Yesterday Simon went back to the pediatrician for his nine-month check-up. The relevant stats are:
- height-28 1/4 inches, putting him in the 50th percentile, same as last visit
- weight-18 pounds, 6 ounces, putting him in the 25th percentile , a slight drop from last visit
- head circumference-18 5/8 inches, putting him in the 95th percentile, a slight increase from our last visit
There is seemingly no end to Simon’s head growth. I wonder, can we go over 100%? I also wonder, what size shirt am I going to have to buy to fit over his giant head? Right now, his 12 month shirts are often tight-even those with buttons at the neck; the 18-month size is much better, but his body doesn’t fill those shirts in. If Simon keeps this up, we’ll be looking at bespoke baby clothes; his college fund will all go to Saville Row onesies.
The other thing we learned yesterday is that I am working too hard. According to the doctors, Simon does not need to be nursing seven times a day anymore. Drs. Owens and Newstadt think Simon is snacking more than eating and that I am needlessly wearing myself out. So we emerged with a prescription for stretching out our daily feedings and for adding more solid foods to Simon’s diet. The ultimate goal is to reduce the total number of nursing sessions per day and to get Simon to sleep longer at night.
I appreciate that better sleep will be great for us all, especially for Matt, who needs more sleep than I do and is dropping from fatigue these days. It is, however, a bittersweet realization that nursing is beginning to lose its primacy over solid food. It’s all part and parcel with Simon’s increasingly boyish-as opposed to babyish-appearance. I used to take Simon out and hear what a beautiful baby I had. Now I’m more likely to hear what a handsome boy he is. It’s that time panic thing again.
On an unrelated note, I noticed another baby named Simon on the sign-in sheet at the pediatrician’s office. His mother was also named Jessica. Finding another Jessica on the list didn’t startle me at all, but finding a second Simon sure did. Here’s to hoping it was a fluke and that 2007 will not be the year Simon catches on as a popular name.