A Little Something Extra: Pediatrician

Friday, October 17, 2008

Pediatrician

At Micah's 9mo. checkup yesterday, he weighed just 15lb 4oz. This is not good. He was 15lb 13oz when we checked him into the hospital on 9/28 and he was underweight then even because he was so dehydrated. I think he had hit 16lb at some point. Way back at the end of August he weighed 15lb 3oz. There are a few contributing factors, primarily related to his illness, the hospital stay where he didn't get much nutrition for too many days (he wasn't tolerating it, and then when he did, his tube got clogged so he went another 24 hours without food).

Back we go for more weight checks. No big deal, really, because I have to take him back for more shots anyway. He's behind on his immunizations and I don't like to subject his little body to more than 2 shots per visit.

One of these days I'll get back to posting tidbits about Down syndrome...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: My Pediatrician had me really concerned that my child was underweight as well. Until I realized he was using the typical growth chart, NOT the Down syndrome growth chart. There is a huge difference.

Unless Micah is more than 40 inches tall he can't be underweight at 9 months old and 15 lbs, that is totally normal for a child with DS his age. It would put him around the 25th percentile or so. Most kids with DS I know were only 15lbs at a year old, also totally normal.

Losing weight is absolutely a concern but just his weight alone is not at all. Especially since he had both heart and GI issues. Many totally healthy kids with DS are still that small. I would take the DS growth chart in to your doctor.

Here is an interactive one you can use to create a exact growth chart and print it if you'd like.

http://medcalc.com/growth/

Here you can find just plain growth charts to take to your dcctor, links on the left side.

http://www.growthcharts.com/

I hope that he gains that weight back soon! :); October 18, 2008 at 1:36 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi... I am on babycenter and stumbled on your latest post and directions to your blog. I am 32 weeks pregnant with a DS boy. Anyway, the reason I am responding is because of the vaccinations. My oldest son, Nathan :), now 5 1/2 was diagnosed 3 years ago with autism. He is doing amazingly well now, but believe that the main reason that he got it was from the vaccinations (Read Jenny McAurthy's books "Louder that Words" & "Warrior Mothers" to get the technical research behind this). Having a DS son that already has immune issues makes his chances of being affected greater. I would just suggest that you take the vaccinations slowly, one at a time - spread out over time. There are cases out there now of many kids with both DS and autism.

My Nathan is fully recovered. He is on a special diet (No gluten or dairy) and was in special preschool at 3. He is in kindergarten and at the top of his class.

I will pray for you and Micah. I am touched by your blog and although I am not a blogger (writing or reading) I think that I will keep yours handy.

Sincerely,
Justina; November 11, 2008 at 10:16 PM