3 Year Checkup

This morning Mom took Luke for his 3 year checkup. Other than a double ear infection he is doing fine. At his 2 year checkup the doctor made note of one of his eyes. It was something along the lines of one reacting slower to light than the other. We couldn't see any issue and the doctor didn't seemed overly concerned. She checked it again this time around and everything was fine so there's a trip to a specialist we won't have to make.

Luke's values in height and weight were:

• Height: 38 inches
• Weight 35.8 lbs

The height is the 70th percentile and weight is 90th percentile. Luke's height increased 2 inches over last year and weight increased just under 4 lbs. To compare against Alyce she was 37 inches and 30 lbs at 3 years. Luke is going to be quite the bruiser when he gets older.

What I don't get is how Luke's weight can be increasing. The kid isn't eating anything. His breakfast is usually pretty thin, eats crackers and cheese for lunch, and about half time time refuses to eat dinner. Maybe he's sneaking some candy in bed at night.  That or he's losing fat and gaining bone.

Finally he had one vaccination.

24 Month Checkup

With Luke now officially being a 2 year old he gets another wellness checkup visit with the doctor.  Talking to Mom this checkup didn't go as easily as the past ones.  Luke wanted to have no interaction with the doctor.  When she would reach out to touch him he would cry and reach for Mom.  The doctor couldn't even look at his toes without a negative reaction.  He had a different doctor than the normal one and that probably had something to do with it.

Luke appeared to be fine developmentally.  The doc found was that Luke had a double ear infection.  Mom and I didn't know he had one as he wasn't showing any outward signs.  I'm guessing it was just getting started and we would have seen it in a few days.  Or the doctor just needed to make a payment on her boat.  Also she was a little concerned about one of his eyes.  I'm not sure if it is an alignment issue like with Alyce or some near sightedness but we are to go to a specialist and have it check out.

Mom asked about Luke's screaming.  At times when he is really excited or wanting some attention he will pardon the term "scream like a girl".  His screams are silence destroying missiles that will pierce through any conversation and cause headaches if you get too close.  The doctor said that it is a boy thing and that it will go away when he learns more words.

Luke's scores in height and weight are:

• Height:  36 inches
• Weight: 32 lbs.

Both of those values are in the 90th percentile.  Comparing those to his 18 Month values he grew 2 1/2 inches and gained 2 lbs.  To compare against Alyce she was 35 3/4 inches and 25 lbs at 2 years.

The best part about Luke being 2 years old is that we can stop saying he is X months old.  After 18 months it is just kind of weird.  To go any further past 24 and gets even worse.  Luke is 33 months old, I think not.  Also, Luke now gets to eat peanut butter.  We didn't have any fears about peanut allergies and I even thing he might have had some peanuts, but doctors recommend staying away from them until 2 years of age.

To close Luke got a Hepatitis A vaccination.

18 Month Update

Earlier this week Mom brought Luke and Alyce in for their checkups.  Alyce was in for her 4 year and Luke for his 18 month.  Luke still continues to ride the upper end of the growth chart with a weight in the 90th percentile and height in the 80th.  At the 1 year mark his height was 95th and weight was in the 90 percentile.

• Height: 33 1/3 inches
• Weight: 29 lbs. 11.4 oz.
• Head 49 cm.

Looking at those numbers Luke is just over 4 lbs away from his sister.  Looking at Alyce's 2 year checkup her height was 35 3/4 inches and her weight was 25 lbs.  Sorry Alyce, I think your brother is going to be bigger than you.

Other than a flu shot that didn't yield any tears Luke's checkup was just fine with nothing major to report.

9 Month Update

I brought Luke in for his 9 month checkup today and we have good news. Luke is back on the charts! Both his height and weight are now under 100%. Dad and I were pretty sure that his weight gain was slowing and that his height was growing into his weight and now we have proof

• Height 30 inches which is in the 95 - 100 percentile 
  
• Weight 25 lbs. 4 oz. which is in the 95 - 100 percentile
  
• Head 46 cm.which is the 75th percentile

His development seemed to be right on track.  The doctor asked a lot of questions about his speech or at least the precursors to speech and she seemed pleased with his progress.  For the record Luke is a big talker.  His vocabulary consists of Ba, Da, Ma, Ha, and Heh.  He says them all at different volumes, pitches, and frequency.

