Eighteen Months

Hello! Hope your 2016 is off to a great start! My year has been off to a busy and somewhat stressful start. There have been a lot of changes in my dental practice. Unfortunately, I had to let one of my staff members go and another retired in December, so I’ve been interviewing candidates and trying to still fill one of the positions. I love the actual dentistry and patient care, but sometimes the practice management and staffing can be overwhelming and stressful. Luckily I have my two little girls to focus on and remind me that there is much more to life than work!

Eighteen months is turning out to be such a fun age and many people have told me that eighteen months is one of their favorite periods in their child’s life. Jemma and Zoe are very interactive and keep us laughing and smiling. They are not saying too many words but clearly understand everything we tell and ask them. They are curious and on the move. Both girls are almost running these days and they find it funny to run away when we need to go change a diaper, get into the bath or into bed.

We finally dropped the nighttime bottle, so the girls are only drinking sippy cups of whole milk with meals. Zoe was pretty much over the nighttime bottle, so it was a fairly easy transition. We tapered the amount of milk we were giving at night and on Christmas Eve, after spending a long evening at my in-laws, we put them in their jammies and brushed their teeth at their place and then drove home and put them to bed. We feared we would wake up to crying and fussing, but it was a quiet, full night of sleep! Our new routine is baths (which we are back to doing individually in a infant/toddler bath since baths together in the tub were resulting in the girls standing up and being unsafe), into pajamas, brush teeth, story and prayers and into bed. We head upstairs for baths at 8 PM and the girls are in their cribs by 8:30 PM. Most nights are still 11-12 hours of sleep.

Jemma and Zoe are continuing to eat a variety of foods. They are a little more picky and may like something one day and not the next, but nothing concerning. We are lucky to not have any allergies or sensitivities to foods as well.

Last week we took them to their eighteen month check-up. The pediatrician said it’s typically the toughest appointment for him, he said at this age kids tend to be very apprehensive and unsure, but he was amazed at how well Zoe and Jemma did. They each had their wellness check as well as their flu vaccine booster, Hib and DTap vaccines.

Jemma

Weight: 25 pounds, 1 ounce (79th percentile)

Height: 33.3 inches (89th percentile)

Head Circumference: 49.3 centimeters (98th percentile)-she has Mama’s big head!

Zoe

Weight: 21 pounds 10 ounces (36th percentile)

Height: 32.0 inches (56th percentile)

Head Circumference: 46.3 centimeters (50th percentile)

The doctor commented that Zoe is average for weight, height, head circumference and that Jemma is overall a big kid. Hoping that both will be tall like Daddy! He also said he would like them to be saying 15-20 words by 21-22 months…..no pressure!

Words that we can understand, but aren’t real clear to others:

Mama

Dada

Meow

Bye

Duck

Bubble

Dog

Zoe at a playdate at a kids play/coffee place!

Jemma driving a car at our playdate!

Smiles from Jemma

Smiles from Zoe

Hanging out on Daddy’s office chair

My heart grows everyday, filled with the love that I have for Jemma and Zoe. The smiles and laughs are more than enough to make a long and stressful day melt away. I hope this post finds all of you off to a great 2016!

xoxo