The Sattler Scoop: 6 Month Check Up

In many ways it is hard to believe that it has already been 6 months since Casey's dramatic entrance into the world, and at other times it seems like it has been so much longer. She had her six month check-up with the pediatrician last week, and he was very impressed with her progress. He thinks her weight gain has been excellent, and he expects she may even be on the charts for height for her ACTUAL age when he sees her again in three months. He also noticed that her teeth roots are in, which explains all the drooling of late, and said we could start seeing teeth any time in the next couple of months. We also discussed her recent increase in spit-ups and reluctance to finish feeds, and we did decide to start reflux medicine. For now, her prescription is for every other day as we monitor whether it improves her feedings. Developmentally he was very encouraging about the milestones she has already hit (many beyond her adjusted age), and the only biggie she still has not accomplished yet is rolling over, but just this past week we are making some progress there! The major news from our visit is that we got the go ahead to take her off her apnea monitor, and not a moment too soon as her back-up leads stopped working this week. We had only been using it at night for the last few weeks, and although it is a little scary to not have the reassurance that she is indeed breathing while we are asleep, it is a huge step that she no longer needs it (and it means we no longer have to ask each other "Did you plug in the baby?").

No more Apnea monitor!

Our other appointments last week included a follow-up visit with the Audiologist to check Casey's hearing. Even though she passed her initial newborn hearing screen, the doctors at the hospital were concerned that one of the infections Casey had in the NICU can cause hearing loss and they wanted her to be checked again. The follow-up showed that her cochlea is functioning normally and we don't expect to need another test unless we see start to see some evidence of hearing loss down the road. We also had our weekly weigh-in at our Nutrition appointment, and Casey's current weight is 11 pounds 3.5 ounces. Although she only gained a little over three ounces last week, we aren't too concerned as this week's main goal was working on her constipation issues. The juice remedy has started working (maybe a little too well) and this may be a contributing factor to the week's poor weight gain, along with having three weeks of pretty huge gains in a row. Her feedings continued to be hit or miss last week, but overall her total daily volume has been somewhat improved, and the spit-ups have not been quite as frequent (or huge) so we are hoping this week she will have a better number on the scale. Our speech therapist also continues to work with us weekly, and it is such a relief to have someone to encourage us and give us suggestions when what we are doing is no longer working. While Casey's feedings have improved so much from when we left the hospital two months ago, we expect feedings will probably continue to be an issue for some time, and it will be a whole new ball game when we start introducing solids (the pediatrician gave us the go ahead to start introducing her to rice cereal in two more months). I also had my six month check-up at the Endocrinologist, and she was very happy with how I have controlled my blood sugar and A1c level. She sent me home with lots of information to look at and think about, although I am still very much undecided about committing to an insulin pump.

Casey has been batting at her toys like crazy, has most definitely discovered her hands (our goal from the previous week) and her newest tricks are grabbing onto anything and everything! Her favorite thing to grab these days is my face (unfortunately for me she has razor sharp little talon nails no matter how often I try to clip them), but it is so cute that I withstand the pain.

I will leave you with the Doodle's latest pictures: