So, we went in for his one year check-up today. He weighs 20 pounds, 3 oz. and is 30 inches tall. He's in the 10% for weight, 50% for head circumference, and 50% for height (when born, he was in the 5% for all).
The doc asked his usual list of questions...
Is he walking? no
Is he cruising? no (I then explained to him that he will stand with his hands on the couch, but definitely does not take any steps and really doesn't seem to grasp the concept that he needs to hold on to stay up. He will randomly just let go and lunge toward a toy on the ground resulting in falling on his butt)
So, can he get up to standing on his own? Does he grab on to objects and pull himself up? ummm... no, not really. He'll grab on to our hands and pull himself up to standing that way. But half the time you actually have to pull him up, then he'll stand.
Does he say mama and dada? Yes, lots of talking! da, doh, dal, mamamamama, oh, bah, etc. However, when he says "da" I don't think he knows that that is Andie, or that "mamamama" is me. He just babbles and babbles. (the doc says that he wouldn't expect him to say those words with meaning until maybe 15-18mo) Side note: he's almost saying "ah-oh". When something falls, Andie and I say "ah-oh" and after we say it a few times, Luke will come back with an "oh". haha!
Do you think he's starting to understand what you say to him? For instance, could you say, "go bring me your cup" and he'd do it? Hmmmm.... I don't think he'd be able to do that specific thing, but if he has his ball in his hand, I can say "bring me your ball" (while gesturing) and he will hold up his ball, say "Dah", make a beeline over to me, then present it to me. Also, if he picks up some tiny spec on the kitchen floor, I can say "bring it to mama" and he'll crawl over to me and show it to me. (the doc said that that is good)
Is he eating well? Mostly on table food? Yep, great eater. Haven't given him any baby food in weeks.
Is he on whole milk? Off the bottle? Yep, yep
How's his pincer grasp? Really good.
The doc then examined Luke - looked in his nose, ears, and eyes - said that all looked great! He said he's not worried about the little guy whatsoever and that he's doing wonderfully. About walking, he said that he doesn't start to worry unless a full-term baby isn't trying to walk at 15mo. But, he said, since Luke was a preemie, he has even more wiggle room for development.
Finally, I had one last question. At our 9mo appointment, we talked about how Luke could not get into a sitting position on his own (from laying on his back or being on his tummy). Well, now that he's a year old - that is still a problem. He can't do it! The doc seemed to be a bit more bothered by that than any of the other things. He said that he definitely would expect Luke to be able to do that at this point. So, he said that he's going to refer us to a physical therapist to see if he can work with us on that. The doc doesn't think that he necessarily needs physical therapy sessions - but said that maybe we could just meet with him and he can give us some exercises to do at home to help him out.
So, that concluded our appointment. Well, that and Luke getting four shots (poor guy!)
Let's end on a happy note though. This is Luke's new "smile" for the camera:
