Sweet 16

Alexis's doctors are so pleased with her growth and development! Yesterday Alexis had her 9 month check-up with the pediatrician. She weighed in at 16 lbs, 8 oz. She hit 16!! What is it about that number that makes her seem suddenly MUCH older and MUCH bigger? 16! Let's buy that girl a car! Imagine how old and big she'll seem at 17 lbs? Se-ven-teen.

Anyway, she was 16-8 in weight and 26" in length. Dr. Miller was thrilled that those numbers put her in the 10th percentile. And that's not on the Down syndrome growth chart--that's on the regular chart. Often, people with Down syndrome have shorter limbs. Alexis might, but she could also take on the physical characteristics of her parents. In case you haven't met us, there are absolutely no short arms or legs in our household. Alexis may not be as tall as me, but I don't think she'll end up short.

Alexis absolutely loves baby food. She eats 2 meals a day, but I think we're going to have to increase that because she is suddenly showing less interest in the bottles. Dr. Miller wants her to stay on the 24 calorie formula since she is growing so well with this. We also get to try her off of her Prevacid to see how she does. If she starts showing any discomfort from reflux, we'll start it up again.

Dr. Miller was pleased to hear about Lexi's progress in therapy. Alexis put on a great show for the doctor, smiling, rolling over, making faces. She's a ham and her personality just shines. I'm a proud mama! Just yesterday, Alexis discovered her feet and showed them off to the doctor as well. Alexis did yell at the nurse once--when she got her H1N1 shot. We're still waiting for her monthly RSV shot to come in, so little princess pincushion will probably be back at the doctor next week to yell at the nurse again.

Today Alexis had her second appointment with Dr. Escobar at the Genetics Center. Before seeing the doctor, Alexis was evaluated by PT/OT to see how she was doing with cognition, gross motor, and fine motor skills. Keep in mind that a typical 9 months old who had been in the NICU for over 2 months would be expected to function at a 7 month old level. For some kids it can take up to 2 years for them to "catch up". (As for me, I may use this excuse for the rest of her life. When she's 16 and isn't allowed to leave my sight, I can say, "Well, she's actually more like 15 years and 10 months".) Anyway, I was very pleased to hear that her cognition and gross motor skills were at a 6 month level. Great! And her fine motor skills were at 8 months! 8 months! And she's supposed to be at the 7 month level. Can you say ADVANCED?????!!!!!

Dr. Escobar (love, love, love him!) came to talk to us and take a look and listen to Lexi. He is such a kind man, and while I'm sure he says these things to all the moms, he just raved about Alexis, explained some things to me, and Alexis just beamed at him! I love when she puts on a good show. Alexis also spent most of the appointment trying to show off her new trick: flipping from her back to her stomach. She tried to flip off the therapy mat, off the exam table, and off the scale. Alexis will need to have her hearing evaluated (routine check) and then he wants us back in 3 months. We actually have an appointment in the Down syndrome Clinic (same location, same doctor) but I think that it's the one day in the month that all the specialties are there. It's a long 3 hour appointment.

As Dr. Escobar was leaving the room, he was still raving about how beautiful Alexis is and how well she's doing. And then he stopped at the door and turned to me and (even though I'm sure he says this type of thing to all the moms again) asked me in a very kind and genuine way, "Are you happy?" I don't know that anyone has ever asked me that before. It caught me off guard and even choked me up just a bit. But I could honestly respond to him without any hesitation, that yes, I am truly happy.