15 Month Well Child Check...

Weston is 15 months old!  With that comes another well child checkup (and shots).  The last week has brought some interesting fun though, as I thought he might be developing a MRSA butt abscess.  So what happened was Weston started to have a few diaper rash lesions last Thursday with what looked like a couple pustules/pimples on his bottom.  I totally freaked out because anyone who works in healthcare knows that healthcare workers are actually more likely to be colonized with MRSA (and thus my family).  So we lathered him up with Neosporin and covered his bum with diaper cream.  I was on call on Friday night so I didn't see it all day until Saturday night and it was looking pretty angry.  It wasn't until Sunday after church that I noticed a little red place on Weston's left leg that wasn't there that morning...now there were 2 little spots.  I checked his hands...nothing.  I slipped his socks and shoes off...BINGO! He had about 5 little red spots on his left foot and 2 or 3 on his right and then I knew...it was Hand-Food-and-Mouth Disease!  Yay!  I don't think I've ever been excited about my baby having a virus, but Coxsackie Virus is way better than MRSA butt abscess.   His little diaper lesions began to ulcerate that day like typical HFM lesions.  So, besides a really horrible diaper rash and a couple spots on his feet, Weston never had any fever, hand or mouth lesions...just foot-butt.  Of course when I took him to daycare on Monday, the owner told me that HFM had been going around (little turkeys). 

So, back to Weston's well child checkup.  We saw Dr. Wells this past Tuesday and he weighed in at 25 pounds and 9 oz and was down to the 75%.  His length was 32 and a half inches...creeping up to the 90% like his daddy.  And his head is more appropriately at the 75% now too.  Developmentally, Weston is doing all good things.  He is of course running, dancing, clapping and even starting to have little tantrums once in a while.  I guess I've deprived him of some of his developmental mile stones because he hasn't been able to feed himself with a spoon much or scribble.  Although he has had a couple of papers that have come home from school with a few scribbles on them...I don't have a lot of time to clean up extra messes...and I need him to actually get food in his mouth.  So that night I went home and gave little man a bowl of yogurt (suction-cupped to his tray) and a spoon and let him at it.  Hmm...he could get some to his mouth with help, but after a minute he was trying to eat the wrong end of the spoon and eventually gave up and just tried to eat it with his hands (good thing it was bath night). 

As far as eating goes, Weston still loves beans...black beans, chili beans, baked beans...doesn't matter.  And I love that he loves them, because they're cholesterol free and have protein and fiber.  We eat a lot of beans at our house.  We definitely have to limit the milk for this little man though, because he'd probably drink a gallon a day if we'd let him, and I'm not going to have a 75 pound 4 year old (believe me I've seen 'em...that's what can happen with a gallon of whole milk a day).  His picky-toddler phase shows its head every once in a while, but then a day or two later he makes up for it and eats everything you put on his tray. 

Hello?

As for toys, Weston is getting good at his big chunky puzzle, which is cute.  And he likes books.  Just the other day he finally started to stack them back on the shelf after he cleared them all out to the floor. He loves the phone now...as you can see, he's a pro!  The pets are definitely in for it too as Weston has fun trying to grab Duke's bobbed tail...yikes ("don't touch his butt"...is what you'll hear me say).  Poor Dukie. 

Words~ Finally, the words have multiplied in the last 2 weeks.  Weston now tries to say things that he wants instead of just screaming (milk is the most frustrating word apparently).  He says "Ca" for cat and "Daw" for dog, but whats cuter is that he pants like a dog every time he sees one, whether it's in a book or real life.  If you ask him, "what's a puppy say?" - he pants.  And he started to use a 2 word phrase - "all done"...which in developmental milestone land is a very good sign.  I was worried I might have to get him a speech evaluation because he wasn't saying hardly anything except mama/dada until about a week ago. 

  We still allow Weston to have that pacifier when he goes to sleep for naps and night time (I'm not sure if it'll be that easy to get rid of it, but I like that he doesn't use it during the day - it's always harder fro parents I think to hear their baby cry).  And he really likes his crochet blanket that one of the ladies from Rolland's old church gave him...it's so soft and I'm pretty sure he flosses his little teeth with the strings he pulls out of it.  Speaking of teeth, Weston has molars already...I think he has about 12 teeth now...I can't really keep up.  Brushing those teeth is not very fun...he doesn't get it at all...he just tries to bite the toothbrush all the time (not helpful).  I'm really looking forward to the day he has to go to the dentist...that'll be fun.  Well, besides being busy and tired, this is pretty much our life...wake up, get Weston ready, go to school, go to work, back to school, cook dinner, bath, book, bed...fall asleep on the couch (that last one only applies to me).  Ready to graduate so I can spend more time with my family.