They Might Be Giants

No, seriously.  They might be.

Today, Anna and Juliet both had well-child visit with Hugh.  I knew this would be a doozie of a visit with both girls at the same time and both of them needing immunizations.  But being back at work full time has added a layer of stress and certainly taken a big chunk out of my previously free time, and I really didn't want to take off for two separate appointments.  So to the doctor we all went.

Juliet, when she was an infant, tracked small.  Meaning, her height and weight percentile was below the 50th.  This was of no concern to me or to Hugh as the VanLandingham tend to be both short and thin.  We just figured Juliet was taking after my side of the family.  But then she began to track higher and higher on the height chart.  However, today... today, my child was in the 84th percentile for height.  84th.  She is just a hair under 36 inches tall.  Her weight was close to 26 pounds, which is average for her age. 

Anna, who was heavier and longer than Juliet on their respective birthdays, is clearly a chunky monkey.  Those cheeks and her thighs have been getting bigger and bigger as I have mentioned in previous posts.  And I knew she was also getting longer because I had to move her wipe warmer off of the changing table because there wasn't room for both her and it at the same time.  I didn't think, though, that she was that big compared to other babies her age.  But our littlest girl, our sweet baby... She is in the 86th percentile for length and 74th percentile for length.  She is massive.  Anna 12 pounds and 8 ounces and 23.5 inches long.  That length means that she's grown four inches from her birth measurement.  (But Ray maintains that the baby nurse measured her short, and the nurses at Hugh's did measure her at 20.5 inches just three days after she was born.  That's still three inches in two months, though, which is pretty significant.)

So, in the grand scheme of humanity, my girls are big.  They're not actually giants, but they are big.  This should not come as any sort of surprise to me.  After all, Ray is well over 6 feet tall, and everyone in his family is quite tall (including his mother and sister, who are both 6 feet tall).  But really?  Shouldn't my shortness sort of offset? 

Hugh reminded me that Juliet tracked small in the early stages so it's still possible that Anna will take after the VanLandinghams, but it's pretty likely that Juliet's going to be significantly taller than I am. ... Well, maybe that'll be a good thing.  It could eliminate the need for a step stool.  But, on the other hand, it will make putting things out of her reach something I'll only be able to enjoy for a brief while.

As much as I joke about wanting my girls to be like my side of the family, the truth of the matter is this: they are both super healthy, and I am beyond thrilled.  Numbers like that indicate that my children are thriving, which is what every mama crow wants.  Keep it up, girlies.  Mama's proud of you!