The Journey of Parenthood…

Tess’s 1 Year Well Visit

The end of July/beginning of August is just always going to be a full time for our family. I need to remember that for next year! Britt’s first day of school also happened to fall at the same exact time as Tess’s 1 year well visit. Zach couldn’t possibly take off any more work and I was beyond anxious because even though I have three kids I have NEVER had to be solo for immunizations. I really, really do not like needles. I always joke that I had all three kids natural just to avoid the epidural needle because I hate them so much. I’m really big about not passing along my fears to my children so Zach ALWAYS handles shot time with them. I leave the room and he does his thing and, so far, it’s worked perfectly. Neither Kye or Britt have any tears at ALL when it comes time for shots! 

Of course it happened to happen where Zach couldn’t be there for Tess. I feel like she’s the most like me as a baby out of my kids and I worry that she’ll end up like me in the shot fears too especially if I have to start handling them at appointments! I did ask Mr Rusty if he could come with me and even debated asking Jordan haha I just feel like guys are tougher than us girls when it comes to needles? I didn’t ask Mrs. Charlotte b/c I know she’d have more anxiety than me about it haha! 

I called the dr in advance and let them know I’d be a little late due to dropping Britt off. We got there and got LUCKY at how quickly we got back. I think maybe because it was back to school that a lot of people didn’t schedule dr visits? Whatever the case I was happy about it 🙂

Her morning nap is at 9 and it’s something she’s used to having so she got a little whiney since the appointment wasn’t even until 8:45. I’m thankful it was quick and I was actually able to get her home for a bit of a nap and Mrs. Charlotte was sweet enough to pick up Britt so Tess didn’t have to go back out and about after her shots. 

We tried to do the stand up scale but she just wasn’t having it (she gets nervous in new surroundings and wanted me to hold her) so we did the lay down one instead! Maybe next visit 🙂 

At 1 years old Tess is 29.75 inches long (75th percentile), 18.5 lbs (10th percentile) and has a head circumference of 17.5 inches (25th percentile). At her last visit she was 27 1/4 inches long (40th percentile), 16 lbs and 2 oz (10th percentile), and her head was 17.25 inches (45th percentile) So some growth across the board which is what they want to see. It’s interesting she shot up so much in the length department too! She still doesn’t seem very tall to me? Personally I think she looks like her head is WAY bigger than what they say it is. Maybe it’s just the way her face is shaped? Or that her head is larger than Britt’s was and I’m just used to Britt’s tiny head? 

There were ZERO concerns regarding her low percentile in weight. Since she’s been on the lower end in weight for a long time, it’s probably just the way she is. She eats well so it’s not something I’m concerned over or something the dr is either! 

To compare to her siblings: At Britt’s 1 year visit she was 19.5 lbs and (25th percentile), 29.75 inches log (75th percentile) and head was 17 1/8th inches circumference (10th percentile). So interesting that Britt and Tess were exactly the same height at the same age! Britt was chunkier and did have that smaller head too! I guess the weight difference is why they wear such different sizes in clothes. Britt was in a 12 month size at 12 months old whereas Tess is still sitting in a 9 month (her dress is 9 months!)


At this same age for Kye he was  24 lbs (75th percentile), 30.12 inches long (75th percentile) and his head was 18.75 inches. So he was bigger, by a good bit, in every area! It’s hard for me to remember for sure but I’m pretty confident he was in an 18 month size clothes by this age. People typically talk about the height of my girls but Kye was taller than them both at this same age, and by almost an inch. I think because he was bigger across the board that he didn’t appear as long as they do since they are so thin!


Here are some things we discussed at the visit:

  • I love that all my kids see the same dr so I can ask questions about them all as needed 🙂 I asked about Kye and if he needed to see an eye dr b/c I had to get glasses in 2nd grade. She said I can take him or I can just wait and see what happens at his yearly check ups and decide. 
  • Britt’s belly button also still sticks out a good bit and I forgot to ask at her last visit about it. She said we will watch it and if by her 5 year visit it’s not improved we may need to look for options or she may just have an outie belly button!
  • Tess has always had “breasts” since birth. I know it’s normal for newborns to have them because of all the hormones and such but Tess’s at this age still stick out a good bit and are a little more concerning. Because she’s still nursing we decided not to worry about it at all yet. It may just be a result of the hormones in my breast milk. The only thing to really watch for that could be a sign of concern is if she gets pubic hair. Um. No worries there dr…if I saw pubic hair on my BABY I’d def be calling asap!!! The developed breast tissue can be a sign of mega early puberty but usually it’s accompanied with the hair so as long as she’s hair free we are most likely fine!
  • I know it’s best for babies to get whole milk products in everything but whole milk yogurt is HARD to find. I asked if it really matters and she said it’s not that big of a deal
  • We also did a good check on her eyes as in the past we’ve had concerns regarding her lid being droopy on one eye. It’s way, way, WAY improved and I’m glad I didn’t bother with an eye dr visit!
  • We discussed going ahead and doing her MMR shot earlier due to some outbreak issues in other areas of the country
  • We also talked about the dry spots on Tess’s tummy and she recommended getting a “blue bottle” of Aveeno lotion and applying it at night and then putting Aquafor on top of the dry areas to help trap that moisture. I never do lotion on Tess (I used to do it nightly on Kye then found out that it can actually have the reverse effect and cause the skin to dry out so I stopped) but she said Tess may just have drier skin and need the lotion as part of a regular routine. 
  • Of course she said she has perfect ears! 🙂 Sidenote but I just had my yearly done and my midwife said “perfect ears” when she checked mine. Guess my kids get it from their mama 😉 

When it was time for the shots they offered to have a nurse come in so I could leave but I said no. Tess doesn’t like strangers and I knew she’d do better in my arms. The shots weren’t bad AT ALL but OMG the toe prick. It took an eternity to get the blood they needed from her. It was kinda funny b/c I just NEVER EVER use my phone to entertain my kids so I didn’t even think of trying that to distract her and the nurse who was taking her blood suggested it. Hello! Worked like a charm. She watched the videos I had of the kids on my phone and it did totally work in distracting her. 

I really, really hope that was a one time thing of having to do shots with her. I reeeeeeaaaaaalllllyyyy hope Zach can go to the next visit so she can be as tough as Kye and Britt about her shots! I’m SO truly thankful for my healthy baby girl! I am also so thankful to have such an AMAZING dr staff at our pediatrician office. They are THE BEST and always go out of their way to make us comfortable and spend so much time talking with us. We are blessed beyond measure! 

We survived!

You can see Kye’s 1 year visit here and Britt’s here!

Emily Parker
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