15 Month Appointment

Wow, these appointments are getting more and more difficult as the kids get more impatient, independent, and squirmy! They were over it after about 30 minutes and they still had to get two shots each. They are still small little things. Tyler is below the 5th percentile in height at 29 inches and between the 5th - 10th percentile in weight at 21 pounds. Katie is about the same percentile wise at 28.5 inches and 20 pounds. The doctor wasn't concerned about their growth or weight gain but did say that it was by no means great. He said that they were probably just getting finicky with their foods - which they aren't really - but we probably do need to start giving them more snacks and letting them eat more throughout the day rather than just at meals. They love fruit which is good for them but isn't high in calories and that has been our go to when they won't eat anything else which would explain why they aren't gaining rapidly. Growth does slow down some at this point, but since they are on the smaller side and the increased activity will mean even less gain, we want to make sure they are getting plenty of fattening foods! I think the babies look healthy and are good weights proportionally - they are just short - so I'm not going to dwell on it too much and am just going to try to diversify what they eat a little more and keep offering them new things in hopes that we find something they really love.

One area of concern was their speech development. I see improvements every day and I do think they are developing well, but they are behind in their talking and comprehension. At this point (even for preemies) they should be able to identify and label Mom and Dad at minimum, and they don't or can't (not sure which). They should also be saying 3 words minimum, preferably 5 and things like Uh Oh don't count. They are getting better at following simple directions like go get the ball, come here, bring me that, pet nicely, etc. so I do think they are beginning to understand commands but at this point they should be pointing to things they want, have more consonant sounds (other than just B and D), and should really also know the names (or their own version of the names) of their siblings and pets, which they don't. So, we were referred to the Bill Wilkerson Center to have their hearing tested professionally (they should call within the next week to ask some questions and schedule an appointment) and then we could possibly be referred to Early Intervention Speech Therapy or if we don't qualify for that private therapy (I hope if they need it they qualify for the state program because private is expensive). I really do think their hearing is good - they have responded to their name and noises for months, will look for noises and sounds, dance and rock to music, and enjoy toys that make noise, have not had numerous ear infections that could hinder hearing, etc. but you never know. We'll keep our fingers crossed that all is A-OK, and I truly do think they are doing just fine but it will be good to make sure. In the meantime, even more book reading, some flash cards, and more talking to them is in order. Oh, and they asked us today if they could scribble and we don't know - we've never let them try - so that is on the agenda too!