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.

A Brighter Day

This morning Lexi decided she didn't want to stay home. At about 8 AM she sat in the middle of my bedroom floor, trying with all her dexterial might to put her sandals on. After trying her best, she looked at me and babbled in an imperative tone, "Dooooo doooo dooo!" When she's really serious, she repeats herself, "Dooooo doooo dooo!", getting louder and louder until I do what she's demanding. I was in no shape to leave the house yet, so I distracted her from her sandal task, hoping she'd forget about it.

Around 9 AM we went downstairs. As we played in the living room, she kept pointing toward the kitchen, desperately trying to communicate, "Dooooo doooo dooo! Dooooo doooo dooo!" I held her hands and let her guide me to the object of her desire: the garage door. When I informed her we would not be going out, she melted into a pile of heart-broken toddler and sobbed on the kitchen floor. I used distraction again to lead her away from the door and toward an indoor activity.

By 10 AM Lexi had found her shoes in the living room and was doing her best to cram her toes in them. Tired of her insistence, I decided a trip to Wal-Mart was in order.

I loaded Lexi up and headed to the gas station first. Lexi sat quietly in her car seat, watching me pump gas. While I was waiting, I began waving and blowing kisses to her, just to keep her mildly entertained during our stop. She smiled and waved back, but she kept cutting her eyes to the pump next to us. Then I heard an old man say, "You have a beautiful baby!" I couldn't see him because the pump was between us, but I thanked him and laughed. Then the voice continued to talk to me, telling me how happy Lexi seemed, how pretty her smile was, and how good she was being. Then, as is usually the case with older adults we run into, the man started telling me about his grandkids. He said he just couldn't get enough of them, even though the youngest one was already 12. We ended our conversation, and as we pulled away, I saw him waving to Lexi. I told her to wave back, which she did, and I could see pure joy on the old man's face.

After we filled up, we went to Wal-Mart for groceries. Lexi enjoys riding in the cart and looking at all the people. She laughs at everyone who passes us, almost always causing them to laugh back. In the check out line, the cashiers wave and talk to her. Lexi grins and laughs back to them.

It seems that almost everywhere we go Lexi engages other people and makes their day a little bit brighter. They can't help but smile and laugh as she cackles through the aisles, waving her tiny hand. That may be the only time some of these people smile that day. So it seems Lexi is in the business of Laughter Ministry. Maybe I can think of some other ways to use her personality to minister to people during the week, giving them some of God's love, and maybe even the gospel...

Memories

Last month I took Lexi to the doctor because she had a high temperature for a couple of days. She was 13 months old and stranger anxiety had set in. She was nervous as they sat her in the scale to weigh her, but when the doctor came in and actually touched her, she lost it. He looked in her ears and at her throat, palpitated her abdomen, and Lexi screamed the whole time as if she were dying. When the doctor didn't notice anything unusual during the exam, he had the nurse draw blood to check the levels for infection. The doctor left the room, and as soon as I got Lexi calmed down, a nurse came in. Lexi clung to me for dear life as the nurse pricked her finger and squeezed 5 or 6 drops of blood from it. Lexi howled. Interestingly, she was equally distraught by the little tiny band aid the nurse put on her finger. I guess Lexi didn't know what it was or why it was there, but she knew she wanted it off!

Lexi's white blood cell count came back at 22,000, which concerned the doctor. He decided to test her urine to see if she had a bladder infection. Have you ever tried to collect a urine sample from an unpotty-trained 13 month old? It's not pretty. A nurse comes in and "cleans the area". Then she uses industrial strength tape to attach a plastic bag to "the area". Then we wait for results. This is the second time Lexi has had to have her urine collected in her short little life. And both times the first bag leaked. The nurse had to rip off the first bag and tape on a second bag. Poor girl!

When the urine came back negative for infection, the doctor decided to treat Lexi for a bacterial infection. Yet another nurse came in and injected an antibiotic into Lexi's leg. After 2 hours of pain and crying, we went home.

Fast forward to Sunday. Lexi had a low grade fever. It eventually reaches 103.5. She had no other symptoms, just like last time, so I waited. Monday and Tuesday she still had a 103 fever, so I took her to the doctor Tuesday morning. As soon as we started walking toward the exam room, Lexi started acting skiddish. By the time I got her to the scale, she was in full blown meltdown. Her painless weigh in was followed by a petrifying visit from the doctor, the finger-pricking nurse, and the doctor again. All three encounters involved Lexi crying hysterically from the time the person opened the door to come in until well after they had closed the door and left. I am convinced Lexi remembered the pain of the June visit and was experiencing one of her first long-term memories. It's interesting to know she actually has that capability now.

The good news: her white blood cell count was normal (low, even), which means she just has a virus.

The bad news: we are going back to the doctor next week for a check-up and immunizations :(

The Dreaded First Post

My life revolves around three things: God, Elian, and Lexi. I'd like to say that rotation is always in that order, giving just the right amount of time and attention where it is due. But I'd be lying. And you'd know it.

Most of you can guess that my sweet little girl, who's almost 15 months old, receives most of my energy throughout the day. So most of what I write will be about her. The other two desires of my heart, God and Elian, may pop up occasionally, although I'm pretty sure my husband would prefer comments about him kept to a minimum.

I'm not sure how often I will find myself with both the time and the energy to write, but I'll do my best.

As for now, Lexi is throwing plastic balls at me, which is her way of telling me to come play. See you later!