WWF: Klingon VS Pediatrician (Victory Klingon!)

Today was Olivia's 18 month well baby visit.    Olivia has become a real Mommy and Daddy's girl.  That means she clings to us and is very cautious around other people.  (although Grandma B and Olivia are still best Buddies!)  The doctor told us that since Olivia has Ds that she is just hitting this normal developmental stage at a later age. Usually it appears at 9 to 12 months old. He said that this is a good sign of a securely attached child, who knows that Mommy and Daddy are safe and that to be wise is to study other people good and long before getting involved with them.  It was good to hear that our Klingon is normal! In fact he says he gets concerned when he doesn't see a child go through this "stranger danger" phase.  The wise doctor did Olivia's exam while Olivia was sitting on my lap.  She tolerated it better this way.  The nurse that gave her the shot was careful to make sure that Olivia could not see her, and that I was completely blocking Olivia's view of the mean old nurse.

Doctor was very pleased with how Olivia is progressing both developmentally and in her health.  Yes, she is developmentally delayed, but she keeps progressing at a good solid steady Olivia pace.

She is now 35% for weight:  23 lbs 5 oz
25% for length: at somewhere around 30 inches or so.
Her head circumference is still in the lower percentiles  13%

The good news is, as far as the doctor is concerned at least, is that Olivia did not pull his hair or his ear this time. Perhaps that is the real reason he decided to examine her differently. Last time he really got a lesson in Olivia's ability to grip on to hair and ears. I think she punched him once or twice when he was looking into her ears. But then again,  she had an ear infection at that last visit and was not a happy camper.

He believes that her teeth that have been causing so much trouble coming through for the past 6 weeks will come through prior to her entering college. Thus we are applying for early admission!

Teething

Olivia and her teething buddy Sophia

Olivia has begun to get teeth at the end of her 9th month. This may explain why she has not been herself for about a month. This was a surprise to us as the doctor had told us that she would most likely not get teeth until about 14 to 15 months. But he did say that every child with Down syndrome is different, and that Olivia would get teeth when Olivia gets teeth. So he was right.

We cannot see the tooth, but we can feel it and we can hear it clink against her glass when she drinks. The first tooth to painfully break its way through is on the bottom in the middle left. It appears as if the middle right tooth will be next.

We had one semi-bad night followed by a bad day, but we now have some Little Teethers gel and this is helping.

It is hard to see her suffering with the teething, but we are thankful that it is just teething and just a natural part of life for all of us. There are certainly much worse things than teething. Olivia has always responded well to soothing, so we just do extra soothing and are not pushing her too hard during therapy time. Some of the harder therapies are on hold for now and we are concentrating on the more fun activities that still help her development. The therapist helped us find some positions to hold her in to work on the standing. Olivia likes this much better and is doing some really decent putting weight on her legs for more extended periods of time. Olivia is an observer and is cautious, so these positions that help her feel more secure are a God-send.