15 months

Kaitlyn is now 15 months old. She is in the "pre-toddler" phase according to Baby Wise (toddler starts at 18 months).

We went to see Dr. Nesmith yesterday for her check-up.

Her height is 30 3/4 inches (about 50th percentile.) He told me she will be 5' 6" when she is older (same as mommy!) I didn't realize that they could tell this young.

Her weight is 23.7 lbs (about 75th percentile.) He was not concerned about her still being chunky since she has leveled out in her weight gain.

Her head is 46 1/2 inches (don't know that percentile, but I think it's normal.)

She had the best looking ears all day (no ear infections- praise God!)

He was impressed with her talking and said that is the earliest sign of intelligence and good school performance. I hope so! I started counting her words that she uses on her own, in context, and got up to about 162 words (divided in categories of people, actions, things, body parts, clothing, common phrases etc.). I'm so pleased with her vocabulary, and it is nice that I can understand what she wants most of the time.

She got 2 shots, including the flu shot. So far no reaction.

We also discussed dropping a nap (he was surprised she was still napping twice). He does not think the reactions she has had (mucus in stool and excess drainage) are due to peanut allergies, but it does seem she has seasonal allergies.

Both my doctor and a respected nutritionist (who works at MD Anderson) said that organic foods don't have better nutritional value than regular foods. I've been giving Kaitlyn organic milk and yogurt since she was 12 months. Dr. Nesmith said if it makes me sleep better at night, to continue the organic, but it's not necessarily better for her. There is still a small chance of getting the growth hormone in the regular milk, so I'll stick to organic as long as I feel we can afford it (but just with dairy- the dietician said there is absolutely no difference between organic and regular produce if you wash it thoroughly.)

I need to switch Kaitlyn to a sippy cup with her milk. She has used a sippy cup for water for some time now (and only takes a few sips throughout the day). My concern is that she will not get the required milk or hydration that she needs. Nesmith said that is probably true, but just be sure she is getting yogurt, vitamins and try giving her the milk in the sippy cup in the morning and before bed.

Kaitlyn is trying to drop a nap (or rather just crying before both naps.) Due to her not getting a morning nap on Sundays for church, Mondays for Mother's Day Out, and Wednesdays for NESTS, it's probably about time that we drop the morning nap anyway and stop fighting it. Sad day for mom. I will try to institute a "crib time" with toys, books, puzzles etc., to see if she can entertain herself for about an hour while I'm preparing for the day.

Currently, Kaitlyn's favorite people in the world are JT (one of our friends in our church group), Hunter (her cousin, pictured below), and Aniyah.

We took Hunter to Ninfa's for quesadillas in order to celebrate his second birthday. We missed it due to being at a wedding last weekend, but I hear the monkey party was fun!
Kaitlyn loves to be outside and seems happier out there. Thankfully, it's getting a bit cooler (mid 90's, not 110 in the day).
This was taken at the doctor's office before her appointment yesterday.

Other thoughts on Kaitlyn at 15 months:

- She seems to be an extrovert- loves people, but definitely prefers mommy at this stage.

- she is strong-willed and already saying "No" when she doesn't want to do something. (I thought that wasn't supposed to start until 2!)

- she's a quality time person and enjoys other people (Daddy, Mamaw etc.) if she spends one-on-one time with them.

- She loves her baby. It was my baby Lindsey when I was little. She prefers her naked. She has just started sleeping with her.

- She enjoys playing at Mother's Day Out and NESTS with the other kids, yet is still not sleeping well at MDO.

- She loves books and would be content to sit and read books together for hours.

- She is still quite the lady who crosses her ankles when she sits.

- If I ever sit down for lunch and forget to pray, she interrupts me by saying "AMEN!" Love it.