Yesterday we went in for Karis' two month routine wellness check up, so I wanted to share how it went. First I should say that we saw the same sweet pediatrician as last time, and she won my heart {again}. Dr. Shirley is so kind and gentle with Karis, and she also has a calming un-rushed presence, which makes me feel comfortable asking questions.
This week Sweet Girl weighed in at 12 pounds 12 ounces, and was 23" long. This put her in the 89th percentile for weight and the 71st percentile for height on the regular growth chart. (Technically Karis should be on a growth chart specifically for children with Down Syndrome, but they didn't have that one loaded onto the computer yet, so they just gave us the other percentiles for now. Dr. Shirley was able to find a print out of the DS growth charts though, and Karis was somewhere above the 90th percentile for both weight and height on them.)
They also asked some simple questions like: is she following you with her eyes, does she jump at loud sounds, and is she smiling at you? I was able to confidently answer "yes" to all but the one about smiling, to which I responded that she's close but not quite there. (And I know that my mom would argue with that, saying that she must assuredly is smiling and has been since she was three days old (which just so happens to be the first time my mom laid eyes on her), but judging smiles is one thing I try to be unbiased and fairly picky about (which is probably the opposite of most parents).. anyway, I have yet to see her truly smile, sorry Mom.)
And before we left, Karis got some vaccinations. I had debated doing a slower schedule of vaccinations than the CDC recommends (which I also considered doing with Enoch), but we decided to go with the recommendations this time again and reconsider later if she had any adverse reactions. {We went this route mainly because we don't have any hard evidence to convince that using a different schedule is better, and slower schedules (though they do give less shots per visit) require more doctor visits (which can lead to increased exposure to sick germs) and haven't been researched as much as the typical schedule has been.} She received three injections & one oral vaccine, and she didn't even really whimper that much. She also had some blood drawn for a Complete Blood Count, which came back with good white blood cell levels (meaning they're not fighting leukemia) as well as great iron levels, which I'll partly attribute to me working hard to build up my iron during pregnancy since breast milk isn't that good of a source of iron.
Despite Karis being so carefree when receiving the vaccinations, after she woke up from her afternoon nap, she was ANGRY! She yelled her loudest newborn cry {which still pierces this mama's heart} non-stop for at least 10 minutes, wouldn't latch on to nurse, and also wouldn't be comforted by anything. Finally she burped and then latched on, which I was so thankful for. {the only cute part of this, was when Enoch (who had just woke up from his nap but was still playing in his crib) got pretty concerned and started saying "baba" over and over... sweet big brother.} After she calmed down, I gave her some tylenol, and she has seemed to do just fine since then, poor girl!
This week Sweet Girl weighed in at 12 pounds 12 ounces, and was 23" long. This put her in the 89th percentile for weight and the 71st percentile for height on the regular growth chart. (Technically Karis should be on a growth chart specifically for children with Down Syndrome, but they didn't have that one loaded onto the computer yet, so they just gave us the other percentiles for now. Dr. Shirley was able to find a print out of the DS growth charts though, and Karis was somewhere above the 90th percentile for both weight and height on them.)
They also asked some simple questions like: is she following you with her eyes, does she jump at loud sounds, and is she smiling at you? I was able to confidently answer "yes" to all but the one about smiling, to which I responded that she's close but not quite there. (And I know that my mom would argue with that, saying that she must assuredly is smiling and has been since she was three days old (which just so happens to be the first time my mom laid eyes on her), but judging smiles is one thing I try to be unbiased and fairly picky about (which is probably the opposite of most parents).. anyway, I have yet to see her truly smile, sorry Mom.)
And before we left, Karis got some vaccinations. I had debated doing a slower schedule of vaccinations than the CDC recommends (which I also considered doing with Enoch), but we decided to go with the recommendations this time again and reconsider later if she had any adverse reactions. {We went this route mainly because we don't have any hard evidence to convince that using a different schedule is better, and slower schedules (though they do give less shots per visit) require more doctor visits (which can lead to increased exposure to sick germs) and haven't been researched as much as the typical schedule has been.} She received three injections & one oral vaccine, and she didn't even really whimper that much. She also had some blood drawn for a Complete Blood Count, which came back with good white blood cell levels (meaning they're not fighting leukemia) as well as great iron levels, which I'll partly attribute to me working hard to build up my iron during pregnancy since breast milk isn't that good of a source of iron.
Despite Karis being so carefree when receiving the vaccinations, after she woke up from her afternoon nap, she was ANGRY! She yelled her loudest newborn cry {which still pierces this mama's heart} non-stop for at least 10 minutes, wouldn't latch on to nurse, and also wouldn't be comforted by anything. Finally she burped and then latched on, which I was so thankful for. {the only cute part of this, was when Enoch (who had just woke up from his nap but was still playing in his crib) got pretty concerned and started saying "baba" over and over... sweet big brother.} After she calmed down, I gave her some tylenol, and she has seemed to do just fine since then, poor girl!
posted from Bloggeroid
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing Leanna! I am really enjoying reading your updates so I can know exactly how to be praying for you guys!! So encouraged by your attitude in all of this and your focus on Jesus. It truly spurns me on to love and good works!
O my has Karis grown!! She is looking so good and chubby :). Thanks for the update, so glad you have found a great doctor.
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