve quickly with her speech. Mostly, he suggested that we just make her talk for things on a daily basis. That seems like such a simple thing, but at our house who would ever think you would need to make someone talk. I guess she is just making her own unique spot in our family. Time will tell a lot, but I’m so excited to see the voice that she is discovering.

Julia was taking it easy and watching some TV. She didn’t stay like this for long, but long enough for her Mama to take her photo. She does some pretty cute things these days.

We took Julia to visit her pediatrician to discuss her speech issues today. He set up a consult with an ENT at our Children’s Hospital next Tuesday. Also, we will be doing some speech testing with a speech therapist to see what her needs are. We are excited to see what is in store. Emily has been cute, she told me that she was going to teach Julia how to talk. It was very sweet that she was thinking of her sister.

On a side note, Julia measured at 26 lbs. and 34 + inches (mama doesn’t remember the exact size). Given Julia’s refusal to drink milk out of a sippy cup, I was curious to see if she had held her own for weight. Oddly enough, she has risen a few percentile points since her last check-up 5 months ago. The doctor was pleased and told me to stick to my plan to move her to sippy cups.

Emily was excited to go for her 4-year checkup. I’m not quite sure why, but she was. She was great about her exam. She enjoyed the eye chart and took a couple of takes at the hearing test. She was just having trouble with reacting, not hearing. Emily is now old enough to get to wear a gown for her exam. She loved it and danced around in it like it was a beautiful dress. Funny stuff!

Her weight was 35 lbs. and height was 41-1/2 inches. Like usual her percentages are low for weight, but high for height. I was pleased that she averaged out to the 50 percentile. This Mama can handle average.

No shots, but we were told that she had a year and half to work the 4 required shots for beginning school. I thought a shot-free day was in order and we put them off until next fall when we would be getting our flu shot anyway. We will not discuss my sadness at just being a year and half away from starting school.

Both girls were thrilled for some stickers at the end. Given that Emily can stay well, we will not go back for a visit until her 5th birthday.

Julia had her two year checkup. She was a little apprehensive about the visit and despite our talking about it before hand, I knew she was going to be a handful. To add to the busyness of the day we also had Emily with us.

Julia did well despite quite a few tears. She has increased in the percentiles and the doctor was very pleased. Her length of 33 3/4 inches places her in the 50th percentile. Her weight at 23 lb. 11 oz measures her around the 12th percentile. In 6 months she has grown 3 lb. 11 oz and 3 1/2 inches. Good job, Julia!

Other highlights are the Doctor’s new beard, princess stickers, and lots of shots. Julia had three and Emily two. I guess they shared in the experience. They both did really well.

Julia’s next checkup is at 2 1/2.

Emily had gone to bed with a cough and I wondered if she would be able to go to Thursday school the next morning. Sure enough she was up in the night with a fever. So, this morning, I asked Julia if she wanted to go to school by herself or stay with Mommy. Using her usual method of communicating–head nodding–she choose to go to school alone. The theme of the day was Teddy bears and they were to bring one in with them. Julia selected Minnie Mouse. There was no changing her mind either. Minnie went with her to school. I thought it would be fun to remember her day of independence with a photo of herself with Minnie. She was very brave about going alone up to the point when we went down the hall to her class. I left her in tears to find out later that she quit them quickly.

Emily and I had a fun couple of hours of just hanging out together alone. While it wasn’t the most fun list of activities, we enjoyed just being with each other. Emily visited the doctor to have her cough checked on. She asked to take her doll with her to the doctor’s office, so that she could be like her sister and take a stuffed friend with her. Emily was a big brave girl at the appointment. She had a breathing treatment administered while we were there and I thought she would like to see what she looked like with the fish mask on. She didn’t like the noise of the machine, but didn’t seem to mind the mask. Hopefully with a little rest she will be feeling back to normal very soon.

Emily measured at this appointment 41-1/2 inches tall and 32.8 lbs weight

Julia made her 18 month check-up visit to the doctor. Our regular pediatrician was out due to an injury, so we saw a different doctor in our group. She was really kind and good with the girls. My favorite thing from the visit was that she involved Emily to make Julia feel comfortable. Basically all the checks that the doctor did, she did first to Emily and then to Julia. This was especially great given that both girls had a cold.

