Henry went in for his 2 year old check-up today, and took his flu mist up the nose, and his shot on the leg like a champ. The waiting for all that, not-so-much like a champ. He is so not big on waiting. Wonder where he gets that from? Anyway, the most exciting part of that visit was that his height right now indicates that he will be around 6 feet tall when he reaches his full height. Apparently, if you double a boy's height at age 2, that is a very good indicator for how tall he will be full-grown. This apparently does not work with girls--not sure why, but if you want me to Google it, I can. You might be wondering how in the world he would get to be 6 feet tall with parents like us. Yup, us too. Jason doesn't care about the hows or whys of this, though. He was just going on and on about all of the different sports positions Henry could play at 6 feet tall. The first thing he said when I told him was, "That's a high school point guard size! Awesome!"
While I was there at Henry's visit, I told our pediatrician about Camille's continued poor weight gain. I think he actually said something first like, "So how's Camille? Is she getting any rolls yet?" Um, no. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but I hope he was, because if not, I might start Googling his med school education background further. My sweet baby girl is never going to have rolls. We've already established this. But anyway, when I told him that our scale indicated that she had only gained 5 ounces in 13 days, he said to bring her in to weigh her that day, and that he wanted to go ahead and send her to Cooks Childrens in Fort Worth for a GI evaluation with a pediatric gastroenterologist. When I brought her up to be weighed, his scale indicated that she had gained 7 ounces in 13 days, which he said was not terrible, but not great. (As an aside, I have decided that I like his scale much better than ours because she always weighs more on it!). Anyway, he told me again that a lot of babies who are born early and/or small gain 2 or 3 ounces once they leave the NICU, as their bodies are trying to catch up on growth. "Normal" babies gain 1 ounce a day. Camille, on high calorie formula, is gaining around 1/2 an ounce a day. Since this is not a problem with her actual eating anymore (most days, she is eating 2 to 3 ounces at a time, which is a large amount for her body size), we now need to look into other causes. So next Wednesday, September 9, is the big day. We are considering seeing a pediatric geneticist, also at Cooks, on that day as well, if possible, to see if any genetic syndromes can be pinpointed. I don't think we want to do anymore genetic testing right now, but I do think we are ready to have a geneticist evaluate Camille.
It hit me today pretty hard that as much as we would like it to be, it doesn't appear that things are going to be "normal", and certainly not "easy", with Camille, at least not in the near future. That is kind of a hard pill to swallow since I had convinced myself that once we had escaped the NICU, everything would be better. Please keep praying for us. Pray for peace, joy, faith, and of course, good news next Wednesday.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Ridiculous
I know that once again, it's been a while. I guess you could say it's been a ridiculously long while. But that's not why this post is titled "Ridiculous".
Henry's 2nd birthday was today, and his wagon-themed birthday party at the children's museum was yesterday. I will do a whole post on that sometime soon because it was such a special weekend, which is fitting because Henry is such a special little boy! I love him to pieces! In fact, it's ridiculous how much I love him! (But again, not why this post is titled--you got it--"Ridiculous").
And of course, I love my little jellybean ridiculously too. Her weight gain has stalled out yet again (4 ounces in 12 days), and so we'll see what the doctor says this week. I take Henry in for his 2 year check-up tomorrow, and so I should know more then about what is going to happen with Camille.
For now, we wait, and dress up in ridiculously frilly outfits and even more ridiculously silly bows, the reason for the title of this post. Well, at least Camille will. I have yet to sink to the ridiculously low level of doing matching mother/daughter outfits and bows.
Oh, and don't let the bows distract you from seeing--yes, it's really true--Camille taking a paci! I guess my determination just outlasted hers, because she finally gave in this weekend, and is much happier, even happier than with the pinky! In fact, she now loves her paci so much, it calms her instantly, and helps her put herself to sleep!
Warning: what you will see below is quite ridiculous. It will leave no question as to the title of this post. I know this already, and don't need to be told. Believe me, my husband has already taken care of that sufficiently!
