Twelve month appointment

Well, it's that time again! I went into this appointment with some apprehension because I knew it would be the first finger prick, and I knew how much I hated having that done when I was little. Plus, while it provides important information about his health, finger pricks don't provide the same benefits as vaccinations do to compensate for the pain. Anyway, let's start with his stats:

Length - 31" (90th percentile)
Weight - 20 lbs. 10 oz (20th-25th percentile)
Head Circumference - 47 cm (60th percentile)

So I guess his length measurement at his 9 month appointment was right after all! We've got a long and lean little boy, and the doctor said he looks perfect! We did the developmental assessment again, and Ethan scored slightly above average for communication, above average for social skills and problem solving, and well above average (the highest possible) for gross motor skills and fine motor skills. In short, my son is just awesome!

Now on to the dreaded finger prick. I held Ethan in my lap to keep him still (no easy task!) and comfort him. I reassured him that it would just be a quick stick and prepared for the inevitable screaming. She stabbed his finger (twice!) and Ethan just sat there. No crying. No whimpering. Not even one of his patented glares. However, once the lab tech began holding onto his finger to squeeze the blood into the vial, he got pissed off. I think he thought he was getting his nails trimmed because he acted about the same as he does then! =) All in all, much better than I expected it to go!

So then it was time for the shots. He was only getting two today, but they're never fun. As expected, he let out a bitter wail shortly after the first shot, let out another cry for the second one, and was back to normal (albeit rather perturbed) as soon as I got him back in my arms. After a short nursing session, we were off!

He was a bit more cuddly than usual today, and he nursed an awful lot, but other than that, he hasn't shown any ill effects. We're not in the clear yet, though, since the fever often shows up the next day, and I'm especially nervous about how he'll react to the MMR vaccine. I just don't know that I could leave him if he does end up with a fever and feeling crummy, so I may be emailing my professor at the last minute tomorrow. Hopefully though he'll just be his healthy, well-proportioned, above average self!