Zach turned 9 months old on August 23. I cannot believe how big this little man is getting. He gets cuter every day and is such a joy (most of the time).
About 3 weeks before his well-child checks he started having a hard time eating (would let it dribble out of his mouth constantly) and acting like he was teething. I wanted to take him to make sure it was just teething and not an ear infection. He didn't have an ear infection and the NP told me he wasn't teething because he didn't have tooth buds yet. About a week later he started getting the blister looking bumps on his gums, and cut a tooth about three days later. As of yesterday his second tooth cut through. I don't have any pictures though because they aren't very big, and he won't keep his mouth open long enough or wide enough to let me take one.
We got labs drawn and had appointments with the nephrologist and pediatrician. His sodium and potassium look great, but his values that show dehydration are getting worse. The dietician wasn't in so she's supposed to be calling to see how we can fix those labs. He now knows how to use a sippy cup so we just try to give him extra water throughout the day. We changed his meds from every 8 hours to every 12 so that we don't have to redose so much due to the spitting up, and then if mom or dad accidentally sleep in, it's not as big of a deal. Different docs got different weights on him too. At the nephrologist he was 17 lb 6 oz (7th percentile) and at the peds he was 17 lb 12 oz (10th percentile), so he's about 17 1/2 lb give or take. Either way he's doing much better with his weight gain. He's 26.8 inches long which keeps him in the 10th percentile for height.
We got another doctor referral this month. His head circumference jumped from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile, so the doctors wanted to rule out hydrocephalus (water on the brain). He hasn't had any symptoms of it, but because of the quick increase they wanted to take the proper precautions. We went up to PCMC for a head ultrasound (thank heavens his fontanelle was still open, otherwise they would have to do an MRI which would require sedation). They found his ventricles in his brain were slightly dilated but nothing concerning. We'll just continue to watch his head circumference and hopefully it's just that he has a big brain because he's smart like his mom. :)
Of course, I had to research his big head and found all the possible (and horrible) things that could be causing it. It sounds like hydrocephalus is the only concern at this time, and after some reassurance from Dr. Chris, I'm feeling much better about the situation. It was nice to talk to the family across the country and I'm so excited about my new cousin. She is an absolute doll and I hope I get to meet her before she turns 4 years old. I need to start working to save money to make the trip out to Saipan.
This last month we also took Zach to his first Bee's baseball game. He had fun hanging out with grandma and watching the game and more importantly flirting with the 2 year old sitting near us. She gave him a big kiss on the lips and he went in for some tongue. Look out ladies! We have an outfit we bought for the Bee's games, but of course as soon as I put him in his carseat he spit up all over it. We'll have to try another game in his outfit and get a picture with the bee.
What we love about Zach at 9 months old:
-Will laugh at just about anything and has a beautiful smile and a giggle that usually sounds like a whine.
-Sitting independently and can get out of sitting, even if it is by toppling over. Continues to just roll all over the place and shows no interest in crawling or creeping.
-Recognizes mom and dad and gets so excited to see us come home from work. Gets really excited when we go to get him out bed after he's been sleeping and just about bounces himself out of his crib.
-Still not much interest in solids, but we're giving him more and more biter biscuits and gerber puffs to get him used to the textures. Can pick them up with his thumb and forefinger and occasionally get them in his mouth. Loves to watch mom and dad eat.
-Loves sitting in his exersaucer and loves to bang on the many toys, especially the ones that make animal noises and plays music. Gets really excited when mom asks him if he wants a "woof, woof". Also loves looking at himself in the mirror on his saucer.
-He's finally starting to stand up. The first time he really did it was at the Bee's game. Now he can't get enough, and it makes him look so grown up. Still not interested in crawling. Maybe he'll go straight to walking.
-Loves to watch sports with dad. Any sports on TV will catch and hold his attention longer than anything else. Boy am I in trouble.
Until next time...
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