Henry's 2nd birthday was today, and his wagon-themed birthday party at the children's museum was yesterday. I will do a whole post on that sometime soon because it was such a special weekend, which is fitting because Henry is such a special little boy! I love him to pieces! In fact, it's ridiculous how much I love him! (But again, not why this post is titled--you got it--"Ridiculous").
And of course, I love my little jellybean ridiculously too. Her weight gain has stalled out yet again (4 ounces in 12 days), and so we'll see what the doctor says this week. I take Henry in for his 2 year check-up tomorrow, and so I should know more then about what is going to happen with Camille.
For now, we wait, and dress up in ridiculously frilly outfits and even more ridiculously silly bows, the reason for the title of this post. Well, at least Camille will. I have yet to sink to the ridiculously low level of doing matching mother/daughter outfits and bows.
Oh, and don't let the bows distract you from seeing--yes, it's really true--Camille taking a paci! I guess my determination just outlasted hers, because she finally gave in this weekend, and is much happier, even happier than with the pinky! In fact, she now loves her paci so much, it calms her instantly, and helps her put herself to sleep!
Warning: what you will see below is quite ridiculous. It will leave no question as to the title of this post. I know this already, and don't need to be told. Believe me, my husband has already taken care of that sufficiently!
The last one says it all. We had a bow malfunction with an already over-the-top ridiculous bow. Can it get anymore ridiculous (some might say embarrassing) than that? But isn't she a doll? And I guess you could say she is a ridiculously good sport to put up with her Mama's dress up sessions.
Now that I have used the word ridiculous so much so that I don't know how to spell it anymore, I will end this post. Keep us in your prayers!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Today's Eye Candy
I have decided that with all of the precious outfits and bows that Camille has, taking a picture of her everyday is now a must. We have yet to get any really good pictures of Henry holding Camille, but the one below is priceless.
A*D*O*R*A*B*L*E
A*D*O*R*A*B*L*E
"What? I wanted to hold her, and she started crying, so I stuck my finger in her mouth! You guys do it all the time, so I thought I would try it!"
As I said before, priceless.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Latest Appointment
Camille had her doctor's appointment regarding her weight-gain-stall today instead of yesterday. I took her in yesterday because that was when our appointment was supposed to be, but our pediatrician had been out of town, and his returning flight got cancelled, so he was not there yesterday. Can you imagine? The nerve! If I were paranoid, I would think he was avoiding us. Jason thinks he was at the PGA tournament. That just made it all the worse. :)
All jokes aside, our pediatrician's office was great about rescheduling us for this afternoon. Camille was weighed again, and she has only gained 5 ounces in 15 days. Our pediatrician's exact words were my exact words on my last post regarding this: "Not good." Since we did switch to the new formula right at the time she stopped gaining as well, that is what we are going to assume made the difference, and so she is going back to the formula we were using before. Since the new formula had not helped make the colic/reflux any better anyway, that's really no big deal to us. Our pediatrician seemed a little doubtful that it could be this new formula causing this since it hasn't caused this in other children, but since it is really broken down, it does go through the body more quickly than others, and so it could be that it is going through Camille so quickly that she is not having time to absorb the calories/nutrients well. That's what we are going to hope the problem is and not something else, like a malabsorbtion disorder. So, we switch back and bring her in again in 2 weeks. If she has still not gained well, we have to start looking at other issues and running other tests. He has been wanting to check her blood work again anyway, so he mentioned that as where he would start if things didn't get better by then.
He thought everything else looked great--I, of course, had a whole new list of worries that I wanted to ask him about since the last time we were there (little things like her joints popping all the time, etc.), and he said that they were all "normal". The hardest part about all of this so far for both me and Jason is that we now feel like we have no clue as to what "normal" is. If any of these things would have happened with Henry, then we would have just dismissed them (well, I probably wouldn't have, but a normal, non-psycho-worrying, non-super-paranoid mom would have), but with Camille, we worry that it is some sign to some awful problem/disorder/syndrome, etc. It's not a fun way to live, and definitely a joy-stealer. We are working on overcoming that, but it's hard.
