The Growing Caldwell Family

Sis and Charlie went for their well-visits and as we knew already, they are growing quite well. We had a longer than expected wait in the exam room and the kids found the paper gowns hilarious! By the time we finished, the gowns were shredded from their silly antics! Charlie is 53" tall and Sarah Graves is 59" tall. Everything else indicates they are healthy and right on track for their age. That is a lot to be grateful for! Two kids both healthy and thriving is all I hope for.   

With our vacation over, it was time to get focused on back to school! Getting the kids check-ups was part of that. They like their dentist, Dr. Schwartz, and don't mind going at all. I am so grateful for that! I hated the dentist as a kid and I'm glad they don't feel that way.  Dr. Schwartz gave them a clean bill of health. No cavities and nothing to worry about right now.  Charlie will probably have a wiggly tooth sometime soon, but nothing to worry about that he hasn't had any yet.  SG continues to lose teeth and for now there is nothing that she needs to do different. Then, it was off to the pediatrician for well-checks. Charlie weighed in at 47 pounds (62nd percentile) and was 45.5 inches tall (56th percentile). He grew three inches this year! He had a clean bill of health! For a moment the doctor thought he might have a concern with blood sugar, but it turns out he ate a good many cookies before the appointment! Charlie finished his Hep A and...

Charlie had his four year old well-visit last week and he is doing great! He weighs 37 pounds (60th percentile) and is 40.5 inches (56th percentile). We are hoping for a growth spurt by spring to help him get to 42 inches so he can ride a new super hero ride coming to Six Flags! He made a train in the waiting room and had me pushing him around! They checked his vision and his hearing and both appear to be normal. I didn't suspect that he had any issues with either, but always good to confirm. He thought the paper gown was silly but he looked pretty cute! He was really nervous about getting shot. He got more anxious throughout the appointment and would not speak to the doctor. We had to wait more than usual, which gave him a lot of time to think about the impending shot! He ended up having his finger pricked for blood work and getting Dtap and Polio vaccines. Poor buddy was so mad that he wouldn't even look in the treasure box! He screamed for a while after we headed ...

Charlie had his three-year old well-visit and was determined to be in great health! He weighs 33 pounds and 2 ounces and he is 36.9 inches tall. They checked his vision and it seems fine. We didn't have any concerns and neither did the pediatrician. We did his MMR vaccine and he was so brave only crying for a second.    

On Friday I took the kiddos for well-visits. Sarah Graves was due for her 5 year old checkup and she is in good health. We saw Dr. Stokes and I really appreciated how she listened to me explain what we are doing to address her eating habits. The moment you say she doesn't eat fruits or vegetables, a flag goes up. She let me explain and agreed that we had a handle on the situation and Sarah Graves is growing steadily. Sarah Graves weighs 41 pounds (54th percentile) and is 44 inches tall (72nd percentile). Sarah Graves bravely offered to go first to get her shot because she is older. I offered to go for a treat after as a reward for getting through the shot. She received the MMR vaccine this visit and did it great. She and Charlie chose to go for ice-cream! A sweet treat for brave kiddos.

On Friday, I took the kids for well-visits. Charlie loves the aquarium in the waiting area and was adamant he was not getting a shot! We saw a doctor we haven't seen before, Dr. Stokes, and I really liked her. She spent a lot of time talking to me about Charlie's troublesome sleep. He is in great health and doing all the things a 2 1/2 year old should do. Charlie weighs 32.4 pounds (74th percentile) and is 36.25 inches tall (54th percentile). Charlie received the Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B vaccines this visit.

Sarah Graves had her four year well-visit with Dr. Pitts.  She is in great health and growing well.  Because she is a little older now they gave her a paper gown to wear.  She was delighted with it!   She is 41 inches tall (57th percentile) and weighs 36 pounds and 4 ounces (47th percentile).  Her hearing is great and she is doing all the cognitive things a four-year-old should do. The pediatrician wanted to be sure she gets enough exercise and that her screen time is limited - both of them are just right.  He was a little concerned about her eating habits and would like me to speak to the occupational therapist and insist that we focus on oral motor activitiy.    We did an evaluation with OT, but haven't had any therapy sessions yet. She received a vaccine for Hepatitis A and also had her iron levels checked.  She wasn't thrilled about having needle sticks, but she was very brave and got through it with ease. 

