Caden's 12 month well baby appointment

Caden eating with a fork

We finally were able to get Caden in for his 12 month well baby appointment today. It went really well. He has slimmed down quite a bit and is no longer in the higher percentiles for weight and height. He's still not the smallest kid around but not off the charts either. Overall he is very healthy and doing great.

Here are his 12 month biometrics:

Weight: 23 lbs 12.96 oz
Height: 31.25 in
Head: 46.5 cm

We decided to start spreading out his immunizations. So today he just got one shot, the MMR #1 (Measles, Mumps, & Rubella). It's a live vaccination and we thought one live vaccination at a time would be a good idea for us. When he's around 15 months we'll take him in to get the Hib #3 (Haemophilus Influenza B), and Prevnar #4. We may get him vaccinated against the Hepatitis A at a later date as it mainly prevents diarrhea from drinking the water around the Mexico border, something we don't have to be worried about while living in Germany. We still have not decided whether or not to get him vaccinated against varicella (chickenpox). People who get the varicella shot can still get chickenpox, however, they most likely will not get shingles later in life, something that people who have had the chickenpox are susceptible to getting. I thought he would be more upset after his shot but he wasn't. He was more upset about laying down for the shot then the actual shot. After the shot was done and we left the room he wanted to run around and play. It was so much better than him crying for 5-10 minutes. I was a little sad not to be "needed" more after his shot but also excited that I wasn't needed.

We decided not to let them test his blood to see his iron levels. When he was 9 months we brought him in because of a high fever and they did blood work then. From those results his iron level was fine. It was very traumatic for him and since then laying him down for a diaper change has been difficult. He's finally starting to trust us again. They strapped him down and bruised his wrists to get blood. We felt horrible. Also we eat a pretty balanced diet and our doctor said most likely he's fine. Our doctor said 1 in 10 kids has a low iron level.

We also talked to the doctor about Caden waking up in the middle of the night. He's been waking up every night for the past week. It is probably due to it being extremely hot here and not having adequate air conditioners (we have two floor units and our house is 4 stories). Each unit basically cools one room. Cade is also getting his molars in so that could be part of the problem. We set up his pack n play in our bedroom because neither of us can sleep if he's in the bed with us. This has helped some. Last night we moved him from his crib to his pack n play before we went to bed so he would be in the air conditioning. He still woke up. Collin changed his diaper and we laid him down with us for 10 minutes or so and then moved him to his pack n play.

We're working on helping Caden learn self soothing skills. I talked with a nurse a week ago and she said to start letting him cry himself to sleep. Our doctor said he's still pretty young to Ferberize. Which kind of surprised me since lately most of the people I have talked to have told me to let him cry himself to sleep. Honestly it doesn't take that long to get him to sleep because we have a very consistent schedule. Collin has now been doing the final stage of his bedtime routine and can get him down after about 8 minutes of the lights out. That was about what I was doing. Hopefully sometime soon Collin will start putting him to bed partially awake like I had been doing. Sadly sometimes Collin falls asleep while holding him. Collin has been working really hard lately and seems to be overtired. I'm just glad our doctor thought what we were doing was fine. It can be difficult and tiring being a parent. Plus his cry is heart-breaking. I guess if it took us longer to get him back to sleep or to sleep we would be more likely to let him cry it out. We just can't bring ourselves to do it. Although to be honest, there are days when I am for it. Pure exhaustion sometimes gets the best of all of us. Then Collin graciously takes over.

I'm still working on weaning Caden. The problem is with the naps. I could probably get rid of the morning and bedtime feedings. He gets his last feeding before his bath at night. The morning seems like he could live with or without it. The nap feeding is where the problem is. He'll fall asleep around his nap time in the car but if we're home he wants to nurse. I've shortened it to about 5-6 minutes so it doesn't take long, however, I'd like to get him to nap without it and without driving him around. I think I'm going to stop the morning breastfeeding session then decide whether to drop the nap or bedtime one next. It's not a big deal for me to breastfeed but I am getting to the point of wanting to stop...even though I still have mixed feelings. Part of me wants to hold onto my sweet little baby boy but the other part of me is ready for this next stage in his life. Some groups recommend breastfeeding until a child is at least 2, others say 1, and other groups say it doesn't matter much at all. I know I don't want to nurse until Caden is 2 but I also want it to be a smooth transition. Thankfully he seems like he is getting more and more ready to wean.

This morning Caden drank almost 5 oz of cow's milk and that was after me breastfeeding him. I was so happy. I can now give him cold milk straight from the fridge. Thanks everyone for the advice on getting him to drink milk. I alternate between cow and goat's milk. One week cow, the next week goat's.

Collin and I love Caden so much! I still can't believe he's a year old. Here's a short flash back of how much he's grown.

2 days old

6 months old

12 months old