Growing, Growing, Growing!

On Wednesday both kids went to the pediatrician for well-visit check-ups.  It was also Justin's 9 month birthday on Wednesday!  How time flies!

Justin's 9 Month Appointment        Weight: 19 pounds, 1 ounce Height:  29.5 inches long           Justin's appointment was pretty uneventful.  He is growing well, showing every single sign of seperation anxiety from mommy (ha,ha), crawling, pulling to stand, walking around furniture, clapping, pointing his finger, saying mum-ma and ga-ga and ba-ba, eating solids and nursing.... pretty much everything a 9-month old should be doing.  Well, except sleeping well.  That's not happening around here, but I guess one day he'll get the idea and start sleeping.  I just hope it's sooner rather than later!  He got his flu shot today and his last Hep B injection and doesn't have to return until 12 months!

Katelynn's 3-year Appointment        Weight: 31 pounds, 6 ounces  Height:  42.75 inches       Katelynn's appointment started by our pediatrician asking her a series of questions that included what her age was, her name, what foods she liked (which she answered cereal???), if she rode a bike, if she got herself dressed.  She was very good at answering all the questions for him except for her last name.  She wouldn't answer that one for him, but she does know what her full name is.  I was extremely proud of Katelynn at the doctor's.  She showed no signs of being uncomfortable or shy around the pediatrician or nurse.  After talking with our doctor, we decided to give her the flu mist and the first of two Hep A injections.  I thought for sure I was in for it agreeing to give her a shot.  She has never been a fan of them.  Imagine my surprise when I told her she was getting one to help keep her healthy and she said, "Okay!  And then I can have a sucker?"  When the nurse came in to give it to her, she told her the same thing, and Katelynn sat there and let her give her the shot and never once cried or even made a face like she was going to.  She was soo brave!  I can't tell you how proud I was.  

During Katelynn's appointment, I mentioned to the pediatrican that Katelynn has been excessively snoring in her sleep for months now.  I can't pinpoint when I started noticing her snoring, but I am pretty sure it is something within the past five months or so and not something she has always done.  It has alarmed me recently because there have been times I have been in Justin's room and hear her making such awful snoring sounds that it makes me run to her room thinking she is struggling to breathe.  After her examination, he noted that she did have tonsillar hypertrophy (enlarged tonsils).  We discussed it, and I agreed to have her see an ENT for a further evaluation.

Yesterday Katelynn went to the ENT.  She was not quite as well behaved there and wanted nothing to do with the doctor evaluating her.  I think it may be related to the fact that her appointment was at 8 o'clock in the morning and, therefore, I had to wake her up early.  That and the fact that she hadn't napped the day before meant a tired and crabby little girl.  The ENT agreed that her tonsils were quite large and if her adenoids were large as well that it would be a good idea to remove both, however, to be able to see if her adneoids are large, they have to do a soft tissue x-ray.  (He also mentioned he can see where her tonsils alone are affecting her breathing while she sleeps.)  We talked about options and he mentioned that it was possible that Katelynn's tonsils (they are a lymph node) only became enlarged after a virus and just never went back to normal size.  He suggested trying her on Singular 4 mg chewables for one month to see if it improves her snoring.  If it does, then we can just continue her on meds and avoid surgery for now.  If there is no improvement, then we will proceed with a soft tissue x-ray to evaluate her adneoids and possibly surgery if the x-ray reveals enlarged adneoids.  I am hoping that we have success with the medication and do not have to do anything further.  I know that removing tonsils and adneoids is a very common procedure amongst children, but I would still prefer my child not have to go through it.  We are on day two of medications so we will see how it goes.  I will keep everyone posted on her progress!