I just had to share these pictures of my little ones today. I bought an Ergo carrier because I wanted to have something to carry Camille around in while I played with (or chased around) Henry. I tried a sling, but it just didn't work very well. So far, though, the Ergo has been great. Today, while Camille was napping, Henry decided he wanted to ride in it. He thought it was a blast, and I LOVED getting some extra snuggles (we call them "niggles" at our house) from my little boy. Enjoy the pictures!
Henry riding in Camille'e Ergo Carrier. Luckily, he did not mind that it is pink. Please ignore my appearance. Who has time to take a shower before 3:00 p.m. with a toddler and a newborn? Certainly not me! And I promise that Henry really did like the carrier. He just wanted to take the picture himself, and wasn't too pleased when I didn't comply.
Oh the joys of party favor glasses from HEB! Jason calls these Henry's Bono glasses.
My little princess in a 3-month size dress! Yes, I know it swallows her, but so many of her cute summer clothes (that I bought her before she was born) are 3-month size, and I am dying for her to wear them!
Her big brother was "helping" with this particular photo shoot. This is Camille wondering what in the heck he is doing. We wonder that on a daily basis, baby girl. Get used to it. :)
All jokes aside, our pediatrician's office was great about rescheduling us for this afternoon. Camille was weighed again, and she has only gained 5 ounces in 15 days. Our pediatrician's exact words were my exact words on my last post regarding this: "Not good." Since we did switch to the new formula right at the time she stopped gaining as well, that is what we are going to assume made the difference, and so she is going back to the formula we were using before. Since the new formula had not helped make the colic/reflux any better anyway, that's really no big deal to us. Our pediatrician seemed a little doubtful that it could be this new formula causing this since it hasn't caused this in other children, but since it is really broken down, it does go through the body more quickly than others, and so it could be that it is going through Camille so quickly that she is not having time to absorb the calories/nutrients well. That's what we are going to hope the problem is and not something else, like a malabsorbtion disorder. So, we switch back and bring her in again in 2 weeks. If she has still not gained well, we have to start looking at other issues and running other tests. He has been wanting to check her blood work again anyway, so he mentioned that as where he would start if things didn't get better by then.
He thought everything else looked great--I, of course, had a whole new list of worries that I wanted to ask him about since the last time we were there (little things like her joints popping all the time, etc.), and he said that they were all "normal". The hardest part about all of this so far for both me and Jason is that we now feel like we have no clue as to what "normal" is. If any of these things would have happened with Henry, then we would have just dismissed them (well, I probably wouldn't have, but a normal, non-psycho-worrying, non-super-paranoid mom would have), but with Camille, we worry that it is some sign to some awful problem/disorder/syndrome, etc. It's not a fun way to live, and definitely a joy-stealer. We are working on overcoming that, but it's hard.
I just had to share these pictures of my little ones today. I bought an Ergo carrier because I wanted to have something to carry Camille around in while I played with (or chased around) Henry. I tried a sling, but it just didn't work very well. So far, though, the Ergo has been great. Today, while Camille was napping, Henry decided he wanted to ride in it. He thought it was a blast, and I LOVED getting some extra snuggles (we call them "niggles" at our house) from my little boy. Enjoy the pictures!
Henry riding in Camille'e Ergo Carrier. Luckily, he did not mind that it is pink. Please ignore my appearance. Who has time to take a shower before 3:00 p.m. with a toddler and a newborn? Certainly not me! And I promise that Henry really did like the carrier. He just wanted to take the picture himself, and wasn't too pleased when I didn't comply.
Oh the joys of party favor glasses from HEB! Jason calls these Henry's Bono glasses.
My little princess in a 3-month size dress! Yes, I know it swallows her, but so many of her cute summer clothes (that I bought her before she was born) are 3-month size, and I am dying for her to wear them!
Her big brother was "helping" with this particular photo shoot. This is Camille wondering what in the heck he is doing. We wonder that on a daily basis, baby girl. Get used to it. :)
Sunday, August 16, 2009
I'm still here (maybe not still sane, but here!)
