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Monday, February 3, 2014

Lilly is 2! The Stats.

So many updates, so little time!  I have quite a few blog posts to get in over the next few days, so I thought I'd kick it off with an update from Lilly's 2-year doctor appointment last week.  I am happy to report that, although we already knew it, the doctor confirmed that we have a perfect baby (not so much anymore, I guess!) girl.  :-)  The following stats are as of 1/31/14, so 2 years and 1 week old.

Weight/Length:  Lilly is tall like her Mama!  She is 34.5 inches in height, which is the 74th percentile (I realized that I never updated with her official 18-month doctor stats, but to put it in perspective, she was 29 inches long or 70th percentile at one year old) and she weighs 29.5 lbs, which is the 70th percentile (22.13 lbs/85th percentile at one year).  Dr. G told us that at this age, those numbers and percentiles are perfectly normal, and not to be concerned in the least.  She actually estimated that L's growth will slow a lot and that she will only gain 4-5 lbs over the next year but she'll keep growing taller and thin out.  I will be sad when she loses her sweet little chubby legs...just want to nibble them!

Sleep:  We luckily still have a champion sleeper on our hands!  We typically put Lilly down between 8:00 and 8:30pm.  I should clarify that she does not always go to sleep right away - some nights she does, and other nights she'll talk/sing/play in her crib for sometimes an hour or more before winding down - but she seems to like having the alone time to wind down.  Anyway so she normally sleeps until at least 8:00 am, most mornings it's more like 8:30 and sometimes it's even later than that.  She goes down for a nap around 1:00 or 1:30 pm depending on the day, and typically sleeps until 4:30 or 5:00 pm (We let her sleep until 5p on MWF because those are school days and she's always more tired, but most days we wake her up at 4:30p.).  The doctor said that all of this is great and that she should still be napping at this age - she actually said to cling to that nap for dear life and let her take it as long as she will.  Don't you worry, Dr. G., that was def our plan.

I don't think I've formally discussed on the blog our decision to keep Lilly in her crib and get a new one for the baby.  Most people think we're insane for buying another crib and having two, but I was happy to hear that the doctor was totally on board with it and she actually told us we definitely made the right decision.  Our reasoning was that Lilly sleeps so well and has literally never (knock on wood) tried to get out of her crib, so since we'll be losing sleep with the baby we thought we'd keep her sleep routine as normal as possible.  Plus, both cribs that we have are convertible, so even if L decided tomorrow that she wanted to bust out of that joint, we can just convert hers into a toddler bed.  Dr. G agreed and said that we definitely did the right thing and she would have done the same, and estimated that L will probably stay in her crib for another year.  I am not so sure about that, but I guess we'll see!

Feeding:  Lilly has become decidedly more picky about what she eats over the past several months.  Long gone are the days where she will eat anything I put in front of her!  She is wary of anything new, and in fact a lot of times will tell me she doesn't like something without even trying it.  I continue to try to offer her new things and try to have her eat things that we are eating, and most of the time it does not work but at least I'm trying.  We discussed this at length with the doctor, and she assured us that it's perfectly normal.  She gave us some literature to read (by Ellyn Satter for anyone who may be interested) and discussed it with us in detail.  The gist of all of it was that as parents it's our job to offer Lilly a variety of safe, nutritious and reasonably appealing food at meals and snacks.  We should pair familiar things with unfamiliar things but let her choose what and how much to eat of what we've put on the table.  We are not to push food on her, and we are to let her eat her own way.  We are also not to bribe her or do anything of the sort - it should truly be up to her what she chooses to eat and how much she eats (from what we've offered).  This is completely different than what we've been doing - I resort to bribery all of the time ("You can have a cookie if you eat three bites."  or "If you try this, Mommy will jump up and down."  Seriously.) - so we'll give it a try and see how it goes.  Apparently for kids her age it is more about control than the food itself.  If we bribe her and do all of these crazy things to get her to take one bite, then she has control, and she has won.  If we just ignore it and continue to offer her things, eventually she'll try them and like them and expand her palate.  It is also OK if she doesn't eat a lot - some days she won't.  It is important not to create an over-eater.  That's the basic premise of what we discussed with the doctor - I'll report back on how it goes!

Lilly has also decided in the past few months that she no longer likes milk.  It was a real battle to get her to drink it to begin with, but once we started mixing it with Ovaltine there was never any problem...until one day when she all of a sudden decided she didn't like it.  She looked me in the face and said, "I don't like it, Mommy.  I don't like the milk."  Ummmmmmmmm I'm confused since you liked it yesterday?!  I can't say I blame her because I do not like milk myself, so for the past couple of months I haven't been pushing it much...I've still offered it but she never takes it, and on the rare occasion that she does, it's always the same, "I don't like it."  The doctor said that if L decides she likes milk again, we can switch her to something other than whole (i.e. 1 or 2%).  In the meantime, Dr. G said that L gets plenty of calcium from other things she eats like yogurt and cheese, but the only thing she's missing is Vitamin D, which you can only get from milk and direct sunlight.  SO, we have started her on a vitamin.  At first she suggested giving Lilly the same liquid vitamins that we will be giving the baby, but I told her I don't think there's a chance that will work since L doesn't really like juice either and only drinks water - I'm not even sure what we'd mix it with.  SO we went with "Plan B," which (per Dr. G's suggestion) is a Flinstones Complete vitamin, and she gets half a tablet each day. She loves them and asks for them all the time, so I consider it to be a win.