6 Month Update

As mentioned yesterday on Luke's sister's blog www.alycesworld.me the kids of the family had their checkups at the doctors office.  Luke's checkup went fairly well.  He endured all of the poking and prodding of the doctor without out making too much of a fuss.  By the time the doctor finally came in he was well past his nap time so anything less of a meltdown would have been considered a good trip.  Luke's dimensions still exceed statistical limits but the 100th percentile is catching up to him.  If he were to continue his weight gain trend from now to 9 months he would weight roughly 26 lbs.  This would put him in the 95th percentile in weight for children that age.  I think his earlier weight gain was a statistical anomaly and that like his sister he will soon be within normal bounds.

• Height: 28 inches is the 95th percentile
  
• Weight: 23 lbs 10 oz is greater than the 100th percentile
  
• Head: 44.5 cm is the 75th percentile

Developmentally he is right on track for where he should be.  Luke is starting to roll over, sit up when supported, and is able to pass items from one hand to another.  The doc said that we could start introducing more foods to him including fruits and vegetables to with a new one being added every few days.

The only complication to the checkup is that the doctor noticed some wheezing in Luke's lower lungs.  This is due to the cold that he has for the past two weeks.  Eventually his body will clear out the infection and get rid of the junk down below but until that point we have to give Luke some Albuterol treatments.  Albuterol is a drug that most Asthma patients use to dilate their bronchial tubes during an Asthma attack.  The same properties would be helpful for Luke to open up his lower lungs and help move the infection out.  The procedure to get him this medication is time consuming.  We have to take the substance that is a liquid, put it in a machine, the machine vaporizes it, and Luke breathes in the vapors.  The treatment takes about 20 minutes in which we have to keep this tube in front of Luke's nose and mouth.  Kind of hard with a 6 month old.

Luke needed a few injections with the checkup including the seasonal flu vaccine.  He didn't complain too much about the injections and afterward he fell asleep on the way out to the car.

Update:  I forgot to comment on one item.  We asked the doctor about Luke's night terrors and she carried the same opinion that Luke was having a night terror. She also confirmed our course of action which is to go in and check on him, but not to wake him up and let his mind get through to the next stage in his sleep cycle on its own..

Another Week To Go

Today Mommy went to her doctor for another checkup. The good news is that the signs of preeclampsia have disappeared. The bad news is that the doctor thinks Mommy has at least another week of being pregnant. I don't think this is exactly the news she wanted to hear.

The contractions continue to come and go. The seem to be causing Mommy some serious pain. However, until they are rhythmic for over an hour it is considered false labor and no delivery is eminent. Mommy's energy is coming in spurts. She goes into sprees where she starts cleaning things around the house.

Pregnancy Trouble

As of late we have had a few hiccups with Mom's pregnancy. Starting last Tuesday Mom had some bleeding related to her pregnancy. Naturally your mind goes into thinking it was something horrible like a late miscarriage.

We immediately got an appointment with Mom's doctor. She used her microphone and confirmed the babies heart beat was fine. She couldn't say for certain the reason for the bleeding but she wanted to make sure she could eliminate everything possible so she signed Mom up for an ultrasound next Wednesday. So Mom and I have to wait an entire week to see if anything can be determined.

In the mean time Mom has to take it very easy. She has to limit how much she can pickup and carry. She also has to limit bending over, stooping, and squatting. Try not doing any of things when you have a two year old.

It's Legit

Last week we had our first real milestone. Our first ultrasound. On our first trip to the OB the new baby wasn't far enough along for a heartbeat so we scheduled an ultrasound to ensure the pregnancy was viable. We had that ultrasound last Thursday and we are happy to announce that everything is fine. The little fetus was teeny tiny but we could make out a head and buds for arms and legs. More importantly we could see and hear the heartbeat. Put all of that together and we have a healthy baby on the way.

Alyce was with us for the ultrasound, but wasn't really impressed. She hasn't really grasped that she is going to be a big sister. I don't she even knows what a big sister is. Truthfully speaking we haven't really grasped the fact that we are going to be parents x 2.

Dr. Visit

Last week Mom, Alyce, and I all went to the doctor for the first visit. It was unexciting as we were too early to hear a heartbeat. So in two weeks we are going in to hear the heartbeat and maybe get an ultrasound of the baby. Alyce did very good at the office, but most of that was because I was playing with her keeping her entertained.

On the morning sickness front. Mommy is having her good days and bad days. At least she is eating something which is better than last time.