Dr's Appts Update

I finally got Bella in for her 12mo well visit even though technically she's 14mo. She's jumped up on the charts and is 31.75in (90%) and 22lbs 1.44oz (43%).

Ian also went for his 4 year well visit and he's 41.75in (80%) and 39lbs (75%). How he's only 10in taller than Bella is beyond me. It doesn't seem right but maybe I've never paid attention to that. I'll have to look at the two of them together later. Otherwise both are healthy which is what matters. He is officially ready for VPK now!

I didn't blog about this the other day but Bella woke up with really red cheeks the other morning. They look sunburned or windburned if you can imagine. Only 2 options came to mind which are teething or 5th disease which is just a virus. The redness went away yesterday but came back mid morning today. The Dr. wasn't concerned though and said it could be either option but if it spread more than likely it's 5th disease. Nothing can be done for either so I'm not worrying about it.

Enough already!

First it was hives. Then it was xrays. Then it was hives again. Seriously? Enough already! I had to take Bella to the after hours pediatrician tonight when she started breaking out in hives again. Around 2pm I noticed a small mark near her eye. It looked like a welt but I didn't think much of it. When we got home I put her in her swing for a nap. Around 4:30 I went to get her and her right eye was swollen. It looked like someone had punched her. She was happy and smiling though. I noticed she had another one on her other eye and more on her face. Oh geez. She hadn't eaten anything unusual today and I haven't used any chemicals lately. The only other thing I could think of was the new school spirit shirt I was wearing. I just got it today and threw it on to check the sizing and never took it off. So I called our ped and sat on hold for 20 minutes waiting for a triage nurse before calling back to talk to one of the front girls who immediately got me a nurse. I got one of the first after hours appts for an hour later and took the poor baby in. She looked horrible and yet still so darn cute. Her face was so splotchy.

When I took off her dress in the exam room you could see a bunch of welts on her body- legs, arms, feet, back... I never even saw them at home. The lights there are just so much brighter. Got her weighed (16lbs 2.9oz) and took her temp (99.2) and saw a new pediatrician (very nice!). He asked some questions and decided it was probably viral since she had a cold just a few days ago. He said it's the most common reason for hives besides food allergies. Apparently our bodies can send out the *wrong* antibodies sometimes and hives are the result (or a rash). Didn't know that! He recommended Benadryl for her and that was it. Phew! I'm glad it's not more serious. I've never had this issue with the boys so it's all new- and scary! When we got home she was already really tired so we gave her the meds and I nursed her and put her down for the night. Hopefully she'll be all better by morning. You can be sure I'll be checking on her before I go to bed tonight though!

My pretty girl this morning-




Looks like someone punched her!


See how swollen it was!


At the Dr's office. I was wearing her hence my schnoz in the picture. ;)

Bella's 9mo well visit

Aye yi yi. No I haven't changed pediatrician's yet. Yes, I'm just lazy and like bitching about him.

Everything went pretty well today. My main problem was with the nurse. I no sooner put Bella on the scale and she was pushing the button to show the weight (14lbs 15oz). I said, no, she weighs more than that so she tried again and this time she was 15lbs 14oz (3%). That one pound makes a big difference on the charts! Then she measured her length- 27.5in (33%) but marked it in the computer as 23.5in. Umm she just lost 4 inches! And then she measured her head- 15.5in., 16.5in. the 2nd time and finally the Dr. did it and it was 17in which is right on target. Good heavens. Slow down and take your time already. Our ped still wants her to gain some weight but she's on the same curve as the last appt and she's perfectly healthy so I'm not worried about it AT. ALL. She loves her food. All in all, a good appt. She's most definitely my petite baby girl.

So her stats at 9mo (although technically she'll be 10mo this weekend)
weight- 15lbs 14oz (3%)
height- 27.5 inches (33%)

Bella Update

She had her follow up appt this morning. I made sure she nursed well before we left and the results are in....

In 2 weeks (14 days), she gained 23.75 oz!! Holy Moly! She's officially over 13lbs. I can now stop stuffing her with food (which is what I felt like I was doing) because we don't want her gaining this much so fast. LOL I feel like I'm backpedaling now. I knew in my heart that there was nothing wrong with her, she's just a peanut.

She got her vaxes and even the flu shot. The boys never had it and for some reason, I feel like they need to get it now as well as dh and I, especially with Logan in school. I'll have to back in a month for the 2nd shot for her and I need to make an appt for the boys too. I fed her when we got home and she ate a lot! 1/3 cup of yogurt mixed w/oatmeal plus I made her some plain oatmeal with a little brown sugar and pear juice. Then she nursed on top of that. I think I've created a little piggy. ;)

Weigh In

I was on my way home from the bank this morning and since our ped's office is on the same road, I stopped in. As fate would have it, there was a parking spot right up front (probably wouldn't have stopped if I had to park further away- it was cold!) so we stopped in to do a quick weight check. Apparently you aren't supposed to just pop in but they let me simply because they know us and think Bella is just so cute. ;) I went back and weighed her, clothes (minus her sweater) and diaper on so I didn't inconvenience them too much, and she was over 13lbs! Woohoo!! She gained some weight so hopefully by Friday she will have gained some more and I can say *Told you so!*. LOL

Good News!

