Tommy turned nine months old this past week. At his nine-month checkup on Monday, he weighed 18 pounds 11 ounces and measured 28 inches long, putting him at the 31st percentile for weight and the 32nd percentile for length. His head measured 17 3/4 inches circumference.
Late last month, Tommy and I made a quick trip down to Illinois for the annual orchid show, this year’s theme Asia in Bloom, at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Somehow before last year, I’d never been to the botanic garden, or only had many many years ago, which is ridiculous, considering how many years I’ve lived within an hour of it. So I’m making a point to go at least once a year now.
This past week, our little Tommy turned eight months old. He doesn’t go back to the doctor until the nine-month mark, so we did at home measurements. Currently, Tommy weighs 18 pounds 6 ounces and measures 28 inches long. We’ll get updated percentiles at the next doctor’s appointment.
I’m not one for a lot of pomp and circumstance. But Tommy’s adoption finalization was sort of a really big deal. While you are waiting six months for finalization, day to day, it doesn’t feel like you’re technically fostering. You’re parenting. But in the larger scheme, it doesn’t feel normal. You have monthly social worker visits, you have restrictions that come with fostering (i.e. travel), and you don’t have a birth certificate or social security card yet. Also, you’ve worked really hard to get there. If you’ve been following our adoption story or know anyone else who has adopted, you know what I mean.