Doctors and Dentists and ENTs (oh my!)

OK, time for our typical medical update.  I suppose I could start a separate medical journal or something to keep track of this stuff (I must document everything or it will be forgotten tomorrow especially with four of them).  But that would be boring so I'm going to keep it here for now.

First, Maddox.  I wish his ear story was over and maybe it finally is. He had his tubes removed last December.  One of them had fallen out on their own, the other had to be surgically removed and the hole patched.  Ideally they fall out on their own within a couple years but his had been in there for 4.5 years.  So he had it removed which raises some concerns about how the hole will heal.  Thankfully the hole finally healed shut but only after multiple trips back to the ENT.  It took about five months to close which is longer than usual but at least it thankfully did or we would potentially be looking at a more extensive surgery to skin graft the hole shut.  But during the last check, our ENT noticed fluid in there.  You know, which is the whole reason he needed tubes in the first place since his ears don't drain.  So hopefully it was nothing and drained on it's own, but we scheduled one final checkup (which is in December) to ensure everything is perfect in there.  He had his six-year physical last week and the doctor didn't notice anything wrong. 

Here he is ready for surgery.  He did awesome, it only took a few minutes, and it was the funniest thing ever watching him wake up from the anesthesia. :)

On to Kallie.  Speaking of ear infections...Kallie has her first one.  She got a bad cold over the weekend, also is cutting her first teeth and I suspected an ear infection along with it.  The trifecta.  We had her six month checkup this morning and sure enough, she does.  Fortunately, other than that, she is a healthy little girl.  Immunizations were complete torture though since she was already upset with the whole teeth, cough, and ear infection thing going on.  Medicine is NOT fun with Kallie.  She hates it and spits it all out.  I didn't realize how blessed we were with Maddox drinking his medicine up like it was candy.

Kallie 6 Month Stats:
Height: 26 3/4 in (75th percentile)
Weight: 16 lb 10 oz (55th percentile)

Ada...at her 2-year checkup, I pointed out that her soft spot at the top of her skull was still open.  We had to have an ultrasound which was cool.  I'm not sure why...just to verify it truly wasn't closed even though you clearly can see it at the top of her head?  Then we did some quick blood work to ensure it wasn't due to a thyroid problem and she passed that.  So we may have to meet with a specialist to determine if we should do any further testing at this point or just give it more time.  I remember Maddox's taking longer than normal to completely close too but I can't remember how long? 

Grady...no medical news is good medical news!

Maddox and Grady went to the dentist a couple weeks ago and both have healthy teeth.  The dentist said Maddox's bottom teeth were wiggling a little so we're looking forward to our first visit from the Tooth Fairy sometime in the near future.

Thankful for "boring" medical updates with all of the kids.

Two Healthy Girls

This morning we had Ada's 2-year and Kallie's 4-month checkup.  Grady came along for moral support.  He has a pretty good cough right now, so I had him wear one of the face masks like they ask you to in the office and he thought he was so cool!  He was pretending he was the girls' doctor in the waiting room.

Both girls got a clean bill of health and are growing right on track.  Ada hardly flinched with her one shot and Kallie screamed bloody murder from her two until I got to the car and nursed her.  She's sound asleep now though.  Thank goodness.  She had such a horrible day after her last set of shots.

Onto the stats.  Don't quote me on these percentiles...it's something close to this.

Ada:
Weight: 25 lb 6 oz (30th percentile...goodbye baby fat)
Height: 33 in (30th percentile)

Kallie:
Weight: 14 lb 13 oz (65th percentile)
Height: 25.5 in (85th percentile)

I was curious so I checked and Kallie is just a tiny bit taller and skinnier than I was at 4 months (I was a chub).  At 4 months, she's our tallest baby.  Maddox was our chubbiest.

Me at 4 months:
Weight: 16 lb 4 oz
Height: 25 in

While it's interesting to compare them all at this age, I hope they all grow embracing themselves and just striving to be healthy....you know, NOT comparing themselves to others.  Every doctor checkup we get through reminds me how blessed we are with these four kiddos.

Kallie - Two Months

Kallie turned two months old last week!

