Dept. of Pediatrics

So Jane had her 1-year check-up today, which went about as well as could be expected given that said check-up involved an MMR vaccination and blood drawing for the mandatory lead test.

Actually, what set her off was the stethoscope. Which is weird, because that's just what Samson was afraid of at this age too. Let's hope there's never a Dora/E.R. crossover episode.

Despite the wailing and gnashing of teeth, however, Sweet Jane did just fine. She's not a particularly heavy child, weighing in at only 17 lbs, which is in the 5th percentile for babies her age. But she did grow two inches from her last check-up, putting her solidly in the 50th percentile. And for head circumference, she's in the 25th. All of which is perfectly OK.

And not because we don't want a fat girl with a giant head, but because she eats really well, is crawling and trying to walk, is "talking" almost nonstop, and is just generally a sweet little love. In the inimitable words of our pediatrician, she's "perfectly normal."

I bet if there was a percentile for hair, she'd be in the 150th.

Interestingly, the doctor told Vicki [I was on my own medical adventure this morning; more on this later] that this is the age when babies start to dream. Fascinating.