Baby Pictures Just for Luke

So you know it is going to be a bad visit to the doctor when three different people, including the doctor, ask, "Was she premature?" What's that supposed to mean? First, she was 50th percentile on height, but less than 25th percentile on weight. Which she has always been, by the way. But I got the interrogation: "What are you feeding her? How often? Are you giving her solid food? How much?" Look at her! She's not starving to death. Check out those monster thighs! And look, I could have even provided him with this lovely photo narrative about her eating habits. I tried the little straining mesh spoon things, but she would only put the plastic part in her mouth or chuck them on the floor. Those things splatter. I actually read online that you should try using your own finger rather than a spoon to feed the baby. That actually did work a little better because she wouldn't just spit everything out and opened her mouth better. But it took forever and she got pretty mad at me before we were even close to halfway done. So then I tried a modified version of mom's idea and just let her smear it all over the highchair and herself and lick it off. Not too bad. The funniest thing was, as I was cleaning her up, she couldn't keep her little hands off the wipes and would stuff as much of them into her mouth as she could and suck on them. She can't stand sweet potatoes, but she loves soap. Weird.

I'd love to have the doctor come to my house and try feeding her. It was so funny because when he stuck the tongue depressor in her mouth, she fought him hard. Really hard. She clamped that little jaw down and threw her head to the side. "Wow," he said, "she's got a really strong tongue." Yeah. She does.

So then he was concerned because she isn't saying any consonants yet, just vowels. He kept checking her ears and saying they were a little pink and asking if she seemed to be able to hear. I'm pretty sure she can hear fine. She just doesn't talk. She blows raspberries and has even started making kissing sounds. She doesn't like to open her mouth. She doesn't laugh either. So now I have to take her back next month to make sure her ears look better and to see if she is talking yet.

Then he asked me if she could sit up. Nope. "Well, I'm sure she's pretty close because she's 7 months. Let's try." So first he tried to sit her down, but she stuck her legs straight down like she wanted to stand instead. Once he finally got her bent in half, she totally flopped over. "Well, she really should be sitting up on her own. I'm not too concerned yet because she seems fairly active." She, meanwhile, had rolled on to her tummy and was wrestling with the paper on the table and trying to grab his tie and stethoscope and chart. She's gotten to that point where she is all arms and fingers and grabs everything. So cute. She's also gotten to the point where she has figured out rolling and can make it across the room to whatever tiny little choking hazard her sisters have left on the floor. I've always been amazed that when they are that low to the ground, they can still see dimes clear across the room. But, no, whenever I try to sit her up on her own, she either just flops over or dives for whatever she thinks she can reach for. Anyway, I'm supposed to work with her over the next month so hopefully she can wow him with her ability to sit still.

Okay, I just realized why she's deaf. Apple said, "Do you want to hear the giraffe?" and held up a squeaking toy right next to her ear and squeezed it as loudly as she could. She and Strawberry also both tend to get right into her face and yell.

So, anyway, I was a little bummed after this appointment. I've never had a negative review about my kids from the doctor before. But don't they always say, "Every kid is different and these are just guidelines?" She's way different than her sisters, but she still seems like a totally happy, normal baby. A little hyperactive. Maybe that's it. She's got ADHD. She needs to be medicated! ;) She just laughed at me because she almost fell over and I said, "Whoa!" Then she made kissy noises at me. Now she's trying to grab my toes. See? Happy, healthy baby.

Hmm, I wonder if this is contributing to her issues. She does love to watch movies. :)