18 month checkup
We brought Sean to the paed for his 18 month checkup last Saturday.
It is quite amazing to witness how he has changed and grown with each visit.
I don't think he was even walking confidently during our last visit (1 year) but this time, he marched right into the clinic, hand in hand with Foops.
First roadblock: He had a bout of stranger anxiety with the nice lady receptionist. He kept trying to run away when she tried to take his measurements. Absolutely refused to stand still on the weighing scale or against the wall chart for his readings to be taken. I distracted him with a toy car and plopped him on the weighing scale meant for babies. Then, we had to coax him to lie down to take his height and temperature whereupon he had a minor panic attack and burst into pitiful tears. But between the lady recep, Foops and I, we got the job done quickly.
Then, lots of waiting in between to see the doctor.
After exhausting all the toys in the clinic and kiddy rides in the vicinity, he raced up and down the length of the shopping mall as a very bored Foops looked on. He also entertained his Mama by making smooshy drool-streaked faces through the glass walls. Mmm, nice.
Fast forward to his checkup.
We had a nice, easy chat with Dr T - Sean is growing well. 9.63kg and 81.5cm at 18 months. Pretty much on track at his usual 25% percentile.
We told her he is still not very conversant but she said it shouldn't be a cause of concern because he seems to be communicating fine via other ways (gestures/signing). We'll check on his progress again at the 2-year checkup.
Like his last visit, he was very suspicious of the doctor's every move and couldn't understand why this strange lady was prodding him all over. When she brought out the tongue depressor, he tried to snatch it off her hands and stubbornly clammed his mouth shut. She did eventually manage to catch a quick glimpse into his mouth - she praised him for having very clean teeth for a boy who doesn't like having his teeth brushed (which she deduced correctly from his reluctance to say 'ah') and reiterated that we should carry on with the (wrestle-and-)brush-twice-a-day regime.
Then, Foops distracted Sean by blowing bubbles while she administered the DPT (diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus) vaccine. His face crumpled for a second when the needle went in but he recovered very quickly. No tears (thanks to Emla)!
On a parting note, I expressed my concerns about his seemingly sensitive nose.
Symptoms: He gets sneezing fits when exposed to sudden bright light or when he enters into a new environment. No flu or cold medication seem to have a lasting effect on him (I have since stopped giving any to him). Air-conditioned places give him the sniffles and if he sleeps with the aircon on, regardless of how many layers of clothing I pile on him, his chest gets very congested and quite often, he will wake up with a severe cold.
She thinks it is likely he could have inherited allergic rhinitis from me(darn!) - I should have guessed from the frequent mother-and-son sneezing spells we have all the time.
Our objective now is to find out what exactly triggers his allergies.
Usual suspects: house/dust mites (this is what sets me off) or the formula he is on (because the onset of his symptoms coincides with the time we started him fully on formula when he was around 10 months old).
I will definitely have to be more stringent about housekeeping and we are also going to give goat's milk a try to rule out formula as a possible trigger.
On my own accord, I have started him on cod liver oil, multi-vits and Sambucol (elderberry extract) in the hopes that they will go some way in boosting his immunity. He thinks they are treats and laps them up readily everyday!
Else, nothing very much we can do on our end except to learn how to manage and live with it. (After all, I am doing just fine, as Dr T remarked!)
After the doctor's, we let Sean loose in the toy shop next door as a treat. For being a real trooper.
Until our rumbling stomachs declared it was time for breakfast, that is :)
It is quite amazing to witness how he has changed and grown with each visit.
I don't think he was even walking confidently during our last visit (1 year) but this time, he marched right into the clinic, hand in hand with Foops.
First roadblock: He had a bout of stranger anxiety with the nice lady receptionist. He kept trying to run away when she tried to take his measurements. Absolutely refused to stand still on the weighing scale or against the wall chart for his readings to be taken. I distracted him with a toy car and plopped him on the weighing scale meant for babies. Then, we had to coax him to lie down to take his height and temperature whereupon he had a minor panic attack and burst into pitiful tears. But between the lady recep, Foops and I, we got the job done quickly.
Then, lots of waiting in between to see the doctor.
After exhausting all the toys in the clinic and kiddy rides in the vicinity, he raced up and down the length of the shopping mall as a very bored Foops looked on. He also entertained his Mama by making smooshy drool-streaked faces through the glass walls. Mmm, nice.
Fast forward to his checkup.
We had a nice, easy chat with Dr T - Sean is growing well. 9.63kg and 81.5cm at 18 months. Pretty much on track at his usual 25% percentile.
We told her he is still not very conversant but she said it shouldn't be a cause of concern because he seems to be communicating fine via other ways (gestures/signing). We'll check on his progress again at the 2-year checkup.
Like his last visit, he was very suspicious of the doctor's every move and couldn't understand why this strange lady was prodding him all over. When she brought out the tongue depressor, he tried to snatch it off her hands and stubbornly clammed his mouth shut. She did eventually manage to catch a quick glimpse into his mouth - she praised him for having very clean teeth for a boy who doesn't like having his teeth brushed (which she deduced correctly from his reluctance to say 'ah') and reiterated that we should carry on with the (wrestle-and-)brush-twice-a-day regime.
Then, Foops distracted Sean by blowing bubbles while she administered the DPT (diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus) vaccine. His face crumpled for a second when the needle went in but he recovered very quickly. No tears (thanks to Emla)!
On a parting note, I expressed my concerns about his seemingly sensitive nose.
Symptoms: He gets sneezing fits when exposed to sudden bright light or when he enters into a new environment. No flu or cold medication seem to have a lasting effect on him (I have since stopped giving any to him). Air-conditioned places give him the sniffles and if he sleeps with the aircon on, regardless of how many layers of clothing I pile on him, his chest gets very congested and quite often, he will wake up with a severe cold.
She thinks it is likely he could have inherited allergic rhinitis from me(darn!) - I should have guessed from the frequent mother-and-son sneezing spells we have all the time.
Our objective now is to find out what exactly triggers his allergies.
Usual suspects: house/dust mites (this is what sets me off) or the formula he is on (because the onset of his symptoms coincides with the time we started him fully on formula when he was around 10 months old).
I will definitely have to be more stringent about housekeeping and we are also going to give goat's milk a try to rule out formula as a possible trigger.
On my own accord, I have started him on cod liver oil, multi-vits and Sambucol (elderberry extract) in the hopes that they will go some way in boosting his immunity. He thinks they are treats and laps them up readily everyday!
Else, nothing very much we can do on our end except to learn how to manage and live with it. (After all, I am doing just fine, as Dr T remarked!)
After the doctor's, we let Sean loose in the toy shop next door as a treat. For being a real trooper.
Until our rumbling stomachs declared it was time for breakfast, that is :)