Endocrinologist

Yesterday was Smidgel’s endocrinologist appointment.  They weighed and measured him so that they could chart his growth compared to our doctor’s visit in May.  He weighed eighteen pounds, nine ounces (10th percentile) and was 29 3/8″ long (50th percentile).  Our nurse was a little confused at why we were there because she didn’t see anything wrong with him statistics.  She asked if there was anything that we had changed since May and I told her that the only thing was that he was formula fed now.  The endocrinologist came in and said that they are usually only concerned when there is a decline in both weight and height.  He said that since the blood panels run at our primary care physical showed normal levels he didn’t see the need to run any additional tests.  In other words, Smidgel is a normal kid, just skinny.  I asked if he still needed to see the developmental pediatrician (scheduled for next Monday) and again the nurse looked confused.  She said that children are normally only sent there if they are behind in their milestones and she said Smidgel definitely isn’t behind in milestones.  We have since canceled that appointment.

Appointments

Our doctor’s appointment on Monday went very well.  They weighed Smidgel and he weighed seventeen pounds, seven ounces.  He is now in the fourth percentile.  The doctor checked his ears and they were clear of infection.  The rash was long gone by the time we got there but I did bring it up.  His doctor felt that seeing it lasted less than twenty-four hours that it was probably a reaction to something in his environment and wasn’t something to worry about.  They did try to redraw his blood but our nurse did not do a good job.  The first time around she just had me hold him and of course she missed his veins.  So, as she waited for it to magically fill with blood I had to try to keep Smidgel as still as possible in my arms.  She then left the room for a few minutes while I got him settled down and then came back to try on the other arm.  This time she felt that we would have better luck with me holding him while he was laying on the table.  When she went to inset the needle she hesitated and nicked him three times and then left again.  At this point he was hysterical and tired because it was well past his nap time and we had been there for over an hour.  She sent another nurse in to do damage control and she asked how many times she tried.  I told her that she tried twice and nicked on of the arms three times in the process.  She apologized to me and told me that he had gone through too much that day and we should come back today (Wednesday) and we should see her.  I made the appointment for this afternoon so I wouldn’t have to take him.  I just couldn’t stare into those pleading eyes again so I felt it was Boo-Boo’s turn.  The second nurse did it this time around and she got it on the first try.  Boo-Boo said that he started crying once they put the tourniquet on so he knew what was coming.  We should get the results tomorrow.  Smidgel turns ten months old tomorrow so I will include pictures of him then.