15 Month Check-up

August 28th Kinley had her 15 month check-up with her pediatrician. Kinley's appointment was at 10:00 AM to coordinate with nap time and feedings, which we like to do at home. Anyway, at 11:00 AM we were still sitting in the packed waiting room so I got up and politely said, "I realize you are busy, but if it is going to be much longer could we please just reschedule because it is getting dangerously close to nap time for Kinley and she is getting really fussy". (For those of you who know that I have a little temper and basically have no patience when it comes to waiting for appointments, after all, that is the reason you schedule appointments in the first place, I really did try to stay calm. Normally this doctor's office is pretty good, but they must have had a scheduling debacle this time or something.) I was told that if I wanted to reschedule the next appointment would not be until the end of September, but that Kinley could see the nurse practitioner instead of the doctor and then they could get her in quicker. While I was disappointed, I agreed to see the nurse practitioner so that we could move on with the rest of our day.

We were called back shortly after that and we didn't have to wait in our room long before the nurse practitioner came in to see Kinley. Kinley did concern the nurse practitioner right off the bat though. He must not have looked over her chart before coming into the room, which I get if he was trying to help out and speed things up for us, but he kept asking the regular questions for a 15 month check up and this was basically how the first few minutes of her exam went:

ARNP: Do you have any concerns today?

Kevin and I: No.

ARNP: So how many words does Kinley have now?

Kevin and I: None.

ARNP: None? What about mama or dada?

Kevin and I: No.

ARNP: And how long has this been going on?

Kevin and I: (Not really sure how to answer this question.) Well, since she has not started to say any words yet, I guess since birth.

ARNP: Can she point to different body parts, like her belly, if you ask her to?

Kevin and I: No.

ARNP: Is she walking?

Kevin and I: No.

Kevin and I finally decided to end this and explain everything that Kinely has been through and that she is being followed by an OT, Speech Pathologist, Early Childhood Development Specialist, and Audiologist just to name a few. This made the nurse practitioner feel better and we were able to move on with the exam.

Kinley passed the rest of her exam with flying colors and once again got a comment on how well her vocal cords work. (Kinley usually screams when she is in any doctor's office and the fact that we waited so long made her extra fussy.) Plus she ended up getting FIVE shots, so that was just the icing on the cake for her. Poor Kinley, she really had a rough appointment and I can't say that Kevin or I did much better. It still hurts every time we see her get shots. At least they were able to give her the flu shot so we have that out of the way. I am glad we don't have to came back in a few weeks just for that.

As far as Kinley's measurements go, she weighed 21.9oz (30%) and her length was 30 inches (50%).

With Kinley getting closer and closer to that 22lb mark Kevin and I decided it was time to bite the bullet and get her a new car seat. We went and got her a fancy new chair that we were all excited about. We finally got it installed and let Kinley try it out and she hated it. The one we got can be rear facing for kids up to 35lbs, so we decided to keep her rear facing. I didn't think it would be much of a change for her, but she definitely noticed and was not a fan of the new chair. I am sure as she gets more comfortable with it she will realize how much better it fits her and then start to love it.

Sorry, no pics of Kinley in her new carseat. Maybe next time.

ENT

If you remember, not the last time Kinley was at the Special Care Clinic, but the time before that it was recommended that Kinley see an ENT. The reason for that recommendation was 1) follow-up from being on the vent for the first month of her life and 2) because Kinley was making a noise that sounded kind of like she was gasping for air, but Kevin and I knew it was just a noise she made every once in a while because she was excited and having fun. We were not concerned about the noise at all but thought it might be nice to get a follow-up with an ENT to make sure the vent didn't cause any damage to Kinley's throat.

Well, last week Kinley finally got in to see the ENT. The visit went pretty much like I thought it would. The nurse came in and did her assessment of Kinley, Kinley screamed through the whole assessment, and then the ENT came in and said Kinley looks ( and sounds ) great. The ENT said if we wanted her to scope Kinley she could, but since Kinley is eating and drinking without too much trouble and her vocal cords seem to work well there was really no need to put her through the procedure. The procedure would involve the ENT putting a little camera up Kinley's nose and then down her throat. To Kinley it would feel a lot like getting an NG tube placed and Kevin and I didn't see any reason to put Kinley through that. Especially when the ENT said that even if she found anything they would not consider treatment unless it started affecting Kinley's speech, breathing or eating.

It was a quick and painless appointment although anyone who heard Kinley screaming on our way out might have thought otherwise.