The title of this post says it all. I know it has been way too long since my last post, but just picture this scene: First, there's the husband/Daddy trying to finish one job and start another one; then there's the very busy almost-two-year old who isn't still for a single second during the day; and, there's a cranky, although cute, little Miss Priss two-month-old who has now decided that sleep is WAY overrated and therefore naps should be limited to absolutely no more than 5 minutes at a time; and of course, finally, there's the frazzled, stressed, worrying Mommy who feels like she cannot keep up with all of this. Or actually, any of this. Yes, be glad you are not us right now. I'm sure if there were a video of our day to day lives at this time, it would look like a train wreck. But, we're still going. And most days, we're still laughing. Mostly laughing at ourselves, but that's okay. There is still joy in all of the chaos, and that's a good thing.
Really, I have sat down to write a new post many times since the last one, and have gotten interrupted every single time. When I saw my aunt Jena last week, Camille was sucking on my pinky finger because as you know, she won't take a paci, but LOVES sucking on Mama's pinky, just like her big brother did when he was her age. Must be genetic, or something. I am now the Internet expert on genetics, you know. Anyway, Jena said that now she knows that when I have not been blogging, it's probably because I am sitting around with my finger in Camille's mouth. That's about right. So you can picture that when you haven't heard from me in a while. Well, it'd probably be a little more accurate to picture me with my finger in Camille's mouth while chasing around Henry, trying to cook dinner (yeah, I'm trying to cook more now too. Stupid, stupid woman!), and trying to make sure our dog isn't doing anything she shouldn't be doing. Did I mention that I have a naughty dog too?
All that to say, we really are doing okay. As far as an update on Camille, it doesn't seem like the new formula (the very broken down protein-based one) is helping too much with the colic/reflux. And, worse than that, it has appeared to really slow down her weight gain. She has only gained about 5 ounces in the past 14 days. Not good. And so, we are going back into the doctor on Tuesday to see what the new game plan is. I know he'll be so happy to see us. After all, it has been a whole 2 weeks.
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On a positive, fun note, Henry has been doing great! He was not feeling good about a week ago--he was really pale, had a low-grade fever, and was just not acting like himself--you know, he was actually sitting still for more than 5 seconds at a time. I was convinced he had some horrible disease, but he is feeling much better now, and is completely back to his old self! He has really gotten to be so much fun these past few months. He is such a chatterbox, and you never know what is going to come out of his mouth! He amazes me everyday at what he says and knows. He has started talking in full sentences, and loves to give you a running commentary on everything he is doing. "I'm going to build a tower, Mommy. I want to talk to Nani, Mommy. I'm going to read a book, Mommy. I peed in the water, Mommy." :) Funny Henry story that I just have to share: our toilet flooded our guest bathroom last week (yes, the Whitts do have incredibly bad luck, and yes we are completely aware of it, and no we do not know what we did to cause it). I had to call the plumber because we couldn't figure out what the problem was. Before the plumber came out, I told Henry that there was someone coming to fix the potty. Later, when the plumber had gotten there, Henry started saying, "Gentleman here to fix the potty?" At first, I could not figure out what in the heck he was saying. Then I realized he was saying "gentleman", but then I couldn't figure out where in the heck he had gotten that. We don't really use that word in our family--we are so not that polite, I guess--but he was saying "gentleman" plain as day. The plumber got a big kick out of that! Since then, he has told everyone that the "gentleman" came out to fix the potty. I'm still trying to figure out how my little "gentleman" came up with that!
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I know that on my last post, I promised that I would tell all of my good NICU stories. And for some reason, I just can't. I don't know what the deal is. I guess I just sometimes don't even want to think about the NICU. I want to pretend that it all just didn't happen. Jason called the NICU "a little slice of hell on earth", and it truly was. While we were there, we saw a few people come back with their babies who had been in the NICU to visit the doctors and nurses who had cared for them. I would look at those people and swear that would never be us--once we left the NICU, we were never coming back. It's not that we weren't grateful for the care that Camille got there. It's just that I have never been in a more stressful, nerve-wracking, negative place in my life. Someday I will do a post on the stories. I want to tell Camille's full story, and that unfortunately includes the NICU. But for now, I still shudder way too much when I think about it.
