Nine-Month Pediatrician Visit

Yesterday we went to the pediatrician for Ben's nine-month check-up. I feel like we hadn't been there in such a long time since this was the longest increment of time we've gone without seeing the doctor (3 months) since he was born. Here are Ben's stats:

Height: 30 inches (95 percentile). Andrew's starting to get a little worried that Ben will outgrow him sooner rather than later!

Weight: 20 lbs. 10 oz. (50 percentile). Our future basketball player: tall and lean.

Head: 17-3/4 inches in circumference. Continuing to fill with knowledge and grow each day!

She was impressed with his skills and he is far ahead of his age in the motor skills area. She couldn't believe that he self-feeds with a spoon for most meals and said that she doesn't even start asking about that until 15-18 months usually! She also warned me that since he was crawling by 7-1/2 months and is fairly strong on his feet, there's a good chance he'll walk early.

His language skills are progressing very well, too. He has been saying "Mom" and "Mama" sporadically over the past week. I'm not sure if he really knows what he's saying since he won't really do it on cue but I'm happy to hear it even if he is just copying me. I've been doing Baby Signs with him and although he has not used any himself, he obviously recognizes several now and will look at me when I say the word, waiting for the accompanying baby sign, and then smile when I do it. His repertoire includes "dog", "frog", "elephant," "hurt", "hot", "more" and "no more."

He had no immunizations at this visit since he is all up-to-date. The next apppointment is just after his first birthday. I can't believe I have the one-year check-up scheduled already. That means that Ben is almost a toddler!!