Lauren's 18 Month Check-ups

So we've had a whole slew of 18 month check-ups for Lauren last week & this week.  Last week she had three evaluations--OT, PT, & Neurology--& she passed all with flying colors!  She is walking, talking, and acting like an 18 month old infant. Which is exactly what we're aiming for--normal! Though there were some items during the PT evaluation that Beth noted sweet Lauren could work on: standing on one foot, walking backwards, and catching a ball...so we'll for sure be working on those. Anyone have any ideas on how to get an infant to walk backwards? ;0P

As for feedback from our neurologist, Dr. Smyser, he said that he couldn't be more happy with Lauren's progress. That she again had the best report card one could give an infant at this age and with her abilities. Woohoo! He did say that with patients who have frontal lobe issues, as Lauren did at birth, that there were concerns with their social behavior. So far there are no indicators that this should be a concern, but we'll definitely be eyeballing her conduct from here on out...

Now to today's appointment with Dr. Venuti, Lauren's pediatrician...
Statistics:
height-35" (95th percentile)
weight-29.5lbs (95th percentile)
head-18.1" (25th-50th percentile)

We saw a Physician's Assistant (PA) before Dr. Venuti today and he was just LOVING Lauren.  Before he left go grab Dr. Venuti, he turned to me and said, "This is the best 18 month old baby I've examined--ever! She's so cooperative and let me do all the checks that I needed to. And what a beautiful girl she is with those eyes..."  Needless to say, I was a very proud mother. :) Then Dr. Venuti came in and Lauren lite up as usual around him with his goofy antics... He said he was very excited to hear what Dr. Smyser said and would renew her OT and PT consults as requested by neurology. Then the PA came back in the room with some M&M's for Lauren, stating he just had to give her something for being so good...& you know our Lauren, she was all grins and ate the candy right up! Then Dr. Venuti did a quick weight check on Olivia per my request. I told him I just wanted to make sure we were on the right track since we missed her four month appointment. Olivia weighed in at 17lbs even, which is the 90-95th percentile for her age...not sure about her height yet, but we'll find out at our make-up appointment in the beginning of February. Good health news all around for the girls, which makes for a very happy Katy & Nathan!