9 month check up

The official news is that Jackson and Lola are doing great! The doctor is pleased with both Lola and Jackson's growth and development. Both babies seems to be right on track. I absolutely love it when the doctor says, "You would really never know they were preemies!" I feel so lucky and proud and thankful and well...happy.

Even though I was sure he had, Jackson still hasn't reached 20 pounds. He weighed in at 19 pounds 4 ounces, which puts him in the 25th-50th percentile. He is 27 inches long (10th-25th%) and his head circumference is 17 3/4 inches (50th %). He seems soooo big to me but he is either average or just below on the growth charts. His eyes, ears, mouth, lungs and heart all sound great and despite a lingering cough was pronounced to be in excellent health.Jack has 2 teeth poking out on the bottom. He crawls (everywhere), pulls up (on everything) and protests when we take away a toy (or the remote, cell phone, close the dishwasher or freezer). He stands freely but not for long and is beginning to walk along furniture. He doesn't say "da da da" like Lola but is very verbal (as some of you have heard, he screams and squeels plenty).Lola seems to have had a growth spurt. Even though she is still small, she is now much closer to average, especially for her length and head circumference. She weighs 16 lb. 5 oz. (10th-25th %), is 26 3/4 in. long (25th % up from 5th-10th %) and her head circumference is 16 3/4 in. (10th-25th % up from 3rd-5th% at 6 months). She grew 2 1/2 in. in length since September! And like Jackson, Lola's eyes, ears, mouth, lungs, and heart all look and sound perfect.
Lola has 3 teeth showing, 2 on the bottom that have been out for a while and 1 on the top that just popped out. Like Jackson, she is crawling everywhere we let her, pulling up on anything available, and trying to stand on her own. She is getting better at it and has managed to stand freely for 4 seconds. She says "da da da da" with varying inflections although I'm not sure exactly what each one means. Sometimes she looks right at you and says, "Da!" which is appears to have a different meaning from the "da da da" she says to herself as she's crawling around the house or hanging out in her crib. I keep waiting for Jackson to pick up on it but that hasn't happened yet. So far their verbal exchanges consist of her saying da da da and him yelling back at her. Lola has also started clapping which is really adorable. She isn't all that great at it yet and only gets a couple of good claps in before missing her hands or hitting herself in the face. Doesn't bother her, though. She seems quite pleased with herself.
The doctor asked me if the babies were waving. I had a small moment of panic as I said, "No. Should they already be waving?" "It's a milestone we look for but kids don't all progress at the same pace. They are hitting all their other milestones and if they aren't waving there is no cause for concern." Very diplomatic of her but c'mon, I'll admit it...I freaked a bit. And so in true ridiculous crazy mommy style I have been waving at my kids whenever the come and go. I also wave at the train, at the cat, at Daddy, at the Christmas tree, and pretty much everything else we see. Neither of them have waved yet, but I'll be sure to keep you posted so you can rest easy :)