3 Year Check Up

Sean finally got in to see the pediatrician today for his annual check up. My little ham strutted into her office wearing a red "Handsome Little Devil" shirt and gave all the ladies big smiles. When it was our turn, he went right up to the scale and stood on it to be weighed, then knew just what to do to check his hieght. He is a little over 25 pounds and is 35 5/8" tall. On the adjusted charts, this makes him 50% for weight and 90% for height. Guess it's a good thing he takes after his 6"4" tall daddy!

His check up went well, Dr L was pleased with his progress and health. She talked to me about the Flu vax vs the Flu mist. I told her that over the past month he has started closing his right eye while looking at things, makes him look like Popeye. She noticed him doing it while we were there and said that the pediatric opthomologist would have a look at it. We see him on 10-12, so I guess we will know more soon. She thinks we may need to patch his left eye for awhile so Sean can stregthen the right eye. Great, now I will have a real pirate in the house!

Sean got a booster shot and was easy going as can be about it, because he was clutching on to a jar of food I said he could eat after that. He was happy with the Scooby Doo bandaid the nurse gave him. After his snack, we headed to the lab for a blood draw. Sean gets his thyroid and white blood count checked every six months. Childhood luekemia is more common in kids with Down syndrome, but has a very high success rate of beating it if it is detected early. Thyroid problems are also more common, so they need to be watched, too. The nurse gave me a choice of taking it from the vein or by squeezing drops off his finger to fill 5 tiny tubes. I said go for the vein and it will go faster. Sean impressed the waiting room full of people but not crying or fighting the blood draw. What a tough kiddo!

I am always nervous about Sean having unusual blood work. I feel we have been relatively blessed by his good health so far and it always feels like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. Hopefully we will get good news again this time.