Delilah’s 12-Month Well Baby Visit
Delilah is now a one-year-old! It’s still hard to believe!
Last week Delilah had her 12-month Well Baby Visit. For past appointments where Delilah was scheduled for shots, Joshua came along to drive while I sat in the back with Delilah to comfort her on the way home. With Joshua away at boot camp, this appointment was the first time that Delilah and I were going by ourselves and I was really nervous.
Like many babies, Delilah does not like being in her carseat very much. There have been times driving home from grocery shopping and she cried the whole way because I wasn’t able to sit in the back and distract her. It was my hope that she would fall asleep on the drive home after her appointment. I had to work the morning of her appointment, so I scheduled Delilah’s check up in the afternoon to time the drive with her nap.
Before her appointment, Delilah had a good nap and then some lunch so I was hopeful she would sleep on the way home. However, I was also worried about her getting upset on the way to the doctor office because it’s about a 35-minute drive. She was a little fussy when I put her in her carseat, but I distracted her with talking and singing. She talked to me for a while but then was quiet for the last 10 minutes of the car ride. We arrived a little early so I hopped in the backseat to check on her and she was fast asleep.
I was worried that she would be cranky after such a short nap. But when I called the office to let them know we had arrived, the receptionist said there was paperwork to fill out. It was the Ages and Stages Questionnaire for 12 Months which is super easy to fill out so Delilah got a little more sleep in her car seat.
Delilah was doing almost all the activities in all the categories. I find it funny that filling out the ASQ makes me realize that there are some activities we haven’t really tried with Delilah and I’m not sure if she can do them. For this age, I wasn’t sure if she could roll a ball or throw a ball. I’ve never seen her roll a ball and she can throw things, mostly she throws treats down to her dogs from the highchair. I ended up marking not yet for now.
Delilah woke up when the nurse came out to bring us in to the office. She wasn’t happy when she was weighed and measured because she was still waking up. On the bright side she’s growing perfectly! She now weighs 21lbs and 15 oz. Then the nurse needed to do a heel poke test to check iron levels and for any exposure to lead. I wasn’t expecting this test so I was nervous the poke would make Delilah cry and I didn’t want her to cry while I was trying to talk to her doctor. But as always, I got myself worked up for nothing because she didn’t even flinch at the heel poke. She watched the nurse the whole time and was really curious to know what the nurse was doing with her foot.
After the nurse left the room, we got to meet Delilah’s new doctor. Her previous doctor moved to another practice, so we scheduled this appointment with the doctor who was available. She was very friendly which put me at ease, and Delilah seemed to take to her very quickly. After just a few minutes she was walking back and forth between me and the doctor bringing us her sippy cup. My one concern to bring to the doctor at this appointment was Delilah’s sleep.
Delilah is still not sleeping in her own bed. We were successful a few times using the method of staying in her room and laying her back down when she stands up in her crib, but it’s both mentally and physically exhausting. Then when she finally does fall asleep, she never sleeps more than 45 minutes and it just feels like she’s spending all day tired and upset.
In addition, there have been changes in her life with Joshua at boot camp. I’m torn because it would be so much easier for me if she could fall asleep on her own, but I don’t want to make any more changes for her right now.
When I told all of this to the doctor she said that co-sleeping doesn’t pose a risk now that Delilah was older. She told me it was really up to me and what I was comfortable with for myself and Delilah. I’m still torn because it would make a lot of things easier for us if she could sleep on her own, but I also know that we need to be consistent with whatever is decided. For now, I’ve put it on hold while we adjust to her dad being away, but I would like to figure it out before we move to wherever Joshua is stationed.
After talking to her doctor, the nurse came back in to do the immunizations. She said that Delilah’s iron levels were great and there was no sign of exposure to lead, such a relief to hear. I was almost hopeful that Delilah wouldn’t cry from the shots because of how well she did with the heel poke. I was wrong, she got upset with the first one. Sometimes I feel for the nurses because they have to make babies upset!
I calmed Delilah down fairly quickly after her immunizations. It helped to take her outside and look at things with her. She immediately got upset again when we got to the car, knowing she was going in the car seat again, but I knew the sooner we got home, the sooner we could relax for the evening. It took her a little while but she did eventually fall asleep on the way home. She was fussy for a while when we got home but once she settled down we had a relaxing night with lots of cuddles!