12 Months

"Are you sure I can have this mom?"

We have had a very busy week with Nathaniel's birthday, lots of doctors appointments and getting ready for Grandma and Grandpa to visit. Monday (on his birthday) I took him to Kennedy Krieger NICU Development Clinic for a check-up. According to his doctor he is doing very well and he is performing around the 10 month age range in all areas except motor skills. Infants & Toddlers has been meeting with us every other week to work on these skills, we were made aware of the delay during our last visit to Kennedy Krieger and he has made big improvements since then. He can now sit up on his own and he is learning to crawl and stand. The physical therapist is a little concerned about the development of his feet and ankles so she is going to discuss a plan of action with our local Infants & Toddlers therapist. Basically his feet and ankles lean in when he stands and his weight is not distributed properly and this could cause issues later. Not sure yet what will happen but he may need braces to straighten things out.

"This feels funny but I think I like it!"

Monday night we had a little family celebration for Nathaniel. He got to enjoy his first cupcake (I baked!) and we took lots of pictures. He loved it and did a pretty good job eating most of the cake. Chad and I gave Nathaniel some books and a big boy potty for his birthday. He can't sit on it yet but it won't be long and I want to introduce him to the idea early.

"Let me shove it all in before they take it away."

On Tuesday he had an appointment with his pediatrician for his 12 month check-up and 4 shots (yes he was very unhappy about that)! Stats from both visits:

Weight: 18lbs 4oz - 5th percentile on regular growth chart (60th percentile on preemie chart)

Height: 29 inches - 20th percentile on regular growth chart (80th percentile on preemie chart)

Head: 47cm - 50th percentile on regular growth chart (95th percentile on preemie chart)

"Wow that was good, can I have some more?"

Wednesday, we saw a pediatric dentist. Nathaniel's upper frenulum connects very low on his gum line and we wanted to have someone look at it while he is still young. They said it was really no big deal and at this point they don't do anything about it. After he loses some baby teeth and his jaw develops they will decide if it needs to be snipped - around age 9.

"Aries this is my cupcake, but I guess I can let you have a taste."

At 12 months Nathaniel is:

1. Sitting up on his own

2. Rolling all over the place

3. Thinking about crawling

4. Saying Mama, Dada, go, good girl - to the dogs (at least that's what I think hes saying)

5. Loves to eat - some of his favorites are cheese, blueberries, toast, yogurt, pasta, rice, hummus, bananas, chicken, eggs and carrots

6. Would rather have me or Chad play with him instead of playing on his own

7. Enjoys having books read to him

8. Loves the dogs

9. Can throw a big fit if he doesn't get what he wants

10. Is very good at waving

11. Does the cutest "monkey" on command (for those of you who have never see this, when you ask Nathaniel to do the monkey he gets a big smile on his face, shakes his head back and forth moves his arms.)

12. Has a smile that melts our hearts and big blue eyes that are just adorable.

"All gone!"

Chad's parents are coming for a visit this weekend so we are going to have another party for Nathaniel while they are here and just enjoy the weekend together. They haven't seen Nathaniel since Christmas.

"I'm full of sugar and very happy!"