She is growing like a weed.  Typical.  We had her regular 2 month checkup and she was up to 11 lb 10 oz (65th percentile) and 23 inches (75th percentile) or something close to that on the percentiles. Mom brain.  She despised her three shots and had a rough day after that with her tiny leg red and puffy.  Not fun.  But I am happy to report that she is a healthy little gal.  Of course her head is in the upper 90th percentile like the other three kid's big brains too.  She's always eating.



milk drunk in the morning

A lot has changed in the last month as she has become more alert and interactive.  She is smiling and talking all the time.  She is a curious and energetic little girl and is always looking around to see what's going on around her.  Just in the last week she's been doing good in her carseat thank heavens and is becoming more calm around a lot of people and with being held by people other than mom.  She still loves being worn by me and now Mitch too!

There never is a shortage of attention for Kallie around here. 

 

It's just amazing how much they grow in the first year.  It seems like every day she is a new girl...bigger than the day before and always doing new things.  We just love her.

Just some Checkup Stats

We had a couple checkups today.  Grady's 4 year and Ada's 18 Month.  They both are healthy little kiddos.

Grady:
Weight: 34 lb (30th percentile)
Height: 40 in (35th percentile)

Ada:
Height: 31.5 in (27th percentile)
Weight: 24 lb 8 oz (73rd percentile)
Head circumference: 49.5 cm (99th percentile)

If you compare Ada's weight percentile to her height percentile, you will see why Mitch calls her "Big belly Ada."  The girl likes to eat.  And holy cow all of our kids have had huge noggins.

I couldn't stop laughing when Grady took his vision test (which he passed with 20/20 vision).  She held up flashcards of an umbrella, house, and apple progressively getting smaller.  He stood there with one eye covered and said....

house...umbrella...apple...smaller umbrella...smaller apple...really small umbrella...really small apple...very very tiny apple...very very tiny umbrella...(switched eyes)...huge house...huge apple...smaller house...smaller umbrella...very small house...very small umbrella...the tiniest apple...the tiniest umbrella

I was dying laughing. Wish I had a video so you could see his silly smile and hear his voice getting progressively quieter and higher as he described the "very very tiny" objects. Goofball!

Feeling really thankful for healthy kids today.  We'll be back in the office next with a newborn!

Ada Girl's Checkup

All was well in the health department for Ada at her 1-year checkup (a couple weeks ago).  She’s growing and developing right on track.  She’s actually bigger than I thought she would be.  She looks like such a little peanut despite the large amounts of food she eats, so I was expecting more around 25^th percentile for weight and height.

 

Weight: 19 lb 13 oz (55^th percentile)

Height: 29 in (35^th percentile)

 

She has four teeth now and is cutting more.  And holy cow, teething has been torture with this girl.  I wish all 20 of them would just come in at once to be done with it.

 

Ada 9 Months

Ada Girl, you are 9 months old and so energetic!

 

 

 

You love to crawl, stand, laugh, play with your brothers, EAT, and make silly faces. 

 

I would say the biggest changes in the last month are that we are now done breastfeeding (your 9 month birthday was your last day nursing) and you are sleeping through the night (every single night for almost 2 weeks now)!  I wonder if those go hand in hand?  Even Friday you had your first sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa Carlins and you slept 8:30 - 8:30 for them!

 

You’re learning new, cute things all the time now like drinking from a sippy or straw (you love water), clapping, and waving bye bye.  You’re also practicing lots of sounds and like to join in on our conversations.  I just love this age watching you learn new things every day.

 

 

You continue to eat up your brothers’ attention.  They adore you.  You adore them.  It’s the greatest thing to see.

 

This picture....there's no words

 

Everyone has been commenting on your “curly” hair lately.  I’m so curious to see if it stays curly as it continues to grow out.  I have to brush it down with water then after a nap or wind or humidity it’ll be all over the place.  And you finally cut your first two teeth this week!

9 Month Stats (your checkup went great):
Height: 27 in (21st percentile)
Weight: 18 lb 5 oz (51st percentile)

 

I just love watching what each new month brings.  The first year of life is simply amazing.  Love you.

Unorganized and Full of Random Emotion

Disclaimer: I'm a little out of sorts between all of the paperwork, signatures, numbers and dates running through my mind, excitement, nervousness, major decisions, goodbyes, phone calls, appointments, and everything else going on right now.  So get ready for some 1) unorganized and 2) full of random emotion posts.  You've been warned.

Grady and Ada had their 3 year and 6 month checkups yesterday.  I brought all three kids to say goodbye to the best pediatrician in the whole wide world.  I wish we could move him with us but he said we could call any time and we probably will.  :)  Both kids got a clean bill of health.