I was pleased to learn that Julia now weighs 20 lbs. At 18 months and now 20 pounds, she can now sit facing forward in the car. I have no complaints about her in the car, but I think she will really enjoy looking at where we are going. This is a 2-1/2 lbs increase since her last checkup three months ago. As far as weight goes, we are at the 3rd percentile – she is one skinny kid. She is now 30-1/4 inches long and her head and chest both measured 17-3/4 inches. Julia was agreeable for the exam and only was offended when she had to receive three shots at the end.

Emily made her annual visit to the doctor for her well checkup. It is amazing to think about how old she is now!

At this visit she had her first eye chart test. The nurse quizzed her about the shapes so that they could eliminate the confusion over shapes from the ability to see. When she saw the cup shape she announced that it was a ‘coffee cup’. The nurse almost lost it laughing – I guess Daddy’s drink choices have influenced Emily a little. The eye test went really well along with all the other tests. She didn’t quite have the communication skills for the hearing test at this visit, but it is pretty unusual for three year olds to get that one. I’m pretty sure her hearing is fine though – she has me turn the volume down on her TV shows because they are too loud.

Her weight at this visit was 28-1/4 lbs (an increase of 2-1/4 lbs) and height of 37-3/4 (an increase of 3-1/4 inches). She has remained around the 50th percentile for height. The doctor was pleased to hear that Emily had recently given up her pacifier and was working on potty training. Big steps for a big girl. She is off the hook for another visit for a year and no more shots until it is time for school.

Julia was a little under the weather and was due a re-weigh so we had a visit to the pediatrician. She just had a bad cold, and thankfully it had not turned into anything like the other colds in the house had. As far as her weight, the doctor was pleased that her weight gain had begun again. She gained almost 2 lbs in three months (now 17 lbs 6 oz) and grown to a length of 28 3/4 inches. Her height percentile has remained around 25%. It doesn’t appear that she is going to outgrow Emily and is remaining just a little smaller than Emily at this age. We will wait and see if she is able to pick up steam and surpass her at some point.

Julia will return for another checkup at 18 months to see how she is doing. We are keeping her diet and milk the same for the time being. It is good to see her continue to thrive and explore around her little world.

Today was Julia’s one year checkup. She has been pretty fussy lately and the appointment wasn’t any different. She didn’t cry the whole time, but wasn’t her usual happy girl. Julia was not interested in showing off the teeth still hiding in her gums, didn’t like having her finger held or bandaged after the finger prick, and she was simply distraught after having her two injections. And if this wasn’t enough for the Mommy to keep up with – Emily was a bit trying also. I think at one point I was speaking loudly talking to the doctor over two crying voices. We all survived the visit, but maybe next time I will take Julia when Emily is not with us.

The doctor was pleased with how Julia looked and was doing, but noted that she has had a very slight weight gain since her last well visit. Today she weighed 15 lbs 10 oz and was measured at 28 inches long. This amounts to a half a pound weight increase and 3/4 inch longer. We discussed how Julia has become very active in the last three months, teething, still nursing, and how Emily had a similar dip in weight at this age. We decided to put Julia on whole milk and keep her foods the same and see in a month if her weight picks up. It is funny what the difference a second child is to the first. When I learned of Emily’s weight loss I worried and thought a lot about it. This time, it seems like I almost expected it and had a course of action ready. There just isn’t the need to worry and this time I know it.

I took Julia for her 9 month checkup today. She is actually almost 10 months, but that is what happens with vacations and busy doctor offices. She was really good and only gave the doctor a hard time when he tried to look in her mouth. He came up with the same observation that I had – no teeth yet. As soon as I sat her back on the exam table she clapped and giggled. The giggling stopped for the flu shot, but even after that she was quick to calm down.

The doctor and I discussed allergies, given a reaction she had to either yogurt or strawberries. He said to wait on strawberries until one year and try yogurt again at any point. Other things still on the do-not-eat-yet list are nuts, egg, wheat, and chocolate. Too bad for her, those are some of my favorite foods. Her next visit will be at 12 months.

At this visit she weighed 15 lbs 3.5 oz. This is a 1 lb 7.5 oz increase since the 6 month visit. She also measured 27 1/4 inches long, an increase of an inch and a quarter. She has fallen to the 3rd percentile for weight and 25 percentile for length. The doctor said it was common for kids to have periods of faster growth followed by slower growth. In general, Julia is smaller than Emily was at this point Given the weight loss that Emily had between her 9 and 12 month visit I’m betting that Julia will catch up in compairson.

No really funny stories from this visit, but our nurse’s name was Emily which was interesting for our Emily who came for the visit. Emily not only snagged a sticker today, but a measuring tape for her doctor kit. There are perks for hanging out with your sister.