Quinn is now 19-months old, but just had his 18-month well-child visit. His stats from that visit were:
Height: 2' 9'' (63rd percentile)
Weight: 27 lb 3 oz (61st percentile)
Head Circumference: 49 cm (78th percentile)
Weight: 27 lb 3 oz (61st percentile)
Head Circumference: 49 cm (78th percentile)
When I was pregnant with Quinn we "interviewed" several pediatricians in San Jose, and took the responsibility of finding a caring doctor for him quite seriously. And then we moved. I was overwhelmed by the thought of going through the process of finding a pediatrician up here, and quite frankly, made the decision quickly and hoped for the best. I loved the pediatrician that Quinn had in the bay (even if Quinn only got to see him two times, once in the hospital and once a week later), but I LOVE our pediatrician here, Dr. Heng. She's informative, kind, knowledgeable, and she always gives me an idea of what I can be working on with Quinn that is developmentally appropriate for him. There was one time when we had to see a different doctor, and I hated him. :( So, the saying that all pediatricians are great doesn't necessarily hold true. I give this background so you can understand the sentiment that I felt when I went to make Quinn's 18 month well-child visit and was told that Dr. Heng would be on sabbatical for an indefinite amount of time. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I made an appointment for Quinn with the only other doctor at our local Redmond office (who wasn't the man he had previously seen), and loved him too! So, now I am convinced that most pediatricians are fantastic. He possessed the same qualities as Dr. Heng, and I couldn't have been more relieved!
Developmentally, Quinn is still an active little boy. He loves to run and climb, and in the last several months he has added jumping to his bag of tricks. In fact, Quinn is quite the little stunt man in training. He will climb onto our guest bed (using a variety of toys to help boost him up) and will perform spinning jumps off of the bed, shouting "ta da!" when he "lands" (i.e. crashes) to the floor. He laughs, and proceeds to try a new trick off of the bed. It occurred to me that my child is likely to break a limb sooner rather than later (and as much as he tries to avoid my help, I have decided it's probably best to catch him as he jumps for now). I often times find myself just watching, so curious to see what he'll do next, and in those dangerous moments I have to remind myself that I am the parent here! He will also jump off of his toy chest, the couch, etc... Along with his stunt man traits, Quinn has picked up a "punch-fall". I'm not sure what to call it, but he'll clap his hands as if he's mimicking getting slapped across the face, and then fall to the ground. Pat and I have been racking our brains trying to figure out where he could have picked up this "trick" and the only thing we can think of is it must have come from daycare. It is a bit violent, but oh so hilarious. I don't think he means any harm, but I hope I'm not just a blind parent here as well. We do have video on one of our phones that I'd like to figure out how to upload at some point. Stay tuned. Anyhow, it is clear that Quinn enjoys stunts from an early age, and it will be interesting to see how these stunts develop as he gets older. Pat will oftentimes comment about how he can remember doing similar things, but seeing as how he remembers, I'm assuming he was a bit a older.
Quinn's speech has been trying to take off for the past several months, but I think it's safe to say that Pat and I are likely the only people who can understand at least 80% of Quinn's vocabulary. The most exciting new word came right around 18 months, and that was "mama". Yes friends and family, I had to wait 18 months to hear my baby say mama. He stay doesn't say it with regularity, but if I bribe him he will. For fun yesterday Pat and I tried to think of how many words Quinn says, and we came up with over 30. But, we are counting sounds such as "eease" for please and "ot" for hot. Quinn doesn't say whole words very well, but he is mimicking us more and more, and he is showing that he knows a lot of vocabulary by what he is able to point out in the books that we read together. Quinn continues to love making animal sounds, and has added a few new animals to his repertoire.
The most convenient development, and the one that I am the most ashamed of, is Quinn's love of movies. He will sit through an animated film from start to finish (or close to it). When we come home each day, it has become a routine for him to pick out a movie so I can prepare dinner, and sadly, Quinn has come to expect this. And yes, he can work the Blu-ray player all on his own. He will play with his toys as the movie is on, but when it gets turned off he says, "uh oh", and then asks for "more", wanting it turned on again. It is something that I'd like to see us cut back on, but it sure has been nice to be able to make dinner in the evenings and just relax a little.
