Nine Month Checkup
Greetings to everyone!
Xavier had his nine month checkup today. Dr. Abbey was out of town, so Xavier was introduced to another doctor in the office, Dr. Schimalel.
Dr. Schimalel provided much encouragement. Though we are generally happy with Xavier's development and growth, still we have that little nag of "he's not growing as fast as he should" in the back of our heads. Of course, that nag is put into our heads by his doctors.
Dr. Schimalel told us Xavier is behaving like a 9 month old should. A 9 month old, not a preemie-adjusted 7 month old. She also told us not to worry over his growth, everything developmentally looks good. Glory to God! Rebecca and I know this, but it's nice to hear it from the same source (doctors) who plant the little doubts. Overall, Dr. Schimalel was very impressed by our little man; she predicted he will be tall and lanky.
Rebecca told Dr. Schimalel about how she now wakes Xavier up a couple of times in the night and feeds him while he is mostly asleep (because he drinks most of bottle at such times). Dr. Schimalel laughed and said this technique was inventive.
Xavier had two more shots today, his third and final Hep B and another Polio. He got two pokes and cried very little with today's shots. This impressed Rebecca, who is always sensitive to his pain.
Here are today's stats:
- Weight
- 12 pounds, 1.6 ounces, a gain of two ounces in a week.
- Height
- 25 inches; a full inch longer in 18 days
- Head Circumference
- 43.5 cm, or 17.13 inches; a gain of 0.13 inches in 18 days
Xavier poses in his bassinet, something of a feat as this was taken in a lull of his activity. He often is in the bassinet when Dad has work to do, but needs to keep an eye on him. (one of the "Big Three" rules of the Parents Discharge class at the NICU: never leave a child unsupervised!)