Growth and Development appointment

Today I took the girls to their speciality growth and development appointment at Children's Hospital. Besides the fact that it took 2 and half hours there wasn't really any bad news. Although we did find out that Brittyn most likely has Roseola. She ran fever off and on over the weekend and then yesterday a rash started to appear on her tummy. Today her tummy is covered and the doctor suggested that is what she has but there is nothing we can do for it. Once the rash appears she is no longer contagious. We also found out that Lexyn has an ear infection. Poor baby, she has had a runny nose, but she hasn't had any fever and she really hasn't been pulling at her ear, so I had no idea. I feel horrible. Last night she was up screaming until 2 AM when I finally had to just let her fuss it out. I had gone in her room and calmed her down. I would sit in the rocking chair with her and she would fall asleep on my chest, so I rubbed her back for a little longer and then I would lay her down. As soon as her body hit the mattress she would start screaming again. After repeating the process numerous times, and then giving her a cup to get a drink, I thought she was just scared of something or not wanting to lay down by herself so I put her in bed and let her fuss for about 10 minutes until she finally fell asleep; her ear hurting when she laid down NEVER crossed my mind. She hasn't been very pleasant today or really the past 4 days. She has been throwing fits and screaming and extremely fussy, I figured it was cause she didn't feel good but never thought about ear pain. The doctor today did give her a prescription so she is on antibiotics now and hopefully she will begin feeling better tomorrow.



As for the rest of the appointment there were 2 doctors that saw the girls, and neither of them are really worried. They both said they are in the 10% for height and weight, but their weight is proportional to their height. The doctor said that preemies usually get their growth spurt later than most toddlers, but he also said that my girls problem could partly be genetics. My family and Ben's family are all pretty short, with the tallest person being 5ft. 9 inches. They did draw several lab test, one is to test the zinc mineral because if it is low it can cause low weight gain, another is to test for vitamin D deficiency. The doctor said they are seeing that deficiency more and more even in full term toddlers, and the last test was to check their thyroid level since I have a thyroid problem. Since we were at children's hospital the nurses that draw blood are AWESOME! They got blood on both girls on the first try; Brittyn didn't even cry. They showed me a new way to hold the girls instead of pinning them down on the table, so that may have made it easier. We talked to a nutritionist about some fattier foods to feed the girls and some hidden things to try. She said to add a tablespoon of real butter to every 1/2 cup of food, but I don't agree with that. We spend our adult lives worrying about clogged arteries so why would I feed my toddlers butter and begin clogging arteries at only 16 months old. The nutritionist is checking with our insurance to get Boost Pudding covered. It has lots of calories so they want them to eat that for a daily snack. Other than that the doctor said to stay on PediaSure. He mentioned that preemies usually catch up completely by 3 years old, or at least that is a goal. So as long as the girls continue to gain weight there is no worry.

By the way, my computer is still in the shop so I am again blogging from a friends computer therefore this is another post without pictures.