The last time I spoke of Quinn's developments at 15 months, I was feeling overwhelmed by my parental role, particularly in regards to Quinn's temper tantrums. These tantrums still exist, but perhaps I am becoming more numb to them. Quinn knows what he wants, and if he doesn't get it, he will make is displeasure known to the world. I have no problems letting him "work it out" (by screaming on the floor for a few seconds/minutes) at home, but this is more of a challenge in public. Currently I struggle with balancing showing respect to those around me by keeping my child under control, and parenting my child. Thankfully, these moments do not occur too often. If Quinn is well-rested and fed, he's a pretty happy-go-lucky child.
Last week I was reminded how fortunate we have been with Quinn's health. Unfortunately, it takes a sickness for me to reflect on how much of his life has been spent well, or close to it. With daycare came many colds, but nothing that we couldn't handle. Two weekends ago Quinn got a flu bug that stayed with him for a couple of days. He acted perfectly happy; it was just no fun seeing him helpless in the moments when he was vomiting. Telling him that he couldn't have milk as he begged for it, starving was quite miserable as well. However, for some reason, the vomiting turned into diarrhea a few days later, which turned into a severe diaper rash. We haven't had to deal with diaper rash and I can now empathize with families that deal with this on a regular basis. Quinn wouldn't sit down, he wouldn't go into the bathtub, and he wouldn't even let me hold him because he was so uncomfortable. Our household was sleep deprived and miserable for a few days as we tried to nurse Quinn back to a comfortable state. I have yet to experience a worse feeling than seeing my baby in pain and not being able to take that pain away. I was an emotional wreck. Thankfully, Quinn is doing much better now, and our family is slowly catching up on sleep. Unfortunately, this week of sickness stole our blissful sleeper from us. Quinn was sleeping a dreamy 12 hours a night, from 8-8, and Pat and I were in heaven. Now, he's back to waking by 6 am, and Pat and I are trying desperately to adjust. We are not morning people.
In the upcoming months we look forward to meeting the newest additions to our extended family. Quinn is becoming obsessed with babies, and the timing couldn't be more perfect as his Auntie Lolo is due with baby Delaney any day now (well, technically she isn't due for 10 days), but we're ready NOW. We're just waiting for the phone call that Delaney is on her way, and we'll plan our road trip shorty thereafter. In addition, Zach and Emily are getting closer to receiving the referral for their Ugandan baby. They began the adoption process last March and have certainly put in their time. We are all getting anxious to meet these precious babies, and I am looking forward to seeing how Quinn reacts to these additions. It should be an exciting few months, and we just can't wait!
Quinn continues to be the greatest joy in our lives and we are so blessed by his loving and vivacious spirit each day.
Developmentally, Quinn is still an active little boy. He loves to run and climb, and in the last several months he has added jumping to his bag of tricks. In fact, Quinn is quite the little stunt man in training. He will climb onto our guest bed (using a variety of toys to help boost him up) and will perform spinning jumps off of the bed, shouting "ta da!" when he "lands" (i.e. crashes) to the floor. He laughs, and proceeds to try a new trick off of the bed. It occurred to me that my child is likely to break a limb sooner rather than later (and as much as he tries to avoid my help, I have decided it's probably best to catch him as he jumps for now). I often times find myself just watching, so curious to see what he'll do next, and in those dangerous moments I have to remind myself that I am the parent here! He will also jump off of his toy chest, the couch, etc... Along with his stunt man traits, Quinn has picked up a "punch-fall". I'm not sure what to call it, but he'll clap his hands as if he's mimicking getting slapped across the face, and then fall to the ground. Pat and I have been racking our brains trying to figure out where he could have picked up this "trick" and the only thing we can think of is it must have come from daycare. It is a bit violent, but oh so hilarious. I don't think he means any harm, but I hope I'm not just a blind parent here as well. We do have video on one of our phones that I'd like to figure out how to upload at some point. Stay tuned. Anyhow, it is clear that Quinn enjoys stunts from an early age, and it will be interesting to see how these stunts develop as he gets older. Pat will oftentimes comment about how he can remember doing similar things, but seeing as how he remembers, I'm assuming he was a bit a older.
