Off the charts

Last weekend we finally got to meet little Ray, who, as the son of Chad’s life-long best friend Carl, is bound to become Liam’s best friend… right?? Well, maybe that would be the case if we didn’t live down here while they live in the Soo… it was hard enough to get together when it was just us adults, but now throw babies into the mix, and suddenly a seven-hour drive (each way) sounds much less appealing, no matter how much fun we have when we’re together. Regardless, Ray is six months less a week younger than Liam, and an awful lot happens in six months of a baby’s life, so it was hilarious (at least to Chad and I, with our mommy/daddy goggles on) to see how much of a difference there was between the two of them. First, Ray is still practically bald. I know Liam was bald for several months, it’s just hard to think of him that way now. Also, Ray has just learned how to sit up, and Liam has just learned how to not sit still.

Yesterday was Liam’s one-year checkup, which also gave some insight into his growth and development. Not having weighed or measured him for the last several months, I had underestimated his height (31.5 inches) and overestimated his weight (22 lbs 13 oz). This puts him at the 95th percentile for height, and he’s off the chart for weight. (Not surprisingly, Chad didn’t much like the sound of that when I reported back to him!) Dr. Kate assured us that he would thin out once he starts walking, but also thinks that he won’t be walking til about 15 months. The pigeon-toed kids are the ones who walk early because it helps with their balance; Liam walks like a duck, with his toes pointing out, which means it’s going to be more of a struggle for him.

That was all fine and well (to be honest, I disagree with her diagnosis, something I finally learned to do after Liam was born weighing more than six pounds and less than 8.5, as she had variously claimed he would be; he was born almost bang on time in mid April, after she alternately told me I would go either early or late; and he was born after more than twice as many hours of labour as she had promised). She then went through a battery of developmental questions – does he follow simple instructions? Is he crawling? Is he sleeping through the night? – and then we got to the talking issue, and she asked if he is saying three words yet. Ummm – no!! If grunts and groans and squeaks count, maybe we’re there, but if not…. She seemed concerned about the talking thing and said that when she sees him again at 15 months, he has to have 3 words in his vocabulary. Or else what?? I don’t know any one-year-olds who are saying three words. Chalk this up as another reason to agree to disagree.

Following the talking brouhaha, she didn’t get any more love from Liam, as he got two more shots and I swear the people in the house three doors down heard him bellowing. Actually, there’s an efficient little system they have in place, where Dr. Kate swoops in to do the fun stuff and fawn over your baby, and then it’s the nurse who gets the bad rap by being the needle administrator. And it’s no fun being the mom at these times, either; I’m the one who had to pin the little guy down.