2004-09-16 - 11:54 p.m. - Cycle day:

Believe it or not, it's time for the One Year Check-Up summary ...

First off, the stats:

Weight: 19lbs 13 oz

Height: 29"

Head circ: 45 cm, although probably less because the tape was off, but I'm writing it down in case I need to order a winter hat soon

Doc said she looked great, and is coming in somewhat petite (as expected) at about the 25th percentile. For whatever the 50-formula-fed-babies-in-1950s-Iowa percentile is good for. She's still, as Dr. Hippie said, a "vaccine virgin." I've been debating (myself) about having her get some shots, because I'm thinking about doing some sort of childcare for at least a few hours a week. But by not doing it, I'm sort of passively limiting my options so that I could really only do 1)an in-home sitter, 2)a small, understanding daycare center, or 3)a home-based childcare provider. I'm leaning toward the latter, because I know of a woman who is apparently a childcare goddess and is okay with taking unvaxed kids, but I need to check to see if she does part-time care. I really just need 4-6 hours, once a week. I'm planning to pick up about 5-10 hours of part-time work outside the house, none of which would require childcare, mostly so I can afford to have time to work on freelance stuff some other day during the week. Seems sort of counter-productive, but it does actually make sense.

Anyway, back to the kid. She's perfect, of course. Dr. Hippie asked how many words she has, and we were like "Um, how many does she say, or how many can we understand?" We decided she speaks about 6 words of English (mama, dada, tickle, cat, wow, okay, and whereyougoing), which apparently is right on target.

In other good news, I'm apparently okay, too. Or at least mostly. Dr. Hippie was relieved to find out that I wasn't his tragic 27-year-old colon cancer case (his words, not mine), but he thinks that maybe I had some sort of "bowel attack," which he said is similar to a heart attack, in that the organ tissue freaks out and can rupture and even get necrotic, which is what would cause all the symptoms (bleeding, diarrhea, cramping, nausea, dizziness, fever, and even cracking around my mouth) that I had. He said it's not something to worry about long-term, though, and probably won't have any lasting effect. We'll see. I was the 8th grader with pockets filled with Pepto Bismol tablets, so it doesn't surprise me that my colon would be in late-middle-age by now. May M. inherit her father's iron gut.

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