******************************************
I promise to not go so long in between posts again, if I can help it. Now if you'll buy that, I've got some ocean front property in Waco, Texas and a two-month-old who never cries and sleeps wonderfully.
Oh wait.
Really, I have sat down to write a new post many times since the last one, and have gotten interrupted every single time. When I saw my aunt Jena last week, Camille was sucking on my pinky finger because as you know, she won't take a paci, but LOVES sucking on Mama's pinky, just like her big brother did when he was her age. Must be genetic, or something. I am now the Internet expert on genetics, you know. Anyway, Jena said that now she knows that when I have not been blogging, it's probably because I am sitting around with my finger in Camille's mouth. That's about right. So you can picture that when you haven't heard from me in a while. Well, it'd probably be a little more accurate to picture me with my finger in Camille's mouth while chasing around Henry, trying to cook dinner (yeah, I'm trying to cook more now too. Stupid, stupid woman!), and trying to make sure our dog isn't doing anything she shouldn't be doing. Did I mention that I have a naughty dog too?
All that to say, we really are doing okay. As far as an update on Camille, it doesn't seem like the new formula (the very broken down protein-based one) is helping too much with the colic/reflux. And, worse than that, it has appeared to really slow down her weight gain. She has only gained about 5 ounces in the past 14 days. Not good. And so, we are going back into the doctor on Tuesday to see what the new game plan is. I know he'll be so happy to see us. After all, it has been a whole 2 weeks.
*******************************************
On a positive, fun note, Henry has been doing great! He was not feeling good about a week ago--he was really pale, had a low-grade fever, and was just not acting like himself--you know, he was actually sitting still for more than 5 seconds at a time. I was convinced he had some horrible disease, but he is feeling much better now, and is completely back to his old self! He has really gotten to be so much fun these past few months. He is such a chatterbox, and you never know what is going to come out of his mouth! He amazes me everyday at what he says and knows. He has started talking in full sentences, and loves to give you a running commentary on everything he is doing. "I'm going to build a tower, Mommy. I want to talk to Nani, Mommy. I'm going to read a book, Mommy. I peed in the water, Mommy." :) Funny Henry story that I just have to share: our toilet flooded our guest bathroom last week (yes, the Whitts do have incredibly bad luck, and yes we are completely aware of it, and no we do not know what we did to cause it). I had to call the plumber because we couldn't figure out what the problem was. Before the plumber came out, I told Henry that there was someone coming to fix the potty. Later, when the plumber had gotten there, Henry started saying, "Gentleman here to fix the potty?" At first, I could not figure out what in the heck he was saying. Then I realized he was saying "gentleman", but then I couldn't figure out where in the heck he had gotten that. We don't really use that word in our family--we are so not that polite, I guess--but he was saying "gentleman" plain as day. The plumber got a big kick out of that! Since then, he has told everyone that the "gentleman" came out to fix the potty. I'm still trying to figure out how my little "gentleman" came up with that!
*******************************************
I know that on my last post, I promised that I would tell all of my good NICU stories. And for some reason, I just can't. I don't know what the deal is. I guess I just sometimes don't even want to think about the NICU. I want to pretend that it all just didn't happen. Jason called the NICU "a little slice of hell on earth", and it truly was. While we were there, we saw a few people come back with their babies who had been in the NICU to visit the doctors and nurses who had cared for them. I would look at those people and swear that would never be us--once we left the NICU, we were never coming back. It's not that we weren't grateful for the care that Camille got there. It's just that I have never been in a more stressful, nerve-wracking, negative place in my life. Someday I will do a post on the stories. I want to tell Camille's full story, and that unfortunately includes the NICU. But for now, I still shudder way too much when I think about it.
