Technically Makael is closer to 19 months now, but he just had his 18 month check up last week so I wanted to wait. He weighs 20 lbs 3 oz, putting him back down into the 5th percentile, and is 32 inches tall which puts him in the 25th percentile (falling from the 50th). Not too big of drops so his pediatrician wasn't overly concerned, but we still need to go back in three months for a weight check just to make sure. The doctor might not have been concerned, but I left the appointment feeling pretty discouraged. As hard as I try the boy will NOT eat! It's not even that he's picky, he just has no interest. Most of the time I can get him to take a bite of whatever I put in front of him, and then he's done. I think the only thing keeping him from starving himself is that he loves milk, especially chocolate milk. So...I just got back from the grocery store and my pantry is now stocked. Operation "get Makael fat" begins tomorrow. I skipped right over those 60 calorie pudding cups, and went straight for the 150 calorie cups of creamy goodness! I'm going to try and maintain our healthy eating habits and minimize processed foods, but at this point the objective is to get calories in him.
He has definitely turned a corner in his talking. I'm loving that he's using words more rather than grunting, but hearing "up" over and over can get just as old. He can get away with it though, his little voice is the cutest thing you've ever heard.
I don't know if it's his teeth coming in, the fact that he's perpetually in starvation mode, or it's that we are approaching the terrible twos... but we have been seeing a little too much of his defiant side. Sometimes I wonder if he has an anger issue. Seriously! Anytime something doesn't go as planned (his ball falls down the stairs), or he can't figure something out (how to get a lid off of something), he loses it. He will throw or swing at whatever is closest. Maybe it's a boy thing? I have no idea. All I know is I've been having to get much more strict with him and address those little (huge) temper tantrums. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that in a few days after I've managed to get him to consume some calories and his incisors have popped through, he'll be my sweet boy again.
Contrary to what you might think after reading that last paragraph, things haven't been all bad. He's doing so many new big boy things that make him lots of fun. He initiates games now like hide and go seek, chase, and getting Gemma to race him around the house. This afternoon while we took a walk around the neighborhood, he would stop and get a serious look on his face, wait for us to be a ways in front of him, then sprint and giggle as he passed us before coming to a dead stop again. It was hysterical! We had no idea what he was doing but it was clear he had his own little game going. He also realized how much fun splashing in a puddle can be. See? That snow was good for something... It was all fun and games until he realized he was wet, then he refused to take another step and proceeded to whine at us while trying to take off his clothes. Ha! He still has an aversion to water but he's getting better. We at least know he likes playing in the rain...
It was raining pretty hard and freezing but he didn't seem to mind all that much.
He has definitely turned a corner in his talking. I'm loving that he's using words more rather than grunting, but hearing "up" over and over can get just as old. He can get away with it though, his little voice is the cutest thing you've ever heard.
I don't know if it's his teeth coming in, the fact that he's perpetually in starvation mode, or it's that we are approaching the terrible twos... but we have been seeing a little too much of his defiant side. Sometimes I wonder if he has an anger issue. Seriously! Anytime something doesn't go as planned (his ball falls down the stairs), or he can't figure something out (how to get a lid off of something), he loses it. He will throw or swing at whatever is closest. Maybe it's a boy thing? I have no idea. All I know is I've been having to get much more strict with him and address those little (huge) temper tantrums. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that in a few days after I've managed to get him to consume some calories and his incisors have popped through, he'll be my sweet boy again.
Contrary to what you might think after reading that last paragraph, things haven't been all bad. He's doing so many new big boy things that make him lots of fun. He initiates games now like hide and go seek, chase, and getting Gemma to race him around the house. This afternoon while we took a walk around the neighborhood, he would stop and get a serious look on his face, wait for us to be a ways in front of him, then sprint and giggle as he passed us before coming to a dead stop again. It was hysterical! We had no idea what he was doing but it was clear he had his own little game going. He also realized how much fun splashing in a puddle can be. See? That snow was good for something... It was all fun and games until he realized he was wet, then he refused to take another step and proceeded to whine at us while trying to take off his clothes. Ha! He still has an aversion to water but he's getting better. We at least know he likes playing in the rain...
It was raining pretty hard and freezing but he didn't seem to mind all that much.
He's an expressive little guy :)
