15-Month Checkup

Ryan has his 15-month Dr. checkup this week, and here are his growth stats:

Weight: 22 lbs, 12 oz (24%)

Height: 30.75 inches (37%)

Head: 18.75 inches (62%)

We talked about a lot of things during the visit, including Ryan's continued problems with sleep. Because of this issue and a few others, Ryan's pediatrician has referred him to a behavior specialist. While he said he doesn't think Ryan necessarily has a problem, some of his behaviors are so far on one end of the spectrum, that it couldn't hurt to talk to an expert. One of Ryan's other "issues" is his picky eating habits. He still only has a few foods he will eat. His Dr. decided to have his iron levels checked, and I was not surprised to discover that they are low. So I need to work extra hard to get some iron-rich foods into Ryan's tummy.Ryan's Dr. said that an average 15-month old has a vocabulary of 10 words. Ryan still only says "Dada", "Mama", and "Baba". He makes other sounds but nothing that I would consider a word. I hope the specialist can give me some tips on how to increase Ryan's language skills. I'm not terribly worried about this, because I know it can take a bit longer for boys to develop their speech. (One of these days I'm sure he's going to open his mouth and just start blabbing).Ryan's Dr. appt was pretty rough for him. The night before he had fallen and hit his head on a rock, so he had a big bruise on his forehead when we went in. Then, right after the Dr. left the exam room, Ryan picked up and dropped a little chair on his toes. I have never heard him scream so loudly in pain! Then the nurse came in and gave him 3 vaccination shots. And finally after that, we went to the lab to get Ryan's blood drawn. All I'm going to say is that it took 3 nurses plus myself to hold him down and draw the blood. Poor Ryan.The good news is that Ryan's Dr. said his gross motor skills are excellent. (I obviously knew that already!). Now I just need to work on getting him to sleep, eat and talk!