Delilah 9 Month Appointment

Delilah is 9 months old today and this morning she had her 9 month well-baby appointment. Dr. Zimmerman has been back from her maternity leave for a while and Jameson has already seen her, but this was Delilah first appointment with her since she's been back. Delilah scored high in all areas of the questionnaire that they had me fill out. But, like her big brother, she especially excels with her gross motor skills. Anyone who has met baby D in person should not be surprised. This little girl is on the move! She is always trying to bang something, get into something, or climb over something. She is definitely trying to keep up with her brother!

I did have a surprise when the nurse calculated Delilah's stats. She seemed concerned that D's percentages had dropped. Her stats were: Height: 26 1/4" (11%), Weight: 16.9 lbs (15%), and Head Circumference: 17 3/4" (77%). Dr. Zimmerman seemed less concerned about the drop. She said if they are going to drop, it will be when they start getting active. And since Delilah is a crawling, cruising, and climbing machine, she said it might just be a matter of increased calories burned. I wasn't too worried because I was thinking that she was in the 20-25% range previously. But, I just looked back at D's stats from 6 months. She was 30th for height and 50th for weight. That makes me sad! She's only gained about an inch and a pound in 3 months. Poor girl! I think I need to work on really getting her to eat before her next appointment.

Oh, I also talked to the doctor about Delilah's leaking eye. Jameson was born with a blocked tear duct (which is common) and that thing leaked constantly for weeks. It was pretty gross. I *thought* we had avoided it with D. But then when she was a few months old, she got a touch of the sniffles and, wouldn't you know, her right eye started to leak. And then I noticed that when she cried, she her right eye always had more tears than her left (if her left had any at all!). When she got her two colds, the gunk coming out of her eye was her biggest symptom. In fact, when she had her first ear infection, it was the greenish gunk coming out of her eye that concerned me because there wasn't much coming out of her nose.

So, Delilah will need to see a pediatric opthamologist. Dr. Zimmerman said that if a block tear duct is going to resolve itself it almost always does do by 6 months. I did let her know that some times when my sinuses are really bad, I also have gunk come out of my eye. She said I probably have a narrow tear duct and there is a possibility that Delilah also has that, but we won't know until she's checked out. So, it looks like Delilah also gets to see a specialist - just a different type than her brother! That reminds me, I need to make an appointment for Jameson to see the orthopedic doctor in March. :-)