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I promise to not go so long in between posts again, if I can help it. Now if you'll buy that, I've got some ocean front property in Waco, Texas and a two-month-old who never cries and sleeps wonderfully.
Oh wait.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
So far, so good
Camille had her 2 Month Check-Up today. She is technically only 1 month, and so everything was adjusted for that, but we will stay on the typical 2 month, 4 month, 6 month, etc. check-up schedule. The two best pieces of news first: she is now 6 pounds exactly (which means she gained 17 ounces since our last weight check 17 days ago), and her head has grown!
Funny thing (or not so funny, depending how you look at it) about the head measurement (I choose to find it funny because I have found that if I am going to make it through all of this, I am going to have to laugh...A LOT!). The nurse took Camille's measurements, and she thought her head had grown 3 centimeters in the past month. I was so excited about that! I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but it is! So, our pediatrician walks in, and asks about her weight. I told him about her hitting the 6 pound mark, and then I told him about her head too, obviously very excited. He gave me this really doubtful look, and said that he didn't think it could have grown that much in that amount of time. I wanted to say to him, "Look, buddy. I know you are a doctor and all, but let me tell you something. I have done more research on head circumference than anyone on the planet. I am an expert on the subject. In fact, I could probably write a book on it. I would even bet you that I could draw the head circumference growth chart curves for you right now with my eyes closed. YES IT CAN GROW THAT MUCH, AND IT DID!" But instead I said, trying not to grit my teeth, "At our discharge from the NICU, they said it could grow up to a centimeter and a half a week." He then said that yes it could, but he didn't think hers did, and that he would re-measure. I swear if he had reached out and given me a sympathetic pat on the arm right then, I would have decked him. So he remeasured, pulling that stupid measurement thing so tight across Camille's head that I seriously thought he would leave a red mark. And sure enough, he said, "Oh no, see I'm getting that it grew more like 2 centimeters." Really? Couldn't you have just let me think 3 instead of 2? Geez.
But, regardless, he was pleased with the 2 centimeters growth because she grew right on her curve, right at the normal rate of growth. Apparently (and this was all explained to us again today), although it is concerning that Camille's head was small, if it grows on her growth curve, then there is a great chance that she will be fine. A much better predictor of how she will do is "growth along a curve" rather than her head size at birth. That is what everyone across the board has said. If her head stops growing, or drops off the growth curve, then that is concerning. So... so far, so good. Our pediatrician reiterated again today that if her head continues to grow on track like this, then she could be, in his words, "Just as smart as can be." We just have to wait and see if that happens. He said, too, that her muscle tone looked great; she was putting on weight right on track now; and she was doing everything that a 1 month old should be doing. All very good signs. Again, so far, so good.
Other things that happened at the visit (hey, you asked for updates! Hope this doesn't bore you to tears!):
-We changed her formula to a special "colic" formula that is already majorly broken down so that her stomach has less to do and will empty out quicker. He said that all babies struggle somewhat with their immature digestive systems, but that premature and low birthweight babies often do even more. He also said that since she struggled with gas/colic and reflux both, then this should help both of those, since it is easier to digest (for the gas/colic), and empties out of the stomach quicker (so there is less to reflux back up). We are still mixing it 24 calorie, instead of the regular 20 calorie.
-He was concerned about her skin being pale, and therefore, that she was still anemic. She was severely anemic in the NICU, and they had thought they were going to have to do a blood transfusion, which is not uncommon in really preemie babies, but is uncommon in babies born at Camille's age. Basically, even though she was premature, she should not have been that anemic. Our pedi is going to check her blood counts at our next appointment to see how she is doing there. In the meantime, I will try and not google what disastrous things it could mean if she is in fact still anemic.
-She had her first shots today. And I say first because they really were her first. Another botch on the NICU's part. For some reason, they "forgot" to give Camille her shots that all newborns have before leaving the hospital. And that reminds me that I was going to tell all of my fun NICU stories on a post, and forgot. So, I will do that on my next post. Again, hopefully it won't bore you to tears, but I don't think it will. It was like a bad soap opera in a lot of ways. Or a bad Lifetime movie. That's probably a better descriptor.
