One year shots

We took Luke and Olivia for their 1 year well check and shots today. I thought they were only going to get 3 shots, but they each ended up getting 4 shots and a finger stick. Luke does not like to have his hands held against his will, and his poor little finger just wasn't giving too much blood, but nurse Jenn was able to get enough for their anemia test. Olivia did a little better, and thankfully the iron levels for both babies was great. They cried some during their shots, but quickly recovered after some hugs and a bottle.

We spoke with Dr. Colyer about Luke's constipation issues and she told us to mix a little Miralax with some liquid and see if that helps. We are also going to change baby shampoos because he is getting bad dry patches on his little body. She was glad to know they have already had both flu shots as well. Other than that, we are really lucky we didn't have any other major problems to discuss.

We are transitioning from bottles to sippy cups, and this has been a whole new challege for all of us. They have made the switch from formula to whole milk without much trouble, but they much prefer drinking their milk from a bottle, which comes as no surprise. Dr. Colyer said she thinks it's best to give up the bottles cold turkey, so we will see how that goes. She said it's not uncommon at all for babies to go on a temporary "milk strike" and she to just make up for the calcium, etc through yogurt, cottage cheese and cheese. I think what will work best for us will be sippy cups during the day and only a night bottle until they get more comfortable with the sippy. We hope over the next few weeks we'll eliminate the night bottle completely and begin a slightly different nighttime routine. The weird thing is they love to drink water or juice from a sippy, but as soon as they see it's milk, they throw it on the ground. We are also going to alter their meal schedule to 3 meals (finger food meals) and 2 snacks, which means no more pureeing baby food for me. Yay! And they will get their milk along with their food instead of at separate times.

Once we get them on sippys "full time", we'll then work on getting rid of their pacis, but we only want to tackle one major hurdle at a time. Luckily they only take them when they are really tired and sometimes as night, so hopefully it wont' be too tough to overcome. Lots of changes for Luke and Olivia, and for mommy and daddy as well!

Dr. Colyer said both babies are right on track and growing well. We can't turn the car seat around yet because Olivia isn't at the weight requirement and we don't want to turn one and not the other. We are actually ok with waiting because it's safer for them to be rear facing anyway. At her currrent growth rate, it'll probably be at least 18 mths before we turn them, so we'll decide that when the time comes.

Here are their latest measurements:

Luke
21.9 pounds; 27%
30.51" long; 51%
Head circumference: 47cm 65%

Olivia
17.13 pounds; 4%
28.5" long; 24%
Head circumference: 43cm 3%

Unless something comes up, we won't have to venture back to the doctor until their 15month check-up.