Tuesday, August 03, 2004

McKenna's one year appt. and other noteables

McKenna had her one year doctor appointment today (which is neat since August 3 was her due date). It went great! First of all, she was quite smart by being extra cute and saying hi to every nurse that walked by. So that when it came time to give her the shot, they actually drew straws to see who would have to stick her because no one could bring themselves to do it. And boy did she get pissed about those shots. By the time the doctor saw her she was hungry and tired as it was. And then she was pissed when he checked her ears. And so to get stuck once in each arm and once in the toe really set her off. They did the toe one first and had to squeeze it to get blood into the little tube. So that took a couple minutes and the whole time McKenna kept growling at the nurse. Then she got the arm shots and she cried and cried.

Anyway, the doctor said she's doing excellent and is actually very advanced for her age with all her developmental milestones.

She weighs 20 lbs. 3 oz. (40th percentile) and is 28 inches (25th percentile). He said she's reached her biological niche which translated means - she'll be built like me.

She can eat everything that we eat as long as its in baby-sized bites and easy to mash with her jaws. But we are still avoiding chokeables such as full-sized grapes or popcorn. And we are avoiding nuts and shellfish because of the high allergy factor.

She is completely on whole milk now (about 18-21 oz. a day) and also drinks a combo of 5 oz. water/5 oz. juice once a day. She takes vitamins every morning and eats very balanced meals. She definitely prefers veggies to anything else - especially peas, carrots and green beans. She eats 3 meals and 1-2 snacks a day.

She's completely off the bottle now and drinks only from a cup. She walks about 90% of the time and has many words in her vocabulary already (though most are still said in baby speak....i.e. bubble is bubb or Auntie is ah-tee). My favorite thing that she does is says hi to everyone she sees. She's like a tiny little greeter and whenever we're in public we get stopped several times. We really enjoy it though. McKenna loves people and we love watching her with people. We're very proud of our social butterfly.

I'm also loving how easily she goes down for naps and bedtime now. I used to have to give her a bottle until she fell asleep and then at night put her in the crib. But for naps she would only sleep on the couch. But now we have a routine where we read a book by the light of her nightlite, turn off the nightlite, sing "Stay Awake" from Mary Poppins (I used to sing this to her in the womb and when she was first born) and then lay her in the crib. Then she says "Nye Nye" and goes to sleep. If she's not ready to sleep she turns on her ocean aquarium all by herself and watches and talks to that until she falls asleep on her own. What a welcome change from the old routine!

Hmmm, what else. Erick is on vacation from August 2-12. So we're really enjoying all the family time. We alternate who wakes up with McKenna in the morning and the other one gets to sleep until 9am. And we alternate who gives her dinner/bath/story/bedtime each night and the other gets to have some extra free time. We're sharing all the chores and getting lots and lots of play time with McKenna. Its so nice. I wish life could be like this all the time.

Oh, the neighborhood kids were unable to make it to McKenna's bday party so they threw her a mini party on Sunday. We had a mini cake left over from the party the day before and we used some of the decorations left over as well. The girls dressed up in their party dresses and we gave them goodie bags and they brought McKenna presents. Then afterward we all went swimming. Here they are just before singing happy birthday to McKenna.

3 comments:

Johnny said...

Have you ever considered what your child will be in ten, twenty years? Will she be happy, fiesty, gentle? How is she now? Do tell.

Shannon Bieger said...

Johnny - McKenna is already a lot like her Mommy - energetic and happy and affectionate. But boy is she feisty!!

Steve - I think you like my blog BECAUSE its pink! = P

Jennifer said...

Cool blog. I was bummed that y'all didn't come to Dallas for your vacation, but it sounds like you made the right choice for your family, even if it makes me sad in my little crusty heart. ;)

-Jen and tonic from RB