Grady Bug @ 3 Years:
Weight - 29 lb 4 oz (25th percentile)
Height - 36 1/2" (25th percentile)

Ada @ 6 Months:
Weight: 15 lb 9 oz (38th percentile)
Height: 25 3/4" (38th percentile)

Today was the kids last day at their daycare.  We've been there since Maddox was 12 weeks old and the kids have really developed some "best friends" that will be greatly missed.  I about lost it when Grady's teacher said she felt so sad for him and his girlfriend that he is inseparable with and walks around lost when he isn't there to play with.  After dropping Maddox and Ada off I peaked back into Grady's room and saw them sitting there together eating breakfast and giggling about something and my eyes filled with tears watching them as she spotted me and said, "There's your mommy Grady!" and they both waved and blew me kisses.  Honestly Maddox has been having some issues with his two best friends and when I asked him if he was going to miss them he told me, "No, but they're going to miss me!"  Haha, I guess that makes things easier on us all.  I really think this is the best daycare on earth.  We've gotten to know and love all of the teachers over the last 4.5 years.  I'm going to miss it big time and am pretty nervous about Monday at the new daycare.  Last night we wrote Thank Yous to all of their friends and teachers.  Grady picked out little frogs to give to all of his friends and Maddox lizards.  Then we brought some Angry Birds graham crackers for treats today because Maddox's classroom is obsessed and knows all of the names, levels, worlds, whatever of all of the Angry Birds.  In fact, Maddox came home with a bunch of pictures of "ice bird??" and other angry birds from his friends.

Signing his thank yous

Every morning, I would bring my bags out to the car and back it out of the garage before bringing the kids out.  The boys would always wait by the window and wave when I backed up.  I can't wait to have an attached garage but I'm going to miss this...

They are really excited about starting at their new daycare Monday.

Ada's 4 Month Checkup and Stuff

Nothing much to report other than she's healthy and growing EXACTLY as her brothers did!  Starting out small, jumping above the 50th percentile in the first two months and then creeping down to settle into the 20th/30th percentile all the while maintaining that 90th percentile head!  What can I say...our kids have big brains. 

Height: 24 1/4 in
Weight: 13 lb 1.5 oz
Head: 42.5 cm

Why do we record height in inches and head circumference in centimeters?! 

Ada is really rolling now.  She never stays on her back unless you're there talking to her.  She's really starting to hit that fun, social baby age.



We'll be trying cereal once she has somewhere to sit!

Ada's 2 month Checkup

Stats:
Weight - 11 lb 2 oz (50th percentile)
Length - 22.5 in (50th percentile)

Oh how I despise that bright-red-in-the-face-please-just-take-a-breath cry when they stick that needle into their tiny legs.  She was being all sweet laying there smiling at me when Poke Poke Poke.  Not happy.  She's out for the count now.  Time to pack for Florida!

Time for your checkup. Time for your checkup.

Thank you Doc McStuffins. Maddox was excited for his 4 year checkup today. EXCITED I tell you. He was rubbing it in to Grady, "I get a checkup and you don't!" Weirdo! I was a little nervous to bring all 3 kids myself but Ada slept the whole time and Grady read books. Maddox did great. He was all giddy and laughing when they checked his blood pressure and thought he was so cool when he had to walk and jump. No shots this year! Both boys got the flu mist.

His sucker is smiling...



 

Ada's 3-day checkup

Ada is such a superstar.  We went in for her 3-day checkup today which is supposed to be 4-day but there's a holiday weekend ahead so we had to go in a day early.  They like to check the baby's weight and jaundice level and make sure everything's going alright.

She has already surpassed her birthweight!  She weighs 6 lb 11 oz.  My champ eater, that was so great to hear.  Also her biliruben level was really low so no jaundice!

Sleeping in this morning.  Check out that dark hair.

 

4 Months Old - Grady Style

Look how much I've grown in the last month!

