Nui Nui's 18 Month Well-Child Immunization Shots

Nui Nui is the master at choosing her own videos to watch on the iPad and, while some of her favorites make sense— ABC songs, Patty Shukla, Sesame Street, and Dream English...— others surprise me a) that she's found certain videos and b) that she's drawn to them— ie. The Saddest Little Cardinal Fan, the one with the little girl upset because her mom says she likes Barbie too, a little girl getting her ears pierced, and even a little girl getting her shots. It's interesting. Does she empathize with the other kids? I mean, she went through a phase where she watched that whiny Cardinal fan over and over again. How do little kids process other people crying?, I wonder...

In any case, I thought it might be interesting to capture Nui Nui getting her shots. I remember the first few times I couldn't take it. I couldn't hold her or didn't trust myself to when she was newborn. Whether I hold her or not, though, always, it feels like voodoo. Even if it's the needle going into her thighs I still feel. As they get older, too, it gets harder. Children are so hyper aware sometimes. At the doctor's, they know what's coming. Wouldn't it be cool if they created doctors' offices to mimic something like the Rainforest Cafe? I think the distraction would definitely help.

But even with the drab setting, I still think Nui Nui is a strong kid and gets over the experience fairly quickly. A tip I'd suggest from my experience is make sure you have something to distract them with after the shots. That really helps. I think the pain is one thing but the fear alone makes it that much greater, *like* on/to a different level.

It's possible Nui Nui's shots left her sore, I suppose, but the sight of her band-aids were way more painful. After the needle pokes have time to heal, I recommend taking the bandages off to help them forget and move on.

Here's my brave little warrior in all her glory...


Have any recommendations on how to deal with kids getting shots? Share below, we'd love to hear! :>

Nui Nui's 18 Month Well-Child Visit! :>

Nui Nui went to her 18 month well-child visit yesterday. Everything went well— never seen a more healthier kid :>

Weight - 86%ile
Height - 94%ile
Head Circumference - 88%ile

We still have a big baby :>

After the doctor went over her growth chart, she then asked us a series of questions about Nui Nui's growth and development. It was interesting. These were the questions I could remember...

• She's probably running by now, right?
• Does she play pretend? Imitate things you might do?
• Is she aware of what's going on?
• Can she respond to simple commands?
• Does she know how to say at least 10 words?
• Can she say 2 or 3 words together?Does she brush her teeth every day?
• Does she play with other kids?
• Does she eat vegetables?
• Can she throw a ball?
• Does she point to body parts?
• Does she use a fork or a spoon?
• Does she sleep well?
• Does she draw with crayons?

The question that 'shocked' me the most [or one I thought was the funniest...] was: Does she know how to say at least 10 words?

Ten words?! She's been able to identify probably about 10 of her stuffed animal friends since she was one (or earlier!) :> That's something I would have never thought of and am glad to have Mom in Nui Nui's life. It was Mom's natural :> idea to name her stuffed animals and she comes up with the greatest names... :> :>

Nui Nui's recent vocabulary has definitely been putting two words and three syllables together: See you, love you, thank you, carry you [she really means 'carry me' but hears me say 'Do you want me to carry you? :>], sit here [when she demands I be somewhere :>], momma love, I want, give me...

conditioner [sounds like condinana], ladybug [sounds like laybugbug], heavy [it's only a two-syllable word but she said it randomly today.. remembering it's what I say when I pick her up :>], aquaphor [she's known this for a while because we've been using it for so long], banana [sounds like manana], Cheerio, Alpha Bit [sounds like alpha beh], stoller [sounds like strorer]...

Even a few days ago, with me helping her with 8, she counted to 10! When she wants, she can say the alphabet and mumble/sing the end part of the song too :>

What's fun now, like this morning and like when Mom told me a story about this week when she woke up from a nap... she doesn't cry or anything. She either says 'Momma'— calling for me— or, more recently, says 'Hi!' Sleep does a child so good and she's happy as a button when she wakes up and ready to greet both you and the day :>

Anywho, I tried looking up some general milestones/questions doctors look for at 18-month well-child visits and thought this was an interesting read amongst others, in case you're interested... http://children.webmd.com/milestones-for-an-18-month-old-child

I guess there were a set of these kinds of questions at the 1 year mark but a) I forgot or maybe didn't realize what they were and/or b) probably had more questions for her than she had for me :> Must be a good sign, I think. ...getting this parenting thing semi-down :> :>

Currently, these are some of the things I'm working on with her and some things I have in mind...

• Identifying colors correctly
• Identifying left vs. right
• Yes, please. No, thank you.
• Solidifying the ABC song
• Counting to 20
• Playing the ABC/Twinkle Twinkle Little Star song on the piano
• Saying the days of the week and month
• Telling me 'poo' before she has to go, not after :>
• Reading words— I spell LEGO for her all the time, amongst a few others. Now I plan on putting post-its up all over the house on objects... we'll see how long the post-its last.
• How to read a clock? I was thinking about this today— about the hand ones— but thought digital might make more sense...
• ...

Anywho... it's late and I'm getting old... well, we have 6 months til our next well-visit and a lot of time to meet at least some of our goals :> :>

In the meanwhile, here's what some of our 18 month well-visit day looked like :> Enjoy and thanks for reading and watching!



What goals have you set for yourself or little one these next few months? Share below, we'd love to hear!

Carrying 21 lbs. 12 oz. Of Wubba These Days

M had her one-year well-child visit yesterday. We were warned she'd need shots but didn't know we'd have 7 to choose from. Seven!

I decided to give her four: measles, hep A, prevnar (meningitis), flu shot. We skipped tb, blood shot (lead), and chicken pox. The shot woman was pretty good, though, I have to say. Two in each leg in less than 30 seconds. M started fussing when she rubbed on the alcohol, knowing something not good was about to come— what with me holding her and a strange woman rubbing liquid with strong fumes on her tender juicy thighs.

Stab 1. Pain. Fast silence. Fast scream-cry. 2. 3. 4. M seemed to be still crying over the first one when the 4th was done and band-aids already put on. Bleeding was minimal. Luckily there was a little green turtle there I used to distract her and within a minute she stopped crying and got over it.

Grandma left the room prior, knowing she wouldn't be able to handle it. I definitely didn't think it was as bad as last time. At least we didn't have to go somewhere else and wait. Everything was done in the same room.

We told M we'd take her for a walk. We put on her shoes and she was happy she could do something she enjoys. She's such a tough cookie! I'm so proud of her.

As for her stats, M is a model babe :> She continues to rank in the high percentile of height, weight, and head circumference, though the latter is questionable given the range of measurement error— the nurse measured something way off the chart to uncanny, while the doctor brought her back within range, making her growth to be in alignment with the curve. Typically, though, girls plateau at this age but M seems to steadily be growing.

Her stats:

98%ile in height - 31.5"

75%ile in weight - 21 lbs. 12 oz.

90ish%ile in head circumference

100% in love!

To pieces!