His nine-month baby wellness appointment was on the seventh. I knew he wasn’t as chunky any more. I figured he was still steadily gaining, but had grown into his weight. I was shocked to find out that Lukas actually lost weight. The boy now weighs sixteen pounds and five ounces, and he is twenty-eight and a half inches tall/long. He has lost more than a pound since his six-month checkup. The doctor said the weight loss was perfectly normal for his age because babies tend to lose weight once they start crawling. Yeah, that’s the other problem. Lukas doesn’t crawl yet. Even now, days away from his ten-month birthday, he isn’t really mobile. He tries. He really wants to be able to move, but the best he can do is reach for something, fall on his side or tummy, rollover on his back, sit up, and do that process again to get what he wants. Once Lukas rolls to his back, he usually just stays there and amuses himself with the bendability of his own fingers.
Aside from the crawling bit, Lukas passed most of the battery of milestone questions. “Does he pick up things with his index finger and thumb (pinchers)?” Yes.
I was undressing Lukas while she asked me the questions and the newness of it all was creeping the boy out, so he didn’t want to be put down at all. I laid him on the patient bed to get his clothes off as the nurse asked me if he babbles. “Momma,” he cried. Yep, says words even. He started saying, “Momma” about a week before his nine-month birthday. At first I thought it was just a coincidental vocalization, but at that moment in the doctor’s office it was clear he knew what he was saying and meant it. On the fifteenth Lukas added the word “da-da” to his vocabulary. My only objection is that when he says, “momma” he’s crying and has a need that needs to be met immediately if not sooner. When Lukas says, “Da-da” he’s smiling and laughing. Little shit.
“Does he have a fear of strangers?” He’s crying for momma and not wanting to be put down here in the office and you have to ask? Really?
“Does he pull himself up to stand?” No. At the time he would barely put his weight on his feet. He’s getting better about it, but still does not pull himself up. It’s as if he doesn’t know his legs exist. Much like Sophia didn’t seem to know her arms existed at this age. The doctor said to call him in four to six weeks with an update about the crawling. He said if Lukas isn’t crawling in that time that he’ll refer us to the same place he sent us for Sophia’s speech. I hate that place. I think I’ll just wait. I’m sure Lukas will figure out how to use his legs on his own…eventually.
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