Tigger

Megan's 18-month checkup was today, and overall she is doing well.

I rolled her (in her stroller) up to the receptionist, and didn't notice a potted ivy there, which trailed down to the floor. The outer pot was also full of marbles. Of course, Megan pulled it down on herself in about two seconds flat, and had a lap full of plant, dirt and marbles. She had a marble in her mouth in another two seconds flat, which I didn't notice. Both receptionists started running around in circles yelling, "She has a marble!! She has a marble!!" I got it from her before any harm was done, feeling a little embarrassed, and a little annoyed that a pediatric doctor's office would have such an obvious hazard. It was gone when we left.

Her vital stats are:
weight: 21# 13.5oz (20%)
height: 31.5" (50%)
head circ.: 47cm (65%)

So she's shorter, fatter and less big-headed than last time. :)

For those of you who have been following, here are all the nitty gritty details.

She will stay on Miralax at a very low dose until she's potty trained; same with soy milk. She's entering a phase where a lot of kids have problems with constipation, so since we've gotten it under control, no need to mess with things again just yet. Since she eats so well, there is no concern about the low-fat nature of soy milk.

Her belly button (outie) still sticks out, but the doctor thinks it will go away by 2-3 years of age.

Her reflexes are good, but her hips are a little tight, i.e. inflexible, not turning out all the way. She still isn't walking, and the doc feels her leg strength may be a little weak, so between these two things, she wants to have Megan's hips x-rayed first to rule out dislocation, etc. After that, she'll refer us to a pediatric physical therapist for a few visits. They'll take a look at her, and suggest home exercises, etc. to help with this. Again, "not something we're worried about yet, but it's better to head it off before it becomes a problem". Gotta love having a family deductible with insurance!

We're due for her next eye appointment soon, with no real change in the right eye drift--I still see it many times each day.

Megan likes to bounce on her knees, which looks really funny. It also looks like it would hurt a lot. She moves forward a bit each bounce, and Ronan and I always start laughing when she really goes for it. He says, "She looks like TIGGER!!!" Here's a picture of her in launch position (while eating a boot lace).
I guess the bottom line is that she's had a few things to deal with that Ronan didn't, but she is happy, extremely active (even the doctor commented on this) and the problems are minor and won't take a lot to correct (except potentially her eye). She is a beautiful and sweet child, and is really developing a personality these days, with lots of playing, mimicking, etc. Her vocabulary these days is hiiiiiii, uh-oh, mama, dada, milk/more, down, ball, and a couple of signs (milk/more, down, all done). She also sleeps great and eats like a MADMAN. She will eat anything you put in front of her, and the more in her mouth at once, the better. We've had a couple of fun little choking episodes until we backed down on how much she gets on the tray at once. The one fairly annoying habit she still has is biting and pinching, but our dr. says there is nothing to be done at this age, except to start telling her it hurts, no, etc. and that eventually she'll catch on. She absolutely adores her older brother, but pinches and bites him all the time in the shopping cart, which I've decided is her highest expression of love for another. Ronan is so patient, and just holds her hands away. I hope that continues, but we'll see. He is quite the big brother, and we're lucky they both decided to come live with us for a while...