One great well baby report

Sometimes our lackadaisical approach to parenting means we are late getting around to scheduling things like the 18 month checkup for our toddler, in this case nearly two weeks past Henry's eighteenth month day. Egads. Henry's doc has made a prediction that Henry's weight gain will take off by the time he's two. You can place your bets here. Also, she is quite certain that whatever weird medical issue Henry had will resolve itself without us ever having an answer. Woot! Bye bye, enigmatic wanna-be illness. Hello, healthy kid. For now, Henry has resumed his non-live virus vaccinations finishing up the Diphtheria and Polio vaccines. He handled the shots in the legs like a champ.

Weight: 20.14 lbs / <3%
Height: 32.9 in / 75%
Head Circumference: 18.5 in / 30%

His weight and height are holding steady percentage-wise but his head is growing larger. Must be all of that strawberry-flavored fish oils we've been giving him. (Note: Henry actually seems to like that stuff. Avocados, no thanks. Strawberry-flavored fish oil? Yes, please!)

So, here's the checklist according to the paperwork our doc left us with:
Gross Motor
trots or walks fast - check
walks upstairs holding hands - check
kicks or throws a ball - check

Fine Motor
stacks three to four blocks - check, and then will knock blocks down
turns single pages - check
uses a spoon - check
draws crayon strokes on paper - check
may eat crayons - check
drinks organic juice from a plastic camping wineglass - check

Language
can understand directions but has trouble following through - check
says five to ten words that may be indecipherable to others - check
parrots words that others say even if that word is "shit" - check
identifies some body parts by pointing - check (currently working on "boob")
maintains eye contact - check

Social
wish for independence is stronger - check
interested in how things work and where they are kept - check and check
may want to imitate behavior, such as housecleaning - check
may have a loved doll or pig for comfort - check

To do list for parents:

1. limit juice to 4oz a day - okay
2. avoid making mealtime a battle - no problem
3. offer healthy snacks - sure
4. no more bottles - been gone for a while
5. supervise all outside play - of course
6. apply sunblock or sunscreen - yep
7. read to toddler - always
8. establish a regular bedtime - working on this

Recommended reading for parents:
Parents, Please Don't Sit on Your Kids by Clare Cherry

We've already purchased The Happiest Toddler on the Block book and dvd, should any other toddler parents be interested in this hippy doc's approach to child rearing and want to borrow them.

And finally, because it's good to pass along info, here's the Poison Control number. I'm going to go and key it into the old cell phone, which is actually the new cell phone but that's for another post. Here's the number:
1-800-222-1222.