12 month well baby visit

(getting checked out with a flashlight) 

(afterwards, unimpressed)

I took Cohen for his one-year immunizations last week. Click for the only-interesting-to-me replay of his appointment. This is super long. So sorry. (The 6 month appointment)

No one had warned me how crazy the 12 month needles are. Babies get three shots, and it can be really hard on their immune system. Cohen was basically out of commission for 48 hours afterwards. He couldn't sleep, he refused to play, he had a fever, and he had less of an appetite than usual. We pretty much cuddled and watched youtube videos for the two days. We gave him tylenol, which didn't seem to effect much, but made me feel a little better. 

When we first went in to the appointment, Cohen was munching on a baby cracker. The nurse was like, I'm going to give you a pamphlet on how you are the boss when it comes to food, not him. She was really nice about it, but for the record, we don't give Cohen crackers very often. Then I got out his sippy cup of water for him to have a little drink. The nurse was like, ohh, so he uses a sippy cup. Maybe it's time for you to switch to a regular cup. She was totally preaching to the choir on that one, because I am really not into sippy cups, and Cohen only gets water in them. Anyway, I felt judged, but as a mom, I really think you just have to try to do what feels right for you and your baby. 

The nurse was like, we are going to do a test now. It's not an intelligence test, and he can't fail, but it tests his intelligence compared to other babies, and he will be referred to a specialist if he scores low. So no pressure, of course. She got a plastic teacup out, and put a little red block in it. She told Cohen to copy her. I was like, there is no way he will know how to do that. And he totally surprised me and did exactly what she wanted. He had to do a few other things like roll the ball to the nurse, say a few "words", wave, smile, etc. He passed. 

Then she weighed him and examined him. He is tiny, like in the 6th percentile for weight, but she assured me that he looks totally healthy. He is average height with a large head. She told me that we need to start talking to him about sexuality (What!!!), and that we should never ever order from the kids menu at a restaurant. I thought that was really smart, because really, those menus are just full of chicken nuggets and fries and junky food anyway. 

The loot bag was great. We got a few Karen Katz books (this one and this one), and these really sweet stacking cups (kind of like this), which occupy Cohen for 20 minutes straight. Newfoundland is nailing it with the baby loot bags for sure.