Bella has healthcare! I called once again this morning and got someone who knew what they were doing. I explained what had been happening and she said I should never have been told to keep calling KidCare. All I had to do was go to the website, print out a verification form of how many children I had and fax it over. She called me back a few hours later with the approval. I have to call tomorrow to find a pediatrician for her and she's set. Yippee!!

Now I'm seriously considering changing doctors. I feel like I only go to our ped. because that's what I'm used to. I want my kids to have just one doctor but I hate getting a long winded lecture every time I go there. He's a good Dr and wants what's best but we don't meet eye to eye on a lot of stuff. I'm not sure he takes her new insurance either so I'm asking around and we'll see. Changing doctors is not about Bella though or her recent visit. I feel like this every time I leave his office. Like...I'm being scolded...it's hard to describe. I don't like feeling that way and I don't like rolling my eyes (in my mind) after each visit. Ugh. Wish me luck in this decision!

No, uh-uh, nope

She doesn't want food. I can get a jar of it into her once a day and a few bites more throughout the day but that's it. She closes her mouth and turns her head. I'm trying not to stress about it anymore. I'm going to continue nursing her and attempting foods 3x day and hopefully all will be well. I weighed her twice today and she was 12.4lbs both times. She's just tiny damnit. I am also keeping a food diary I can show to her ped so I can prove what I'm doing. You just never know if I'll need it or not.

Here was our schedule today:
6:45am woke up, BM (breastmilk)
8:00am BM
8:30am Jar fruit
weighed her 12.4lbs
10:30 BM- started falling asleep
12:30 BM/few bites fruit (in that order)
3:30 BM
5:oo few bites fruit/BM
6:40 BM- bed

Bella's 6 month appt

Our appt didn't go so well today. Bella has actually lost almost a pound since her 4mo appt. so her ped is worried about it. He's giving us 2 weeks and asked us to up her solids during the day and add cereal and/or formula and then come back to get a weight check. If she gains, great. If she doesn't then he'll be sending her for metabolic testing and to see a dietician. We may also test my breastmilk for it's caloric content. I don't know why my milk would differ so much from one child to another but I guess it's possible. My intuition and my heart says there's nothing wrong with her. She's just petite. But the Dr. has put doubt into my mind though so I'll follow some of his suggestions. She'll be getting at least 3 meals a day of solids mixed with oatmeal, breastfeeding as well plus I'm going to add in some avocado and yogurt. I do not plan on adding formula. It's a man made chemical compound that I don't think she needs when she's getting the perfect milk from me already. (Fwiw, if you had to use formula or chose to do so then that's your choice for your baby.) I'll continue to nurse her too and maybe do it more often even though I was already nursing her quite a bit. Maybe I'm dehydrated and not producing as much? I don't know. It's frustrating! Neither of my boys were like this. They were both chunky.

6mo stats- I didn't get her stats. They forgot to give them to me but she was around 26.5in and 11lbs 12oz. She's my skinny minny. Off to go BF her again!

ETA: If there's one positive out of our visit it's that our ped's office is getting involved in our KidCare/Medicaid situation and it will hopefully be resolved by the time we have to go back so no more out of pocket for us!

ETAA: I realized tonight that my grandmother (Nanny) was a very petite woman. It's possible that she taking after her namesake. Also, the ped's office wasn't able to get any further than I was in the Medicaid process. It couldn't be that easy. They instead gave me another phone number that is apparently very hard to get thru on. Of course. Well, if she's not on Kidcare in 2 weeks, we may be cancelling our appt. I can't keep coming out of pocket. It's not cheap!

Well child/baby updates!

Bella and Ian both had their well child/baby check ups this morning.

Ian is 38.5in and 33lbs so around the 65% on both.

Bella was 23in and a bit over 10lbs and is in the middle of the chart too. She had 4 shots today. Poor thing. She only cried for a quick second. I refused the bandaids as they are just TOO sticky and are horrible to take off her skin.

I did refuse the new oral RotaTeq vaccine though. It's just too new and from what I've read, it still can cause the same problem the old vaccine caused which is Intussusception - a blocking or twisting of the intestine. She's breastfed and not in daycare and I don't see why she needs it. Of course, I got yet another "lecture" about vaccinations and why we have them, blah, blah, blah. He was fine with me not getting it today and said I could come back next month for it but it's just not happening.

All three of my kids are happy and healthy and that's what matters!