Our sweet baby boy is nearly 16 months old. I feel like with Owen, I was able to post monthly stats on his growth and development. With Benjamin, well, it's been a bit more difficult. So, dear child, one day when you read this, I hope you'll forgive me. Do not mistake the lack of blog attention for a lack of love. I assure you that your mommy and daddy's hearts are bursting with love for you. My heart breaks every time we lock eyes from across the room, and you immediately hold your arms in the air and run towards me. And, know that the very best fifteen minutes of my day are the last minutes you are awake, as I rock you to sleep in my arms. You are a sweet, sweet baby, and Mommy, Daddy and Owen just adore you!
On Friday, Benjamin had his 15-month check up - just a few weeks late, but it had to be rescheduled due to his sickness earlier in the month. Benjamin weighed in at 23 pounds, 10 ounces and is 32.5 inches long, putting him at 56% and 82% on the growth chart respectively. Looks like Benjamin has gotten Lou's height. Everything checked out pretty well, with the exception of his speech. The doctor is concerned about his inability (or willingness) to speak. Usually, by one year of age, children are saying basic words like mama and dada. With Benjamin's ear infection and ear tubes history, not speaking by this age is a little concerning. It could be a slight hearing issue, but likely, it's just the second child laziness syndrome - meaning that a lot of second children are slower to develop speech because they use other ways to communicate like grunting and whining, both of which Benjamin is adept at. So, we've got two months to get his speech improved, or looks like we'll have some follow-up with a hearing specialist. He also got two vaccinations - a dtap and flu. Like Owen did a few years ago, Benjamin had a pretty bad reaction to the dtap. See picture below. We are keeping an eye on it.
