Check Up No. 12563? Okay, maybe not that many...

Today we packed up Madelyn and made the hour and a half trip into Winnipeg to see Dr. Carson ....again. I don't mean to say we didn't want to go see Dr. Carson. He is the best Paediatrician around. Everyone in the medical field loves him. All the NICU nurses thought he was the best and so does my family doctor. The thing is that we have been seeing Dr. Carson so often. First it was every two weeks, then every four weeks, now we hadn't seen him for over eight weeks. I liked not having to make the trip in to see yet another doctor, This is just life with a CDH baby. I packed up Madelyn and we picked up Carl at work at 9:30. Highway 75 was closed due to potential flooding from the Red River so there was a huge amount of extra truck traffic on highway 3. But we still made it on time.

I expressed my concerns that I thought Madelyn was developing Pectus. Pectus happens in CDH babies sometimes because the chest at birth is barrel shaped, or larger that usuall due to all the added organs in the chest cavity. After surgery the stomach, intestines, and spleen are moved back to the abdomen and the sternum can fall, or sink inward. Dr. Carson agreed that her chest was slightly cupped, but not yet a Pectus. He stated that Pectus can form at anytime and there are various degrees to it, and can become larger as she grows. I'm not sure what to make of this. My anxieties are not yet settled on that subject. I pray that it won't get any worse. It really is only a cosmetic problem, and does hurt or cause breathing issues. But doesn't every woman already have body image issues, and I want her to love herself and her body.

Madelyn's wieght is up. She is now 14pds and 15ozs. She gained about two pounds since our last visit. This was great news for me. I would really like to stop mixing her formula at 1.1 cal/ml. But apparently that won't happen. Madelyn started life at the 20th percentile and she now is somewhere between the 10th and 20th percentile. The hope is that she will return to her 20th percentile curve. Maybe at her one year check up in August.

Madelyn's other measurements are:
Head - 15th percentile
Length - 75th percentile (very odd since Carl and I are both short)
Weight - 15th percentile

The good news is that Madelyn is doing so well, that she will probably not qualify for RSV shots next winter! RSV season is almost over and I am waiting to go out and enjoy taking Madelyn with me.