So, we went home feeling pretty positive. You just can't beat growth in all areas.
So far, so good. I'll just keep repeating that to myself.
Funny thing (or not so funny, depending how you look at it) about the head measurement (I choose to find it funny because I have found that if I am going to make it through all of this, I am going to have to laugh...A LOT!). The nurse took Camille's measurements, and she thought her head had grown 3 centimeters in the past month. I was so excited about that! I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but it is! So, our pediatrician walks in, and asks about her weight. I told him about her hitting the 6 pound mark, and then I told him about her head too, obviously very excited. He gave me this really doubtful look, and said that he didn't think it could have grown that much in that amount of time. I wanted to say to him, "Look, buddy. I know you are a doctor and all, but let me tell you something. I have done more research on head circumference than anyone on the planet. I am an expert on the subject. In fact, I could probably write a book on it. I would even bet you that I could draw the head circumference growth chart curves for you right now with my eyes closed. YES IT CAN GROW THAT MUCH, AND IT DID!" But instead I said, trying not to grit my teeth, "At our discharge from the NICU, they said it could grow up to a centimeter and a half a week." He then said that yes it could, but he didn't think hers did, and that he would re-measure. I swear if he had reached out and given me a sympathetic pat on the arm right then, I would have decked him. So he remeasured, pulling that stupid measurement thing so tight across Camille's head that I seriously thought he would leave a red mark. And sure enough, he said, "Oh no, see I'm getting that it grew more like 2 centimeters." Really? Couldn't you have just let me think 3 instead of 2? Geez.
But, regardless, he was pleased with the 2 centimeters growth because she grew right on her curve, right at the normal rate of growth. Apparently (and this was all explained to us again today), although it is concerning that Camille's head was small, if it grows on her growth curve, then there is a great chance that she will be fine. A much better predictor of how she will do is "growth along a curve" rather than her head size at birth. That is what everyone across the board has said. If her head stops growing, or drops off the growth curve, then that is concerning. So... so far, so good. Our pediatrician reiterated again today that if her head continues to grow on track like this, then she could be, in his words, "Just as smart as can be." We just have to wait and see if that happens. He said, too, that her muscle tone looked great; she was putting on weight right on track now; and she was doing everything that a 1 month old should be doing. All very good signs. Again, so far, so good.
Other things that happened at the visit (hey, you asked for updates! Hope this doesn't bore you to tears!):
-We changed her formula to a special "colic" formula that is already majorly broken down so that her stomach has less to do and will empty out quicker. He said that all babies struggle somewhat with their immature digestive systems, but that premature and low birthweight babies often do even more. He also said that since she struggled with gas/colic and reflux both, then this should help both of those, since it is easier to digest (for the gas/colic), and empties out of the stomach quicker (so there is less to reflux back up). We are still mixing it 24 calorie, instead of the regular 20 calorie.
-He was concerned about her skin being pale, and therefore, that she was still anemic. She was severely anemic in the NICU, and they had thought they were going to have to do a blood transfusion, which is not uncommon in really preemie babies, but is uncommon in babies born at Camille's age. Basically, even though she was premature, she should not have been that anemic. Our pedi is going to check her blood counts at our next appointment to see how she is doing there. In the meantime, I will try and not google what disastrous things it could mean if she is in fact still anemic.
-She had her first shots today. And I say first because they really were her first. Another botch on the NICU's part. For some reason, they "forgot" to give Camille her shots that all newborns have before leaving the hospital. And that reminds me that I was going to tell all of my fun NICU stories on a post, and forgot. So, I will do that on my next post. Again, hopefully it won't bore you to tears, but I don't think it will. It was like a bad soap opera in a lot of ways. Or a bad Lifetime movie. That's probably a better descriptor.
So, we went home feeling pretty positive. You just can't beat growth in all areas.
So far, so good. I'll just keep repeating that to myself.
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