With mom's help, I took both kids for well-visits.  Charlie loved the aquarium in the waiting room.  Charlie is growing like a weed, surpassing the height and weight increases expected for this time period.  He weighs 27 pounds and 3 ounces (79th percentile), is 32 1/2 inches tall (33rd percentile), and has a head circumference of 18 3/4 inches (50th percentile). He is in great health and the doctor agreed that he has amazing verbal skills.  Dr. Pitts is very experienced and so good that Charlie doesn't resist at all.  He even showed off a few of his animal noises for the doctor! He received a polio vaccine and had blood work done to check iron levels (standard practice).  He barely fussed about the shot and was as still as could be for the bloodwork.  Such a trooper!

Charlie went for his 15 month old well baby checkup recently.  We are a little behind due to having the seasonal flu, the stomach flu, and then all the craziness of the holidays. Here are his stats: he weighs 25 pounds and 3 ounces which is the 73rd percentile; he measures 31.75 inches and that's the 47th percentile; and his head circumference is 19 1/2 inches and the 90th percentile. In the past four months he has grown just a bit more in both height and weight than what they would expected him to have grown in six months time, so the pediatrician predicts that he will definitely be a tall, big guy!  We are just glad that he is healthy! I didn't have any developmental concerns as we are pretty sure that he is talking and moving either at his age or maybe a bit ahead.  I was a bit concerned about the cough that he has had for several weeks since Christmas time and asked the pediatrician to listen to his lungs well.  He noted that Charlie had some wheezing in his ...

Charlie had his one year well-check on the 28th.  He is doing great!  His weight is 23 pounds, 13 ounces (84th percentile), his height is 30 inches (55th percentile), and his head measures 18 1/2 (76th percentile).   He received the polio vaccine at this appointment.   He is meeting all the physical milestones for a one year old, eats great, is starting to sleep better, says a few words, and is an all around great guy!  

Aaron was out of town last week and I am just now recovering! My hat is off to the moms who work and care for kids on their own. Both kids missed daddy A LOT and had a hard time without him. He is back now and I am getting caught up. Charlie got his 7 month old shots last week - prevnar and HIB. He was a champ and fussed just a little.  We are slowly but surely getting caught up.  We won't be caught up by his 12 month appointment, but we will get there! I had a few other questions about little things.  It turns out my instinct was correct and eat rubbing is just a sign that he is tired and not because his ears hurt! He weighs 23 pounds now, but we didn't get all his stats since this was just for shots. I also asked the doctor about his spitting up after he nurses and he said he is a happy spitter since he isn't bothered by it and does it more as he gets older. Likely the muscle at his esophagus and stomach isn't strong enough to close off when he finishes e...

Charlie had his nine month check-up with Dr. Maun a couple of weeks ago.  Overall, he is doing just great.  His weight is 21 pounds, 13 ounces (78th percentile), height is 29 inches (63rd percentile), and head circumference is 18 1/4 (84th percentile).  He is hitting all of his milestones and happily showed off some of them for the nurse.  He is eating, playing, and dirtying diapers just the way they would expect.  The pediatrician continues to tell me that he is nursing so much at night because he is waiting for his time with me.  Perhaps she could dig the knife in my heart a bit more!  She means well and at least it sort of explains why he is taking little milk during the day and nursing like a pro at night.  He had his DTaP vaccine and was scheduled for a rotavirus, but we are so off schedule that he passed the age range for it!  We are trying to get caught up from all those months when we stayed sick and didn't do shots. 

We are definitely behind on Charlie's checkups and shot schedule.  We have all been sick so frequently that it has been hard to get him in for well visits.  Shots are hard enough on the immune system that I try to be careful about giving them when he has a cold or other virus, so that has made it hard to stay on schedule. When he was 5 months old we went for his 4 month well-visit.  I don't think I ever posted his stats from that, so here goes: 19 pounds and 4 ounces (92nd percentile), 26 inches (54th percentile), and head circumference was 17 inches (71st percentile)  He was healthy and received his vaccines for the 4th month, DTaP and Rotavirus. This technically was his six month well-visit, but he was nearly eight months old!  This time his stats are: weight 21 pounds (84th percentile), height 28 inches (62nd percentile), and head circumference 18 inches (84th percentile).  She checked his ears and they both healed up well and the ear drum that perfora...