Quinn's speech has been trying to take off for the past several months, but I think it's safe to say that Pat and I are likely the only people who can understand at least 80% of Quinn's vocabulary. The most exciting new word came right around 18 months, and that was "mama". Yes friends and family, I had to wait 18 months to hear my baby say mama. He stay doesn't say it with regularity, but if I bribe him he will. For fun yesterday Pat and I tried to think of how many words Quinn says, and we came up with over 30. But, we are counting sounds such as "eease" for please and "ot" for hot. Quinn doesn't say whole words very well, but he is mimicking us more and more, and he is showing that he knows a lot of vocabulary by what he is able to point out in the books that we read together. Quinn continues to love making animal sounds, and has added a few new animals to his repertoire.
The most convenient development, and the one that I am the most ashamed of, is Quinn's love of movies. He will sit through an animated film from start to finish (or close to it). When we come home each day, it has become a routine for him to pick out a movie so I can prepare dinner, and sadly, Quinn has come to expect this. And yes, he can work the Blu-ray player all on his own. He will play with his toys as the movie is on, but when it gets turned off he says, "uh oh", and then asks for "more", wanting it turned on again. It is something that I'd like to see us cut back on, but it sure has been nice to be able to make dinner in the evenings and just relax a little.
The last time I spoke of Quinn's developments at 15 months, I was feeling overwhelmed by my parental role, particularly in regards to Quinn's temper tantrums. These tantrums still exist, but perhaps I am becoming more numb to them. Quinn knows what he wants, and if he doesn't get it, he will make is displeasure known to the world. I have no problems letting him "work it out" (by screaming on the floor for a few seconds/minutes) at home, but this is more of a challenge in public. Currently I struggle with balancing showing respect to those around me by keeping my child under control, and parenting my child. Thankfully, these moments do not occur too often. If Quinn is well-rested and fed, he's a pretty happy-go-lucky child.
Last week I was reminded how fortunate we have been with Quinn's health. Unfortunately, it takes a sickness for me to reflect on how much of his life has been spent well, or close to it. With daycare came many colds, but nothing that we couldn't handle. Two weekends ago Quinn got a flu bug that stayed with him for a couple of days. He acted perfectly happy; it was just no fun seeing him helpless in the moments when he was vomiting. Telling him that he couldn't have milk as he begged for it, starving was quite miserable as well. However, for some reason, the vomiting turned into diarrhea a few days later, which turned into a severe diaper rash. We haven't had to deal with diaper rash and I can now empathize with families that deal with this on a regular basis. Quinn wouldn't sit down, he wouldn't go into the bathtub, and he wouldn't even let me hold him because he was so uncomfortable. Our household was sleep deprived and miserable for a few days as we tried to nurse Quinn back to a comfortable state. I have yet to experience a worse feeling than seeing my baby in pain and not being able to take that pain away. I was an emotional wreck. Thankfully, Quinn is doing much better now, and our family is slowly catching up on sleep. Unfortunately, this week of sickness stole our blissful sleeper from us. Quinn was sleeping a dreamy 12 hours a night, from 8-8, and Pat and I were in heaven. Now, he's back to waking by 6 am, and Pat and I are trying desperately to adjust. We are not morning people.
In the upcoming months we look forward to meeting the newest additions to our extended family. Quinn is becoming obsessed with babies, and the timing couldn't be more perfect as his Auntie Lolo is due with baby Delaney any day now (well, technically she isn't due for 10 days), but we're ready NOW. We're just waiting for the phone call that Delaney is on her way, and we'll plan our road trip shorty thereafter. In addition, Zach and Emily are getting closer to receiving the referral for their Ugandan baby. They began the adoption process last March and have certainly put in their time. We are all getting anxious to meet these precious babies, and I am looking forward to seeing how Quinn reacts to these additions. It should be an exciting few months, and we just can't wait!
Quinn continues to be the greatest joy in our lives and we are so blessed by his loving and vivacious spirit each day.