Grady's List of Favorite Things:

1. My Binky

2. Maddox - I loooooove watching him run around

3. Toys

4. Grabbing things and putting them in my mouth
5. Chewing on my fingers
6. Giggling
7. My changing table
8. Talking and squealing
9. Going outside
10. Swimming

I went to the doctor again.  I weigh 14 lb 11 oz and I'm 24 in long...Mom thought I was taller than that for sure!  How do I compare in size to the rest of my family?  hehe...Mom wins! ;o)

Me:              14 lb 11 oz     24 in
Maddox:      15 lb 2 oz       24 3/4 in
Dad:             12 lb 14 oz    24 1/4 in
Mom:           16 lb 4 oz      25 in

I had to get two shots.  They hurt but I only screamed for about 1 second.  I let Maddox do all the crying.  I don't get it...the doctor is so nice, but Maddox started crying when we turned into the parking lot and cried the whole time we were there.  Maybe I need to have a little talk with him about this whole doctor thing.  I dunno.

I love toys!!

Mommy is always trying to get cute picture of me and bro...keep trying Mom...

2 Months Old - Grady Style

Look how much I've grown!

Grady's List of Favorite Things:

1. Smiling - Life is good!

2. Ceiling fans

3. Mom - I'm not afraid to admit I'm a mama's boy

4. Dad - Oh how I love to listen to him talk!

5. Maddox - I could watch him all day

6. Talking

7. Eating - but I'm not a huge fan of those bottle things they keep pulling out on me

8. Cameras

9. Sleeping swaddled at night (7-8 hour stretches!)

10. Sleeping in with Mom in the morning

Today I went to this place that Mommy called the "doctor's office."  That nice man poked and prodded and talked a lot.  All I got out of it was that he thinks I'm really strong which we all know is true.   Since I like to eat so much I've gained 5 lbs since I was born!  I weigh 11 lb 14 oz and now I'm 23 inches long.  All was fine and dandy and I was thinking this doctor thing was alright, but then all of a sudden this lady came in.  I was just minding my own business sucking on my binky when she stuck these huge sharp things in my legs!  I screamed at her!  How mean.  Once Mommy gave me my binky back I decided it wasn't so bad and took a snooze on the 2-block ride home. 

Check out my bandaids!  I only had to get 3 shots - Maddox had to get 5 when he was 2 months old.

I love this guy...

Do you think I look like my big brother?

Mommy doesn't think so.  She thinks I look so much like her, double chin and all.

That's all for now.  Talk to you in a month!

~GRADY J.

Champion Eater, Champion Sleeper

I really couldn't ask for Grady to be more easy of a baby right now. He has eaten like a champ since the moment he was born and slept like a champ since the night we came home. He sleeps two 4-hour stretches every night and we sleep in until 10:00! I really don't count on this lasting forever but I'm appreciating it while it lasts.

On Wednesday, we went in for his "2 days after the hospital" checkup which is optional, but I wanted to go in to make sure he was gaining weight and I had a few questions about breastfeeding (as if I haven't done that for a year already). Mr. Grady's biliruben level was at 2 (Maddox's was around 18 at this point) and he weighed 6 lb 15 oz! Yes, that's just over his birthweight. She actually had to recheck it because she didn't believe it. They expect them to reach their birthweight by their 2-week checkup, not their 4-day checkup. ;o)


We "started" his newborn photos the other day. I'll share a few because these aren't being used for his announcements. Follow the link below.

Newborn Photos

We have also had some beautiful weather up near 60 degrees this week! Mitch took all week off which has been such a great help for me and he got a lot down around the house. We grilled out and played outside the last few nights which Maddox is just loving and we are loving having the yard to let him run!

Jumping...

Dribbling...

6 Month Dr. Appt

His 6 month checkup went well!

Weight: 17 lb 2 oz (45th percentile)
Height: 26 in (24th percentile)
Head: 45.3 in (85th percentile)

This boy is all brains. ;o)

There's really nothing to report. Dr. Nau said he is "healthy and thriving." When he was checking him over, Maddox was giggling because he was being tickled! Dr. Nau said we should be working on 2 meals a day which I had already started and Maddox is doing well with. He is right on track for milestones. Dr. Nau said he should be sitting assisted and Maddox is close to sitting by himself. Dr. said to keep in mind that he is top heavy. ;o) He said he should be crawling by the next appointment which I think it will be far before his next appointment. He should be able to roll and boy can he roll. He should be grabbing things and putting them in his mouth and passing them from hand to hand. BTW, he passes things from his right hand to his left hand and then plays with them / shakes them. I do think he is going to be left handed.

