Status Update: 9 Months

I took Little G to the doctor's office this past Thursday for her 9-month checkup. Just so this milestone doesn't go unremarked upon, here, in no particular order, are the things that I learned at this visit.

1. There is no one in the doctor's office at 12:45 pm on a Thursday. We were literally the only people in the waiting room for almost 10 minutes. This is apparently a regular occurrence. So much so that they had turned out the lights because no one needed them.

2. I am now old enough that it's not just the physician's assistants that look young. The doctors are also starting to look younger than me.

3. LG is 19 lbs, 1 oz, or at the 54th percentile for weight. Up from the 35th percentile at her 6-month checkup.

4. LG is 28 1/4 inches long, or at the 75th percentile for height. This is down from 85th percentile at her 6-month checkup. I contend, however, that the physician's assistant under measured by at least 1/4 inch, so it's likely she's closer to that 85th percentile.

5. LG's head circumference is 44 centimeters, or at the 50th percentile. I don't know why they measure this, and I don't recall the measurement from 6-months, beyond the fact that she's been exactly at 50th percentile since she was born. I also don't know why they take the measurement in centimeters rather than inches. Seems weird to use a different unit of measure for head circumference than length/height. Of note, the physician's assistant doesn't know why either. She had only written "44" in that space on her sheet, and when I asked why she used centimeters, she checked her tape measure to make sure that's what she was using in the first place.

6. LG doesn't even flinch if you give her one shot. She will, however, scream if you prick her finger for a blood test. But this will only last for as long as the doctor is squeezing her finger.

7. When the doctor puts a small Band-aid on your daughter's finger, then tells you to make sure she doesn't put it in her mouth, don't nonchalantly say "I got this" then allow your focus to stray. Because rest assured, your daughter will remove and eat the Band-aid.

8. Crawling is not a milestone, and your doctor doesn't care if your kid can do it. Well, that's not exclusively true. The doctor did ask, but she then told me it doesn't matter. Walking, sure, but crawling, not so much. I don't know why this isn't considered a developmental milestone. And I was so proud she's finally, sort-of, kind-of doing it.

9. Some shots make your kid sleepy. It's the first time this has happened, but Amelia fell asleep on the ride home from the doctor, about 30 minutes early for her nap. And she slept nearly two hours. I did not mind this.

10. When you have the cutest kid in the doctor's office, the front desk nurses aren't shy about telling you. Sweet.