15 month checkup

A week ago, I took Cadence in for her 15 month checkup. We are close, but still not at 20lbs. The nurse said she was 19 lbs, 10 oz but the scale clearly said 6 oz. Whatever. She was 30 inches long. I still feel like she is small but Dr. Peyton isn't concerned so I guess I'm not either.

She got her first of 2 flu shots, which didn't phase her at all! She looked at me and flinched when she got it but didn't shed one tear. The MMR was a different story as she wailed when she got that. Unfortunately, she had some blood drawn as well to get tested for lead since our house is so old but I knew she wasn't going to like that. She sat on my lap, one nurse held her right arm and the nurse who drew her blood held her left arm. She didn't like that needle being in for so long at all and was a bit harder to calm down afterwards. She eventually did fine and calmed down and took a good nap that afternoon. Unfortunately, milk doesn't have the same effect as it did when she was an infant in helping to soothe her.

On Friday, I also took her to her first chiropractor appt. She has gone with me many times but this time she got adjusted! I had been talking to Dr. Lisa about how stuffy she had been for most of October, including the ear infection early in the month and she recommended that C get adjusted. We finally hit our deductible so it really doesn't cost much to add her. She was great getting examed (which was free b/c I'm a patient) and even laid on the table to get adjusted on her front and back. I was really proud of her. On Monday she let Dr. Dennis adjust her and she did great again yesterday with Dr. Lisa. It's like she's an old pro.

Dr. Lisa's recommendation was to eliminate dairy for a week. It's been hard not giving her cheese or yogurt! I first got rid of cow's milk and went to almond milk. She did fine with the transition. When we finished that I tried rice milk b/c I had a coupon and she has seemed fine with that transition too. But unfortunately, I haven't noticed a significant improvement as she's still coughing, mostly in the mornings. She definitely seems to have gotten rid of the nose stuffiness but the cough lingers. Of course today she seems to be sneezing a bit and there was some snot, but that might have been from the sneezing.

Cadence has learned how to get pissed. She's a bit of a drama queen if you tell her "no" and cries her big dramatic cry that used to be reserved for when she was REALLY pissed or hurt. Now it is way more commonplace. It's almost laughable when she whines or pouts because it is so over the top. We'll have to nip this in the bud sooner rather than later.

She is a walking fool although she sometimes still falls. She's great about getting back up and moving on. I took her to the park today and she practiced walking on uneven ground and in the leaves. We even sat and played in the leaves for awhile. Too cute.

She seems to have adjusted to daylight savings quite well. I started working on it the week before and essentially treated Saturday like it was Sunday. She possibly wakes up a little earlier than I'd like (closer to 6:30am than 7am) but it's not terrible. It probably doesn't help that James gets up for work around then so she hears noises. I just leave her in the crib though and sometimes she goes back down.

She is somewhere between 1 and 2 naps. She can make it on 1 nap, from about 12:30-3:30pm or 1-4pm but there are days, esp when she gets up early or didn't sleep well the night before that I think she could use two naps. So it depends on the day as to what happens. But she rolls with it quite well.

She has gotten a little pickier with eating--suddenly not a big fan of apples or plums. She still eats fruits pretty well though so that's good. I bought a ton of the fruit/veggie packets that she has learned how to hold herself and suck out like a straw. I'm a big fan of those now! She eats what we eat for dinner at home and we've started working on using a spoon and fork. Still need some help but she gets the concept. Practice makes perfect!

We have a good routine in the morning since she has breakfast when she gets up and then she loves to play for about an hour or so on her own in the living room while I get work done. I am so lucky that she is happy to play alone and she can entertain herself. As the day goes on, she's less likely to let that happen, especially at night before bed but I get some more time to work during her nap(s).

More soon!