Shots were worse than the last two times which I believe is because he is "smarter" now. It wasn't the scream where he quits breathing, but an actual cry where he was just pissed at us and mad that we would do such a thing! Plus the fact that he doesn't just lay around anymore made the rest of the day difficult. Whenever he would stand or I would sit him up he would start crying because it hurt. I gave him tylenol and we had to give him tylenol in the middle of the night too.

4 month Dr. Appt

First of all:

1 year ago today I found out I was pregnant
7 years ago today Mitch and I started dating

Time really does fly by!

Maddox's 4 month appt went great today. He looks perfectly healthy. Stats:

15 lb 2 oz (60th percentile)
24 3/4 in (40th percentile)

I told Dr. Nau that he is still waking up in the middle of the night to eat and he said that's normal for a breastfed baby (which I knew) and that if he still isn't sleeping through the night at 6 months then we'll start "working on it." He did say that we can start rice cereal whenever we want! He also looked at me and asked where I am compared to my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight. He said, "Don't worry, I'm happily married. (ha ha very funny) You just need to make sure you are getting enough calories and fat every day for your little guy." Yeah...it's not like I'm on a diet or exercising! I guess I'll have an extra scoop of ice cream every night.

Then came those dreaded shots again. 2 in the left leg, 2 in the right leg, 1 oral. They will have the combined shot ready next time (I was hoping for it this time). He screamed just like last time for about 30 seconds and was back to his smily self once I had him dressed.

Then we headed to Target to pick up a highchair (Fisher Price space saver - similar to Alexa's at my Mom and Dad's), bowls, spoons, and rice cereal. I can't wait to try that tomorrow! Dr. Nau said that if he isn't interested, don't force it. He doesn't really need solids until 6 months. We'll give it a try!

Now he's in bed already - went to bed at 7:00. Those shots really wear him out.

Uh oh, he's up!

2 month Dr. Appt

Remember that 5 lb 6 oz tiny baby that we brought home from the hospital 2 months ago? You might not recognize him now at 12 lb 10 oz! He has also gone from 19 inches to 22 1/2 inches. Dr. Nau was very happy with his growth. He went from the 10th to the 75th percentile in weight!! But only from the 15th to 35th percentile in height.

Other than that, he had a clean bill of health. Dr. Nau said he looks "great." We had been curious about Maddox only pooping every other day, but before I even mentioned that the doctor asked if his poop frequency had gone down. He said that it is normal for breastfed babies to only poop every 3-4 days and the "record" for his patients was a baby that only pooped every 10th day! I told him that Maddox gets a 4-5 hour stretch of sleep each night and he said that is really good for a breastfed baby at 2 months. Breastfed babies need to eat a lot more than formula fed babies during the night and normally take longer to start sleeping through the night.

Then came the shots. :o( Poor guy. He actually handled them pretty well though. He had one oral, 3 shots in his right leg, and 2 in the left. The nurse did it so fast! He screamed...you know that "red-faced, stop-breathing" type of cry. But it only lasted for a minute and he was done crying by the time I had him dressed. We stopped downstairs to see Tracy Faust (she works in the Accounting department). She held him and he was doing great, just frowning and whining every once in a while. When we got home I gave him some tylenol, fed him, and now he is sleeping heavily in his swing! Here he is with his Wiley Coyote bandaids (on those chunky legs)...

2 week checkup & Due Date

We took Maddox in for his 2 week checkup yesterday. At 2 weeks, he is expected to be back up to his birth weight (5 lb 15 oz). Well, he is 7 lb! What an oinker. We were so surprised. Other than that, he looked healthy and the doctor didn't have any concerns.

He is doing really well. We are on a VERY strict schedule...when Maddox wants to eat, he eats...when Maddox wants to sleep, he sleeps. ;o) He's very awake in the mornings and sleepy in the afternoon and night time. He usually eats about every 2 - 3 hours and sleeps between feedings (except for in the morning). He doesn't cry very often and is easily calmed if he does cry. He is just adorable and we are enjoying him so much!

Maddox is due today! ;o) So today I've been wondering what it would be like if I was still pregnant. For some odd reason, I hope the next time I'm pregnant that I will reach my due date so that I can experience that anticipation. (I'm sure the people reading this that have reached their due date or have gone overdue think I'm nuts) On the flip side, I am soooo happy that I have a 2-week-old outside baby instead of a 40-week-old inside baby!