The Christopher Crew: February 2012

The other night I stayed up way past my bedtime b/c I became entranced in looking back through all of Tillman's baby pictures. Gulp. I just referred to Tillman as a baby in the past tense. Hard to swallow. Anyways, Josh was looking on at the pictures every now and then, and I would burst out laughing at several. We enjoyed reminscing (sp?) and looking back at some very fun times as brand new parents. So, on Josh's behalf, and by request, I am going to share some of our favorite "funny faces" that Tillman has shared us with over the past 15 months of our very blessed lives.

cross-eyed

naughty girl

what a chunk!

wink wink

look at those back rolls

Oh, how she's kept us entertained. Never a dull moment. Ever.

***WARNING: It's a long one!!***

Could it be?!?! I am actually blogging twice in one week! And it's only Monday! I know, this is blowing my mind too. It also helps that I have a good reason to blog. Tillman had her 15 month check-up this afternoon and I promised I would try to share the update in a timely manner. Well, this is about as quick as I get.

Overall the visit went well. I came out of it a little bit frustrated and worked up for several reasons. I hate to rant, rave, and vent b/c I really do like Tillman's doctor's office. It's just that having a very active toddler in a warm doctor's office for an hour and 40 mintues (yes, an hour and 40 minutes) including getting 3 shots is a bit much to tolerate if you ask me. Not to mention trying to have a serious discussion about my child's growth & development.

Anyways, Tillman is healthy & growing like a weed. Her height, as per usual, is off the charts (ie, greater than 100%). Her weight is 26.1 lbs (95%) and her head is 18 3/4" (92%). The doctor even made the comment that if Tillman keeps growing at the rate she is now, she will likely be taller than me one day. What?!?! She's my baby! And I'm a healthy 5' 9 3/4" myself. (Yes, I like to be that exact about my height.) That blows my mind, but at the same time, I love that she will be tall. I love being tall myself and find several perks about it.

The doctor and I talked for several minutes about Tillman's development, I asked plenty of questions, Tillman explored all of her tools and instruments, etc. Tillman has also developed what the nurse and doctor referred to as a yeast rash (yes, gross, I know.) around her mouth. They said it is a ring around her mouth from where her pacifier stays warm and moist when she sleeps with it. This got me flustered somewhat b/c (in my opinion) Josh and I (and Mrs. Robin) are very good about only giving Tillman her pacy for naptime and bedtime. Literally, the child doesn't get it any other time. So even though the doctor said we are limiting her pacy use to the best times, she has still developed this rash. We were prescribed a cream to put on it for a few days to hopefully make it go away. I guess Tillman drools a lot when she sleeps? I don't know...

We also talked a good deal about Tillman's language/speech development. This is by far my biggest worry for her right now. Before I continue, let me remind you that Josh and I are both teachers, I have been strictly an ELA (Reading) teacher for 6 years, I have a nerdly love for all things grammar, and I also have a tendency to worry. a lot. So, the short of it is: Tillman babbles nonstop, can communicate very well, does a good bit of sign language, says a few "words," but doesn't say many, or enough, in my opinion. She understands conversations and "orders," but she just isn't saying clearly understandable words right now. So what do I do? I worry. Oh gosh, my child will be developmentally delayed in speech, language, and reading. She will be a weak reader. She will hate reading. She will struggle in school. This moment in life will define her future in school and the rest of her life. Oh, the list goes on and on. (Crazy, I know.) Well the doctor's take on all of this is: Tillman is a very active child. Very. Active. She is very well acclimated with her motor skills: walking, running, coordination, exploring, etc. There is a good chance that Tillman will basically just kind of skip the "developing one or two words at a time" stage and go right to the "saying phrases" stage. The doctor said this happens and all of a sudden a "not saying many words" child is now talking, saying words, and saying short phrases all in one step. This made me feel much better, although I know it is not guaranteed that this will even be the case with Tillman. I am hopeful, though, and am confident that my child will shine. Josh also helped me cope with this by reminding me that Tillman didn't crawl until she was 9 months old. Then, at 10 1/2 months, she was walking. So, hopefully she will make some signficant gains between now and her next appointment (18 month check-up) in May. If not, we will have to have her assessed by a speech therapist. And I do not want to have to do that. In order to push that progress full speed ahead, I read with her double the usual amount tonight. I don't plan on being pushy about it, but she was actually contently sitting and engaged in the books we were reading, so I was encouraged to keep going.
Okay, looking back at this paragraph, it wasn't really a short version of the story, was it?

And after summing all that up, I even left with unanswered questions on my list. Don't worry, I plan on calling back later this week to get them answered. And I promise I am not always this spastic of a patient. I just felt flustered today. (Remember, active toddler. warm room. 1 hour, 40 minutes. 3 shots.) AND... to top it all off, the doctor's parting words to Tillman were, and I quote, "Goodbye, my wild child." Oh, boy.

So, my baby girl is now sound asleep in her crib and I am debriefing from the day. I made sure to take plenty of pictures to go with this post to make up for all the reading you're having to do. :)