9 month check-up

Jude had his nine month check-up today. It was a fun visit because he did not need any shots this time! YEAH!

My boy is still a tall, skinny guy. He was 29" long and weighed right at 19 pounds. His head circumference was 18". He is no longer off the charts on his height/length, but he is still in the 75th percentile. His weight curve really dropped again though. He is now around the 25-30th percentile for his weight. He drops further down the curve on weight at each visit. I told the pedi that this concerned me a little, especially since Jude has a huge appetite. She was not worried. She said that his height and head circumference growth stayed roughly on the same growth curve, so that is what is really important, he is just so active that he burns through the calories so fast. I told her that one of his nicknames is "Mr. Wiggles", because he is ALWAYS moving. That just confirmed what she thought, and said not to worry. It is just hard for me to wrap my head around having a skinny baby, Julia was always on the top of the growth curve for weight (and still is).

I told her about suspecting Jude was having night terrors, just like Julia always did/does. She agreed that that was probably the case and was not concerned. Everything I have read about them over the years says they are completely normal for little kids to have, so I was not worried about them at all. It is just tiring to get up with him multiple times a night when he is going through them.

I did ask about the fact that Jude's feet and hands are ALWAYS cold. I dress him warmly, almost always wears socks, has footed pajamas, but still his feet are cold. She felt his feet and saw that even though the office was very warm and Jude's cheeks were all red because he was so warm, his feet were still cold. She said it is somewhat normal for babies to have cold feet and that it should improve once he starts walking. We will watch it for the next six months or so and see if it improves.

We talked about how he still had super sensitive skin. She gave me the name of another brand of baby products I could try if I wanted. What I have seems to be working well, I just have to make sure everything he wears or lays on is washed in All Free first. I notice he breaks out when held by other people and their make-up/lotion/perfume/etc rubs off on him. I don't wear any of that stuff, and I use the same laundry soap and body wash for me as I use for him to prevent that from happening.

The pedi was very pleased with his language skills already. Jude can say almost a dozen words already and is constantly babbling. I fully expect him to be speaking full sentences by a year old, just like his sister was.