10 Months - The Mighty Double Digits

 Our sweet little guy is 10 months old. Hard to believe! One month closer to that big 1 year mark. Cliche, cliche, but there is no way to comprehend just how fast time goes.

We had his "9" month check up just a couple days before he turned 10 months. I told him that this would be an easy one. No shots, nothing big. Just a quick check up. Little did I know just how wrong I was...

The first part went dandy. Stripped him down, did the length, weight and head thing. The numbers:

Weight: 17 lbs 13 oz... 5th percentile. What?! 5th? Oh this tiny little man. We made progress last check up. Not so much this time.

Length: 27.5 in... 14th percentile.

Head: 45.5 cm... 46th percentile.

Thankfully the doctor is not concerned about his weight. He says it is pretty close to his height and he is sure that since he is so active he is just burning off all the calories. It's not like he isn't eating.

Or is he? Of course the couple of days following this check up he wouldn't eat. Go figure. Well, he was still eating,  but just wasn't eating very well. I have been assured that most kids go through these stages and not to worry about it. In general Pierscen seems to prefer real food to his bottle. I want to find more ideas for finger foods. He is great with his fruits. He will eat veggies too, but things like carrots take so long to cook! I just want to make sure he is getting his calories. If he burns it off, fine. As long as he gets it. 

The basic check up went great. I was really hoping (in a strange way) that Pierscen would start up his little wheeze that he has had for months. He sounds just like me when I get asthmatic. His wheeze picks up when he gets really excited or when I hold him in a certain position. To date, the only two times he has really stopped wheezing was at his last doctor appointment and when I stopped by the ER in Utah to visit friends and see if his wheezing was affecting his air saturation. Of course. Of course. 

When I brought up the wheeze at this appointment, P wasn't really making much noise. At last little P started wheezing. It wasn't as strong or as loud as it has been, but at least he was making it. The doctor listened and listened but couldn't find a true cause. He said his lungs sounded clear. His guess at this point is that it's a noise he is making higher up, possibly in his larynx. Weird. I don't know what to make of that. I am relieved that the doctor doesn't want to call it asthma yet. I am really in no hurry to get a diagnosis like that. Especially if it's wrong! But I sure wish we knew what it was. For sure. 

I did decide to get him the flu shot. I don't know how necessary it is. But I want the little guy to be protected. So, sorry P, I lied about no shots. But I didn't know! I promise!

The real pain was also unexpected, and horrific. He had to have a "tug back" with his little pee pee. Basically, the skin on the shaft closer to the body kind of stuck to the skin near the head. In order to fix it, the doctor literally had to tug back the skin - pull it apart, little bit by little bit to reveal the rest of the pee pee. It was incredible painful for the little guy. I felt so bad for him! But on the plus side, he gained a good 1/2 an inch! Hahaha. Follow up care is basically like a circumcision all over again. Be sure to push the pee pee out it's full length and put lots of Vaseline to make sure it doesn't stick again. For the first couple of days it was super red and raw and diaper changes were awful. But it is looking much, much better. Poor kiddo.

Some fun things about our 10 month old Pierscen.

STAIRS:

He has mastered the stairs. Up that is. He has made it up about 5 stairs tops. Until the other day. I was sweeping in the kitchen and noticed P was gone. I dashed to the stairs and there he was, 5 steps up already. I ran up to stand behind him and see how far he would make it. He climbed the entire flight in a matter of seconds. He didn't even stop until he reached the 10th stair. Now going back down stairs is going to be a challenge. But we have time for that. 

VOICE:

He loves his voice. He has learned there are certain places in the church that amplify really well (like the cultural hall) and he loves it. As soon as you walk in, he will start making noise. His new one is a simple "la" sound, but he holds out the "l" for a long time. "Lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllaaaa!!!" It's super cute.

MR. GIGGLES:

This little boy is so giggly. He laughs constantly. It really just started the other day. I was feeding him lunch in his high chair and he looked at me and just started giggling. It's not a true laugh. It's a fake little "Ha. Ha. Ha." It may be forced, but he means it. His eyes light up and you can tell he thinks he is hilarious.

He also giggles whenever he is crawling around. It is adorable.

GUILTY CONSCIOUS: 

This kid is going to be nothing but trouble. I love sneaking up on him when he is off playing. When you come around the corner and say, "Pierscen... what are you doing?" he starts giggling like crazy, drops (or throws) whatever he is doing, and starts crawling away as quickly as he can. It is so funny! The other day I was out walking Dodger, and when I came back inside, Ryan said Pierscen heard the door, jumped, and crawled under the computer desk laughing. What are we going to do with this kid? Haha. 

BATH TIME:

Little P has learned the pure joy of splashing like there is no tomorrow. He loves his baths. He loves playing with all the toys, crawling, and kicking his way around the tub. But splashing is his favorite. Be prepared to get wet!

Sometimes it seems like he can't get any more personality or be any more fun. He is such an amazing child. Every night when Pierscen goes down to sleep, Ryan and I turn to each other and say, "I miss Pierscen." I think that says a lot. We can spend all day with him and still miss him when he goes to sleep. Happy 10 months baby!