Zoe's 15-Month (& 100th!) Dr. appt

At her 15-month check-up last week, Zoe weighed in at 21 lbs 6 oz, which according to Dr. Piel, looked like an uptick in her weight, although she's still hovering around the 28th percentile. One would think the increase in her whole milk consumption (thanks to eliminating nursing), plus the whole milk+formula+oatmeal concoction 2x/day, would be helping to boost her caloric intake. But she is a very active girl, who spends lots of time running around and roughhousing with Hannah. So perhaps she is just burning those calories as they come? As the charts below indicate, my BabyConnect app (which literally has every data point of her entire life chronicled) indicates she's pretty much remained flat around that 25-30th percentile for weight since 9 months.


Her height at 31 inches puts her in the 67th percentile, which has also been fairly consistent despite her modest girth. This also made Dr. Piel confident that she is indeed getting the proper nutrition. That said, we had learned at her one year appointment in November that her hemoglobin levels were low, indicating inadequate iron (her test read 10.7, with anything north of 11.0 considered OK). Since we couldn't convince her to eat liver, clams, oysters, spinach, legumes, kidneys, or brussel sprouts, we've been giving her a daily multivitamin (Polyvisol with Iron) and it seems to have helped. The dark circles under her eyes have lessened, and her hemoglobin test came back at 11.3!

Despite all that pretty decent news, she did have another cold at the time of her appointment, and as expected, we discovered she also now had her third ear infection. So a course of Amoxicillin was prescribed -- 10 mg per day for ten days. However, a return visit to the doctor today (day eight), showed that her right ear, while improving, was still not better... AND now her left ear was infected too. This is a first as her previous two infections have always been limited to her right ear. So now we must start a more potent course of antibiotics (Augmentin, which tends to cause diarrhea and nausea....greaaaat). This explained why she was up screaming for over and hour in the middle of the night last night! She is rarely up in the night anymore, unless something is really off.

I must say Zoe has had a pretty rough time of it -- she seems to get sick at the slightest provocation. Since her first cold at only 15 days old, and many more colds since, then pneumonia at 10 months, her first ear infection on her first birthday (Nov. 6th), another ear infection over Christmas, and now her third times two (her left ear had been fine last week, but this cold will not relent)... I feel terrible for her! The doctor says the second kid is always more sickly than the first since #1 brings home all those germs from preschool. On the bright side, I will give Zoe credit for being a very good-natured patient. For all her issues -- the runny noses and clogged up ears, not to mention freakin' pneumonia! -- I'd almost never suspect she was ever suffering since she never really indicates her pain. No ear tugging, no obvious complaining. Sure, when she's overtired or hungry she can certainly get fussy. But compared to her sister, who makes a pretty dramatic stink about the tiniest ow-ie, Zoe is a pretty tough cookie.

I'm so sorry, Zoe, that I've not been able to keep you healthy..! Hopefully, in the near term, no major damage will come of it -- judging from her constant babbling, and the new words she's starting to pick up every day, her hearing seems to be OK for now at least. And in the long term, you'll be that much more resistant to all the other illnesses the world will undoubtedly hurl your way! Not that I want to talk about hurling right now seeing as all this post-nasal drip has led to a very trigger-happy gag-reflex, which Zoe has never been prone to doing (also unlike her sister, the Princess of Puke!).

Please, get well soon, Zoe! xoxoxox

4 Month Check-up

At her 4-month doctor's appointment today, Zoe weighed in at 14 lbs 5 oz., 25 1/4 inches long, with a 41 cm head circumference. So basically, she's pretty tall, she's gaining an appropriate amount of weight, and her head is staying middle of the road. For comparison's sake, Hannah was nearly 15 lbs, but about the same height. So they seem to be tracking fairly similarly. (And if that purple tie-dye shirt looks familiar, here's why.)

As for her disposition, she's a pretty happy, smiley baby, although she really prefers to be entertained and/or held vs. left to play alone. Thank goodness for the rainforest jumperoo, which she has really taken a liking to and will jump like mad in until we take her out of it. Hannah loves to dance around her while she's in the jumperoo, which makes Zoe giggle with delight.

As for sleeping, well, we had a banner night back in February where she actually slept 6 3/4 hours straight. Unfortunately, we seem to have been on a downward spiral ever since. Some nights, she might start off with a 4-4.5 hour stretch, but more usually, it's 3-3.5 hours, with each successive sleeping session getting shorter and shorter. The 55 minute stretches are the biggest bummers, since it feels like I've only just finally drifted off back to sleep when she starts yammering again. Oh well... it can't last forever.... can it?!?

The two sides of Zoe.

Hannah's 3 Year Check-up

Hannah had her 3-year check-up with Dr. Piel (albeit a month or so late) and we were able to miraculously record her current measurements and growth, despite vigorous protests to being either weighed or measured. 35 lbs., and 39 inches tall -- both of which put her right around the 85th percentile.

To get her weight, we had to weigh me first, holding Hannah, then again without her, to back into her weight. (I won't bother to report the status of my weight solo since it's really irrelevant......) As for height, a simple measurement standing up was still not without tears and fears. No matter how many doctor's kits we buy, or Elmo Visits the Doctor episodes we watch, and even though Hannah LOVES to proclaim that she is a doctor and perform various tests on all of us with her equipment, every visit to HER doctor is filled with anxiety, tears, kicking and screaming. No shots at this visit, and yet we still narrowly averted barfing in a fit of hysteria after the stethoscope ("it's cold!") and ear inspection. I think I dread her doctor visits even more than she does considering what a scene she makes. Dr. Piel asked if we'd been to the dentist yet, then told me promptly not to bother until she is four.... She also advised us to read "Your Three Year Old", which she said she herself read twice. Otherwise, despite all the illnesses this last month, all seemed to be fine in Hannahland. The pictures below were taken before our visit to the doctor.

Two-Month Update

At Zoe's two month check-up with Dr. Piel (a day after her 2-month birthday), she weighed in at 12 lbs even (a couple ounces heavier than Hannah was at 2 months), 23 inches tall, with a 39 cm head circumference. All of which generally put her in the 75th percentile, except head circ. which was a mere 50th percent. Dr. Piel said that was exactly where we ought to be and gave her a clean bill of health. More warnings about her being a very active and alert baby, so watch out!


We finished off the appt with the dreadful vaccinations -- Polio, Hib, Pneumococcal, DTap and Rotavirus. Fortunately, they combined a few of the doses since Hannah was 2 months, so Zoe only needed two shots in the thighs instead of the previous four, and one oral (Rotavirus). We started with the oral, remembering Hannah's proclivity for getting all hysterical over the shots and usually throwing up. But apparently they don't flavor the RV oral gel, so it's rather nasty, and after administering about half of it, Zoe did actually gag and puke it up. I should have known better than to feed her before the appt! The nurse amazingly managed to get a bit more down after that, and we'll get round two in another two months, so no biggie. The shots were also not enjoyed, but she managed to calm down relatively quickly afterward, which was a big relief. So all in all, Zoe was a real champ and checked out great. Big thanks to Memaw who was there to help me out!

Needless to say, Memaw and Boppa have been having a blast during their month-long visit, and Zoe has given them loads of dimpled and double-chin'd smiles. She definitely has her daddy's dimples.