Charlie went to the pediatrician last week for shots (Prevnar and HIB) and at 13 weeks old he weighs 16 pounds and 10 ounces.  We love this big boy!

I only just found out that the pediatrician has started doing a well visit at 30 months.  We are a little past that, so I took Sarah Graves for hers yesterday.  She seems to be right about the middle for growth, 31 pounds and 6 ounces (58th percentile) and 37 inches tall (60th percentile). Overall, the pediatrician said she is doing great.  She got shy and didn't want to show off her verbal skills like I would have hoped, but she talked a little.  Of course, she was happy to demonstrate over and over again what a climber she is! The pediatrician checked her lungs and ears and said all was clear with those.  She agreed that the singulair and nasonex seemed like good choices to try and keep her clear more often.  She also mentioned that if we are using the albuterol frequently, we should come back for a steroid inhaler. The pediatrician and I discussed it and she felt it would be best to give Sarah Graves her final Hib vaccine as that one protects against ...

Charlie went for his two month check-up yesterday and he weighs in at 14 pounds and 7 ounces (93rd percentile), 24 inches tall (91st percentile), and head circumference is 15 3/4 (80th percentile).  No wonder he is outgrowing his 6 month size clothing!  The pediatrician said that he is doing perfect.  He has rolls in all the right places, he makes eye contact, smiles, and coos just like a two month old should! At this appointment he received the DTap vaccine and oral rotavirus.  He cried for just a second after the shot and hasn't seemed bothered by it since.

Sarah Graves has struggled with seasonal allergies so that the pediatrician suggested we have her allergy tested.  We went yesterday to have it done and I must admit that I was a little anxious about it.  I was afraid it would be uncomfortable and I would really have to work to keep her happy during the test.  Instead, it was almost painless and she handled it like a rockstar, even when she wanted to itch and couldn't.  As it turns out, she is allergic to quite a number of things, but it's a low level.  She has allergies to a number of trees including oak and maple as well as to dogs.  The recommendation is for us to move forward with allergy shots we would give at home three times a week for at least two years, but Aaron is nervous about it.  So, he will check into other alternatives to the allergy shots and I guess we will move forward.  I just can't stand the thought of her having more allergy situations where she coughs until she th...

Today Charlie went for his one month check-up.  He weighs in at 12 pounds and 5 ounces (94th percentile), 22.75 inches (92nd percentile), and head circumference of 15 inches (77th percentile).  The pediatrician commented that he is the size of many 3 month olds!  Funny because he is filling out a size 3 month clothes.  I wanted to laugh when she followed up with a question about how breastfeeding is going.  I started to say, "do you really have to ask?", but decided to be the nice mommy.  :) Aside from his impressive weight gain, Charlie is doing well.  He has a case of baby acne that should be gone in the next few weeks and we need to work with him to make sure that he turns his head to both sides.  I had noticed that he favors his right side and pointed it out to our chiropractor and the pediatrician noticed it as well.  It shouldn't be a problem, but we do need to help him remember to turn his head to the left and to the right. ...

We knew that fall allergies had hit early and Sarah Graves was hit hard by them.  She didn't feel well on Friday evening and fell asleep laying on the sofa.  She seemed okay on Saturday, and wanted to spend the night at Lovie and Pops' house.  I managed to let her stay, but couldn't believe at two and a half she was asking to sleepover.  As it turns out, she had so much congestion that she started to cough a lot and started throwing up during the night.  The same thing happened during her nap on Sunday.   After talking to a nurse, we decided to try her on benodryl to dry up the congestion better and keep her from coughing so much.  That worked, but it knocked her out, so I knew it couldn't be a long term solution.   Tuesday, I brought her to the pediatrician with us and the doctor felt her lungs sounded tight and warranted a breathing treatment.  The breathing treatment brought her oxygen levels up and they felt we should go home w...

Charlie went for another pediatrician check-up this week and he is doing awesome!  His weight is up to 9 pounds, 11 ounces (865h percentile), height is 21 3/4 inches (96th percentile), and head circumference is 14 1/2  (84th percentile). I knew he has been eating like a champ, but I was still a little surprised that he had gained almost a pound in a week!  I was a little concerned that he doesn't poop as often as SG did or as often as I thought a breastfed baby does, but the doctor said some babies are very efficient with the breast milk and have little waste from it.  She said it is considered normal for them to go up to three days without a poop.  I guess every child really is different!