On Monday a health visitor paid us a visit for Noah's 8 month development check. How is he 8 month old I hear you say? My thoughts exactly! I was a little apprehensive about her arrival as I didn't know what she would be looking for but I needn't of worried.
As soon as she arrived and began speaking to Noah he opened the floodgates. He still isn't comfortable around strangers and for some reason it seems to be worse when strangers come into an environment that he knows. He is more relaxed with strangers when he is out and about. She told me not to worry about him crying and that it's very common for his age for him to be going through stranger anxiety (I didn't tell her he's been going through this for at least the past 5 months!) She had brought a long some gifts for him too a book bag, 2 wooden books, a toothbrush and some toothpaste which I thought was a lovely surprise.
He sat there playing with his toys on the floor while she discussed the basics with me and ask questions about his feeding, sleeping, health and so on. She was happy with the fact that he is on 3 meals a day and is able to feed himself. She did tell me that he should be having less milk (he has 3x 5oz) and should only be having milk at night time now. I don't know how she can pass this "advice" as all babies are different, they feed less or more, they could be going through a growth spurt and so on. She also said that I should be stopping the bottle now at 8 months old and offering a sippy cup of milk instead. For Noah I don't agree with these two pieces of "advice". He is not ready for just one bottle of milk a day and I am not comfortable in taking his bottle away just yet.
Next up was the developmental checks which I shouldn't of worried about. All she checked for was that he was able to sit up unaided, was able to pass an object from hand to hand, put a object in his mouth and that he was able to use his pincer grip. All of which he was able to do, thankfully.
Then it was time for Noah's stats! He weighed 18lb 9oz and is on the 25th percentile. He was following the 50th percentile line but she said it wasn't a worry cause he's now more active and will be burning more calories. Although he isn't crawling yet he is always moving if that makes any sense. Whether he's zooming around in his baby walker, jumping his jumperoo, rolling about and kicking on the floor or bouncing and dancing while he's playing, he's always moving. He was 50th percentile for his height and 75th percentile for his head.
I was very happy with how everything went with the visit. Although I knew there was nothing to be concerned about it was good to speak to someone who confirmed that he is doing everything he should be. It's scary to think the next time I see a health visitor it will be when Noah is 2 years old!
Glad the visit went OK, I bet it was a bit annoying being told he doesn't 'need' his milk in the day anymore. I agree though, every baby is different and you'll know best! xx
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear it went ok
ReplyDeleteSo strange how it's different everywhere! We don't get an 8 month check just a 1 year. 8 months is v early to cut out all but one bottle esp if he dropped a centile?? Strange advice but sounds like you've done the right thing to take it with a pinch of salt, you know him best.
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