The Baker's: Checkup Time

Yesterday was checkup time at the doctor for Madelyn and Karlee. I scheduled Madelyn's 2 month late and Karlee's 3 year early so I only had to make one trip to the pediatrician during flu season (I hope!). I had warned Karlee all day that Madelyn was going to get shots and she may cry. I told her the shots didn't hurt but Madelyn would be scared. She would cry since she can't talk. I really didn't want Karlee to be traumatized!

The talk must have worked because when Madelyn started to cry after the first shot, Karlee leaned over and kissed her head. She said, "It's okay. I'm here." Tears welled up in my eyes but I didn't want to cry in front of Karlee too. She is such a sweet big sister.

Here are the stats:

Madelyn 11 lbs 11 ounces (50th percentile), 22 inches long (10th percentile)

Karlee 25 lbs 8 ounces (3rd percentile), 35 3/4 inches tall (25th percentile)

Here are their actions:

Madelyn: She eats about every 3-4 hours day and night, about 3-4 ounces each feeding. She still doesn't take a bottle from me at all but is getting better with Chip. It's hard to know what amount of milk to put in the bottle since she only wants to eat from me. She is definitely a mommy's girl. She just doesn't calm down for Chip easily when he tries to take her off my hands for a while. Madelyn is pretty much a happy baby. She usually only cries when she's hungry or when she's fighting sleep at night. She does not sleep well, only about 3-4 hours at a time (even at night) and sometimes only naps in the morning and doesn't go to sleep again until bedtime (usually between 9:30-10:00). I am exhausted all the time. She loves to coo and smile. She has laughed several times when I really get the baby talk going. The changing pad on my bathroom counter is by far her favorite place to be. We literally stayed in there an hour one day and she put on a show for me with all the "talking". Madelyn obviously loves her sister already because her eyes follow Karlee everywhere. As soon as Madelyn hears Karlee's voice, the eyes start going back and forth looking for her. It's so sweet. She has moved out of most newborn clothes and is wearing 3 month. She has started holding small rattles and loves to have something in her hand to rub when trying to suck her thumb. She has almost mastered getting the thumb in her mouth when she wants it. It's always the right hand thumb. She is a big fan of tummy time for about 3.2 seconds. She prefers to be sitting up straight in my lap or propped in the boppy. She wants to see what's going on at all times.

Karlee: She is a pretty good eater, even though the scale may not show it. I'm just glad she is finally on the weight chart. The negative percentile at age 2 really had me worried. She loves dipping food in "dip dip." The latest dip she loves is honey mustard. If we put that on her plate, she will dip everything and usually cleans her plate (or gets really close). Karlee wants to help do everything, which makes doing anything around the house take twice as long. She is my child that sleeps well. She still takes a 3 hour nap every afternoon (at least at my house, grandmomma's house is a different story!). She goes to sleep at night easy after we read 3 or 4 books and stays asleep all night. She calls me when she wakes up to come get her. Since being in her big girl bed, she has never gotten out by herself and come out of her room. She is potty trained fully and pretty much off the little potty and only uses the big potty. She was sleeping in pullups but now is in panties and has only wet the bed once. Karlee is an outdoor girl. She will probably play sports because she loves doing anything with a ball. Her imagination just amazes me. Pretend play is a big part of the day at our house. She also loves puzzles. We can sit for hours and put together 30-50 piece puzzles. Karlee actually does most of the work. It's a great way to match colors and shapes. She can count to twenty (when she's in a good mood) and knows all of her colors. She knows most of the letters of the alphabet but not which order quite yet. We are working on the ABC song. She loves singing and music. We listen to "I'm in the Lord's Army" about 1 million times a day and she sings all the words and does all the hand motions. Her teacher says she really loves music class every week. Her vocabulary is extensive. She can carry on conversations with anyone and you NEVER know what she is going to say. The conversations in the car are my favorite!