Our 1 Year-Old

With Finn's first birthday this month, we have had a couple of different doctors' appointments.  Our pulmonologist visit this month was a complete annual exam at Children's Hospital.  We were there a bit over 4 and a half hours.  They weighed and measured him, took 8 vials of blood (for lab work and research), took chest x-rays, took a throat culture, and had him meet with his dietitian, RT, social worker, nurse, and doctor.  It was a crazy long day!

Finn measured in at 29 inches tall and weighed 19 pounds 6 ounces.  The doctor was quite pleased with his growth, as was his dietitian.  Of course, he is still not in the 50th percentile for height vs. weight and so the dietitian was having a hard time trying to decide what to recommend.  She would like him to weigh more, but also acknowledges that, for his genetics, he's doing fantastic.  So, we have switched him from formula to whole milk mixed with half and half.  It's a recipe that will keep his milk at 26-28 calories per ounce.  She also told us that he can have Pediasure and Resource.  She gave us handouts on how to add calories to his food and what he should be eating.  He really is growing well!

Since Finn's appointment almost 2 weeks ago we have been told that his throat culture and x-rays all came back negative (or normal).  I was quite relieved to hear that, too.  So, all-in-all, our little guy is doing really well.  We are now on a 3-month schedule.  For the rest of his life there will be specialist visits every three months, as well as throat cultures.  It seems a little strange that we won't be going every month or every other month, but I'm glad we're at this point and that we're doing so well.  It's always a relief.

Finn visited his pediatrician this past week as well.  She had his height at 29 1/4 inches and his weight at 19 pounds 10 ounces.  That puts him in the 26th percentile for height and 10th percentile for weight.  He is so much bigger than Kai was at this point.  It makes me feel like we're doing something right!  As for how his development is going, he is also doing well.  Some of his favorite things include:

• RUNNING!!  This kid has mastered walking and can seriously run.  It's so cute and funny that it always makes me smile.
• Climbing--Ugghh, he's dangerous.  He loves climbing stairs and has figured out how to climb onto couches, into bathtubs, and onto the little ledge in front of our fireplace.  Seriously, he's dangerous.
• Opening and closing anything he can get his hands on.  Whether it's a door or a box or a cabinet or a drawer, he loves to pull it open and then close it.
• Saying "Bah Bah" for bye bye.  He has even developed a game out of it.  He'll stand at a door, say "bah bah" and then close it.  He thinks he's so smart!
• Eating--he loves to go in the pantry, pull down the boxes, and get his own snacks.
• Being in the pantry--if we leave the door to the pantry open, he RUNS to get in.  It's his forbidden place and I guess that makes it his favorite.
• Being with mommy--he's become more attached lately, which makes things hard, but is also endearing.
• Bath time--We've started giving him his baths with Kai and he LOVES it!

Finn is such a joy and is doing so well.  We're working on dropping the bottle and moving to the sippy cup.  And we also need to figure out how to get him to sleep through the night.  He's still not doing it, and has really only done it about 2 or 3 times.  Most nights he goes to bed around 7:30 or 8 and is up around 2 or 3am for a bottle and then back to bed until around 6 or 6:30.  It doesn't seem that he wants the bottle to eat but rather to comfort himself.  I even experimented with putting water in his bottle and he didn't care.  He just wants to suck to soothe himself.  So, I'm trying to figure out how to teach him to take a binky again.  Maybe that would fix this problem??  No matter what his sleeping habits though, I love my little Finn.  He is a delight and a joy!

Bath time with Kai.  Finn LOVES this!  Sorry the water is orange.  That was the color they picked.