Slow growth

[houseelf]

Yikes...



At my son's two year well child checkup, the doctor said that he was somewhat concerned about his small height and low weight and referred us to an endocrinologist for further testing, namely a bone survey and blood testing at Children's hospital. We are scheduled to go next week... I'm concerned but cautiously optimistic.... I don't know what this means, but please keep us in your thoughts, anyway.



Kelly
Edited by: kmbsjbcgb at: 2/11/02 12:22:30 pm

Kelly, we talked on the phone about it, but I just want to add that I'm thinking about you with this....it sounds like your pediatrician is being cautious and just wants to make sure that if there is a problem that it is caught early! Let me know what they find out as soon as you know.



kris
Time is a Dressmaker, Specializing in Alterations!

You're in my thoughts, Kelly!! Unfortunately I know nothing about little ones - but I'm sure he is just 100% perfectly healthy!!

[Phoebe]

Kelly, Good luck with the Dr. appt for your son! I went through a similar thing before our baby was born with the possibility of her being small. I hope that everything works out for the positive. My thoughts are with you.



Jennifer

Kelly,



I'll be thinking of you. Let us know how things go. It's always scary to hear about possible problems with your children, even if it is likely that it will turn out that everything is fine.



Tiffany

Kelly, I hope everything goes well at the doctor's. It is good to be cautious and rule out anything and then you don't have to worry about it anymore. There's a good probability that being small is just the way he is and it is perfectly normal. Try not to worry too much! I know, easier said than done!



I will be thinking of you.

Robin

[houseelf]

Thanks for the support everyone! I took him to the Children's hospital yesterday at Saint Paul. At admitting, this nurse stopped by and asked, let me guess, is he about 17/18 months. I replied, no, he's 24 months and that is the reason that we're here.



The staff there was AMAZING. Seriously, I have had enough bad experiences at hospitals that I'm contemplating writing them a thank you note.



The little guy was a trooper and even said "tank you" to everyone after they held him down to draw his blood and take x-rays. I think that the results will be back at the end of this week.



Kelly

Kelly,



I am so glad that you had a good experience at the hospital and that Cade did so well. We will keep our fingers crossed for the test results. Hang in there!



Robin

Kelly, I am thinking about you and your family. My sister was MUCH smaller than my other sister (younger than her). Everyone thought Joan was 4 and Mary was 6, but it was really the other way around. In the end, they turned into adults within one inch of each other. Incidentally, they did the same thing for me... sent me to the specialists becuase I was small. Now I'm 5' 8". Go figure! AND, the docs sent me to the specialists with my then 17 month old Gracie. She still was not walking. They wanted to make sure her hips were OK. Three days later, she not only started walking, but was running. There was nothing abnormal. It's good when your doctor looks out for your best interests and sends you on "let's make sure" missions. Hopefully that is all this is. I'll be thinking about you.



Janet

[houseelf]

Again, thanks for your thoughts...no news yet.



My son was a late walker too, 17 months. In fact, his overall gross motor development is slightly behind the "norm", whatever that is. At two, he just started running and is still learning to navigate the steps standing up. On the other hand, he seems to be slightly ahead in verbal development. (Hmmm.... I wonder where he gets that from?) This is probably just a case of a child following their own individual growth pattern, but like Janet said, I sure feel better that we're making sure.



I'll keep you posted.



Kelly

Kelly:

Yes, I'm sure the little guy is just doing everything on his own terms! Keep us posted - you're in my prayers!!

Any news, Kelly?





Kris
Time is a Dressmaker, Specializing in Alterations!

[houseelf]

Only some of the test results have come in. The growth plates in his wrists appear to be about 6-8 months behind his calendar age. (I know very little about medicine so I will try to explain this as best as I can in my layperson understanding of what is going on.) However, everything else seems to be normal. Since there is no apparent liver, hormone, or nutrition dysfunction, the doctor suspects that this may just be his genetic code for growth and he will eventually catch up, although it will be later than other kids. Once all the results are in, our pediatrician will refer us to an endocrinologist just to make sure that he hasn't missed anything.



I'm cautiously relieved. I'm so glad that we changed pediatricians. Our new pediatrician's approach is loving and proactive. He agrees that he would rather find out if there is a problem and treat it early rather than wait and see. I felt like our former pediatrician was burnt out on treating children. I felt that I had to advocate on behalf of our child's health. If a deficiency had shown up and it went untreated, the growth plates could have meshed together before any course of action would have been implemented. Unfortunately, my dh could go to very few appointments somy concerns were often brushed off. I will be interested to see what the endocrinologist has to say.



I will keep you all posted as we find out more... Thanks so much for the thougths and prayers.



Kelly

[DCJenn]

Kelly-



Thanks for keeping us posted. I'll share the optimism with you!!



Jenn

Great Kelly! I'm happy that everything went well - I'll keep you in my thoughts as you wait to hear more!