In terms of what Lilly does eat, there is a decent variety of things.  She definitely prefers sweet things (i.e. likes fruit way more than most vegetables) and likes carbs, just like her mama again!  She typically eats breakfast, lunch, a snack after nap and then dinner.  Breakfast is by far her biggest meal of the day - she will eat more than Dan and I combined for breakfast and then mainly picks at the day's remaining meals.  Doctor assured us that this is a-ok, too.

Developments:  There are so many here, I don't even know how to begin to name them all.  Lilly is such a little sponge - I feel like she is learning something new every day, and teaching me something new as well!  Her vocabulary is very robust for her age - she comes by it honest for sure between her Mommy and Daddy.  I often tell Dan that she's too smart for me, too.  I'm worried that I won't be able to keep up with her and continue to challenge her for long!  I am amazed almost daily by the things she retains, even things that I didn't think she was paying any attention to.  She is pretty outgoing - she is often shy in new settings or around new people but it doesn't take long for her to warm up, and once she does, good luck getting her to slow down!  She's sweet and helpful and her teachers always rave about how well she plays with the other children.  Lilly is also very independent (and pretty stubborn, too!).  Her favorite phrase these days seems to be "I do it, Mommy" (or in situations where Mommy is too impatient and would rather whatever we're trying to do be done quickly, she'll say, "Lilly do it together, Mommy").  She is also pretty hard on herself and gets frustrated if she can't do what she set out to do by herself immediately.  That is one trait from me that I was hoping she would avoid - I was hoping she'd inherit her Daddy's laid-back personality instead!  Mostly, I think she is a pretty good mix of both - she definitely inherited Daddy's mischievousness.  Finally, Lilly has more energy!  It is enough to wear anyone out, pregnant or not.  If Lilly is awake, she is moving.  In fact, I am pretty sure she rarely walks - she mostly runs full speed ahead.  I can't mention that without also noting that she definitely inherited her mama's grace - as in she is so clumsy.  Just within the past week she busted her lip and bruised her eye by walking/running into the door frame, and then yesterday bit her tongue falling into the wall.  Seriously, I can't make it up.  I guess the only other thing to note is that we have officially moved into the terrible twos and the accompanying tantrums.  They mostly come and go within a 30 second period, but she is very good with the theatrics and drama.  Perhaps there is an acting career in our future?

I know I say it at every age but Lilly is just so much fun right now.  She's such a joy to be around, and I just love watching her learn, grow and explore.  I am sure we'll be in trouble with this little firecracker before long, but for now I am just soaking it all in!

Likes:  Lilly LOVES books.  You can't read to her enough.  I am even more grateful  now than ever for all of the books that we've accumulated over the past two years, because she wants to read all of the time.  She loves anything art-related: coloring, painting, play doh, etc.  She loves all kinds of music and she loves to sing and dance, and she loves the gymnastics class that we enrolled her in one day/week.  She loves Layla, and Layla sometimes even appears to be warming up.  Just this morning I went in to get L up and when Layla came into the room she said, "Good morning, Layla!  I'm so happy to see you!"  Lilly loves being outside, bath time, and Elmo.  She loves pretend play, jewelry, dress-up, baby dolls, Legos and her kitchen.  And her Mommy and Daddy, for sure!  Hopefully before long she'll love her baby brother, too.  :-)

Dislikes:  Being told "no."  Being dirty.  Not being able to do something perfectly on the first try.  Most veggies.  I know that there are a LOT more that should go here, but those are the big ones and I'm drawing a blank now!

What I'm Thankful For:  I am definitely not saying that it has been perfect and that there have been never been any bad days, because believe me there have been days when I wanted to pull my hair out and run as far away as possible, but I am so thankful that for the most part, Lilly has made it so easy on us.  I can only hope that her baby brother follows in her footsteps.  Could we be so lucky twice?!

What I'm Looking Forward To:  Big sister status.  I am sure we will deal with some jealousy and emotion that comes along with no longer being an only child, but I just can't wait to see how L interacts with her baby brother.

I am sure I left so much out - I really have to get better at keeping lists about these things - but I think I hit the highlights.  Here are a few crappy iPhone photos from tonight's pre-bed snuggle fest.  L really is the sweetest child, I just want to squeeze her tight and never let go.

"Daddy help Lilly do yoga"

My heart!

Just love her.
Lilly, if you ever read this, I want you to know that you bring more joy to your Daddy and me than we could ever even put into words.  You are so smart, funny, sweet, loving, and genuinely kind.  You have taught me more about life and about myself in the past two years than I ever thought possible, and I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for all of us (although I wish that time would slow down!).  I am happier than it is possible to describe that God chose me to be your Mommy, and your Daddy and I are so proud of the little (big!) girl you are becoming.  You have truly made me better, and I can only hope to teach you half of the things you've already taught me in your two short years.  I love you to the moon and back and even further than that, baby girl.

Love,

Mommy

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