Jane Update

Jane had her one-year check-up today with the pediatrician. For anyone who may care, I thought I'd give the stats. She is 28 1/2 inches tall and weighs 18 lbs. 3 oz. That puts her in the 27th percentile for height and the 8th for weight. I don't mind that too much considering that we still carry her around everywhere... She is in the 75th percentile for head circumference, though. So she's small and has a huge head. Maybe that means she'll be extra smart.

This last Monday we also revisited the dermatologist about Jane's hemangioma. In layman's terms, that's a birthmark. No, Jane doesn't have a perpetual black eye. I promise we don't abuse her and she isn't that much of a klutz. That big red mark under her right eye is a birthmark. It showed up when she was about a week old. Over time, it grew. Here are some pictures from back in the day:

It started out small-ish.



Then it got worse.



And worse...


When she was four months old, we were referred to a dermatologist. He put her on steroids to make it shrink (the tissue build up underneath the skin was pushing on her eyeball, presenting the risk of damaging her eye). She was on steroids for eight months. We were very excited in December when we were finally able to stop giving her medicine. The birthmark had improved dramatically.



Unfortunately, it started to come back after she's been off the steroids for a little more than a month. We went back to the dermatologist on Monday, like I said. He said that there is nothing to worry about unless it gets big enough that it looks like it could be pushing on her eye again. If it does come back, she'll go back on steroids. I'm really hoping that instead it'll just go away. Most of these types of birthmarks disappear by the time the kids are two. Cross your fingers.

I posted all that mostly to update the farther-away relatives that we don't talk to quite as often, but also partially just because I wanted to show off pictures of Jane when she was little. It's been a while since I looked at them. Thanks, Craig, for the cd.

To end, while I was writing all that, Chris took a few pictures of Jane that are rather amusing. She still isn't really walking, but she has discovered a quick way to get around. The kitchen, at least.




Who needs to learn how to walk when you have a high chair handy?