Fifteen Month Checkup

After their check up and after ice cream! Alec with a wooden spoon and Emma with a football. Somehow this is not that surprising!

This afternoon, we went to see our pediatrician for Alec and Emma's 15 month well visit. Poor Daddy accompanied us right after having some dental work done. Half of his face was still numb from the procedure. He's better now. Anyway, the kids were weighed and had their height and head circumferance charted. Alec weighed in at 23#6oz. Emma weighed 20#6oz. We were thrilled to be told that Alec was above the 25th percentile for weight for the first time EVER! Emma was above the 10th percentile for the first time EVER! Their head and length measurements have generally always been closer to the 50th percentile, which they were again today. For my two preemie babies, one of whom spent 10 days in the NICU, this was wonderful information. There was a time (I believe at their 2 month visit) that Alec was barely on the growth chart for weight and Emma was not on the chart at all. For a long time, it was a treat for us to even hear that they were even at the 3rd or 5th percentile. So, to have them climb the chart like that is very exciting to us!

They were also evaluated for their language and motor skills. CAUTION: This mama is now going to brag a little, because that's what mamas that are very proud of their children do. Please don't assume that my excitement is any affront to the development of your child or any other child you know. This is not meant to be offensive.

The pediatrician said that they both exceed the expectations for language abilities and gross motor skills. They both have more words than is expected at this age, and this is especially neat because twins often develop their language abilites later than singletons. You may have heard of twinspeak, a language that many twins develop for communicating with one another. This can inhibit the development of real language. Also, because twins always have someone around that they can relate to, they often don't feel the need for verbal communication that other babies do.

With regard to motor skills, the ped was totally taken by surprise when Alec started jumping up and down. She exclaimed "he jumps!" I said "yeah, Emma does too." She then explained to us that jumping is a gross motor skill not expected to be achieved until around or after 2 years old.

We were pretty stoked, and I have to admit, our heads were big after the checkup. I think we're just so pleased because when you have twins, you're told not to expect as much from them. They are born earlier, often premature, and you should look at their adjusted age when evaluating their development. We just assumed that it was highly likely that they would lag behind their peers. Although they have always been on the small side, we have been thrilled to find that the other developmental areas have always been right on target, and in some cases, even a little early.

Every child develops differently, and charts, graphs and expected skills are guidelines with months of give or take attached to them. We totally realize that kids go through phases and spurts, and I don't want to be one of "those moms" who expects her kids to be above average perfect geniuses. I'm just grateful that my twins, who started out as teeny, four weeks and one day early babies, are catching up and holding their own. Yay, Alec and Emma!

The last order of business at the ped's office was vaccinations. They both received 3 shots today, and since Daddy had also gone through some discomfort at the dentist's office, we decided that we all deserved ice cream. So, all in all...a great day!