Molly's 1 year checkup

I took Molly to the pediatrician today for her one year checkup. A little late, I know. She now weighs 23 pounds and is 29 inches long. The doctor was Chinese but spoke very good English. She did a thorough check on Molls and was overall impressed with her growth and development.

Molly has always had eczema, but it has really flared up since we've arrived in China. The water here is not wonderful and the house is awfully dry. I was advised to put a humidifier in Molly's room, to add a few drops of baby oil to her bath, and then apply hydro cortisone cream twice a day.

I expressed my concern to the doctor about Molly not getting enough Vitamin D and Calcium. So it has been recommended that I add tofu and fish to Molly's diet and go outside for some sunshine. I was also sent home with Vitamin A&D supplements to give Molly once a day.

The doctor was impressed with Molly's vocabulary. (As am I.) Her list of words consists of Mama, Dada, Mah-y (Molly), Maga (Morgan), by, hi, shway (Chinese for water), go (when someone leaves), jay-jay (Chinese for big sister), may-may (Chinese for little sister), back, bib. She can also understand several word including the following in Chinese: light, book, baby.

Luckily she did not have to have any vaccines today. They have to be ordered from the UK, so I will have to take her back in about 2 weeks. They wanted to administer a blood test to check for lead and this was a disaster. The nurse was trying to hold down Molly to draw blood from her little arm. Her "rolls" were not cooperating and they could not find a vein. Not to mention Molly was in a screaming fit. The nurse had the audacity to ask me if she cries a lot at home. Um...NO! Neither of my girls have had this done in the states, even though the doctor tried to tell me this is common and should be given at 6 months, one year, and each year following. I understand the importance of a lead test, but I feel very confident that my children have lived in a fairly lead-free environment. And yes, the air quality is not wonderful here in China, but we've only been here for 2 months. Anyway...they said they'll do the test when I go back for the vaccines in two weeks. We'll see.