15-month Check-up

Lexi had her 15-month check-up yesterday. Here are the stats:

• Weight: 22 lbs, 13 ounces (down from 25 lbs at 12-month check-up)
• Height: 30.5 inches (up from 29 inches at 12-month check-up)
• Hysterical breakdowns: 5 (up from 2 at 12-month check-up)

I typically look forward to check-ups. I like to see how much Lexi has grown and how she compares to the averages on different skills. She is slightly behind in her major motor skills because she isn't walking yet, but 10% of kids her age aren't. She is very average in terms of weight, height, and vocabulary.

Lately Elian and I have been noticing a slight vision problem, which the doctor also thought he saw. It seems like sometimes when Lexi is looking at something, particularly something far away, one eye is looking straight at the object, and the other eye is looking slightly outward. Apparently this is called wall-eye and needs to be treated before she's 3 or she could suffer worse vision problems in the future. Four percent of babies have it, and Elian's mom said he had it as a baby, but they didn't know how to treat it. So they eventually put him in glasses in 2nd grade and he's been wearing them ever since. Our pediatrician referred us to an ophthalmologist, who we will see next week. I've read that this condition can be treated with eye drops, glasses, or by wearing an eye patch over the good eye for short periods of time throughout the day, and in extreme cases, surgery might be needed. None of these options excite me. Lexi's case seems very mild to me because not many people notice it.

The other thing I learned at the check-up is Lexi has super-human strength when she's upset. She hugged me around my neck so hard that it took serious effort on my part to pry her little arms apart so I could remove her from my body. Poor girl. Hopefully we won't be visiting the pediatrician for 3 more months. But this ophthalmologist appointment on Wednesday could be equally frightening. We shall see.