we call him mr. bobbles

A couple weeks ago we took Izzy to the pediatrician for his one year check up. Other than the fact that we confirmed for sure that he's a bobble-head (50% for weight, 63% for height, and 99% for head size--suddenly I'm not so upset about all the c-sections) things went pretty well. There were a few concerns brought up however, and we decided that we'd bring in EDIS (Educational and developmental Intervention Services) to take a gander at the kid. We (and by "we", I mean "I" because Jason thought I was being a Nervous Nelly) were a little concerned about Izzy's gross motor development and the doctor was a little concerned about the fact that Izzy doesn't talk yet.

(Can you imagine how short the above sentence would be without all the parenthesis?)

Anyway. The appointment was today and the specialist who came to see us was awesome. I really like that they come to your home, where the kid in question is the most comfortable. The specialist, "V", was really sweet and professional. She brought in a bunch of papers for me and toys for Izzy (who got the better end of that deal, I ask you) and we sat on the floor and played with him.

He did well. V said that he has great social and play skills and is a very happy baby. (Yay for Izzy!) She also said that he scores well in all the different areas and does not appear to actually be behind anywhere as of right now. So he's not going to be put on a monitored status or anything like that. Which is good.

V is going to come back next week, however. She said that while he's not behind, she would like to see him communicating more. She agrees that this is likely because there are so many of us in the house and we all anticipate his needs...he really doesn't have to ask for anything ever. V also thinks that he is too busy just playing and exploring to be bothered with any of that pesky "talking" business. I think there is probably some truth to that. So she'll be bringing us some materials to help us help him talk.

Also, she thinks that he is exhibiting signs of poor muscle development/tone. (And this is where I try not to thumb my nose at Jason and say, "I told you so!" Oops. Fail.) We have noticed for a long time that he does not sit like the other kids did. He sits like I did when I was a kid...and that is not the best way to sit, apparently. She dubbed it the "W-sit" and said that it is an indicator of poor muscle tone. I asked if the poor muscle tone would explain why he's always hit his milestones just a little, tiny bit late and she said that it's possible. So we're supposed to encourage him to sit differently now. So she'll also be bringing by some exercises for us to work with him on his muscle tone as well.

I'm really glad we went ahead and scheduled this appointment. I feel better knowing that he's okay. I feel even better knowing that V will be back next week with some "how-to" instructions. (Yes, even a mother of four sometimes needs some help!) It was also nice to hear someone tell me that they approve of all the random "toys" we have accumulated in the living room...it's nice to know that there are still people out there who agree that boxes, paper towel rolls, and tupperware are still awesome toys!