*2 year well check-up*

I know I'm skipping over our trip to Hawaii and I promise that blog is coming soon but I want to talk, well more like VENT about Delilahs well check we had last night.

Delilah is a few weeks overdue for her 2 year checkup but we went last night and saw her pediatrician for it. She hasn't had a well exam since 15mo so I had quite the list saved up as to what I wanted to discuss. Scott came with me to the appt as he likes to be at her well appointment's so he feels like he gets to hear things from the doctor as well. If he doesn't come he just hears them from me and he doesn't always agree with what i say so its just easier this way.

Her stats are:
Weight: 28lbs 2oz  (70%)
Height: 35 1/2 inches (>95%)
Head: don't remember # but its way above 95%!

We first had her ears checked out since last Friday we were there due to her having a fever, cold symptoms and saying her mouth hurt. Alas, she had yet ANOTHER double ear infection. It seems like every time January/February/March roll around she gets them back to back and is miserable until spring. Last January (2010) she had her tonsils and adenoids removed but we opted to not do the tympanostomy with tube placement (often referred to as PE tubes or Ear Tubes). But she now is having the same issue (middle ear infections without eardrum rupture that are not responding well to antibiotics) so Delilahs pediatrician suggested we go see her ENT Dr. Muntz at PCMC and discuss tubes at this point. Scott is VERY against the idea and I am so torn! I feel deep down that she needs them and would benefit from them (as her speech is not progressing like I feel it should) but on the other hand she does so poorly with anesthesia that it scares me to put her under again. If we did this would be the 3rd time since she was born.

The next subject we spoke about was her feeding and route of feeding, which is still Infant Neocate, by the bottle. Yes I know infants and toddlers are supposed to be off the bottle by 12 months and I appreciate everyones concern when it comes to this subject but you must all know that without the neocate and bottle she would weigh MUCH LESS and be in danger for a feeding tube. We had been working with a feeding therapist and the bottle was the only way to get the calories in her that she needed daily. Well now she is passing more and more foods, eating more often and actually eating meals (well part of a meal) so her doctor and Scott feel that she will do fine without the Neocate and instead give her coconut milk. If you noticed I didn't mention that I feel the same way. I feel that when we take away the neocate she is going to drop pounds, not ounces and quickly! I know she needs to be off the bottle but it really scares me for her to be off her reliable source of calories. So my plan is to wean her by cutting out the 2 middle day bottles and replace with coconut milk in her sippy (which she loves everything else BUT neocate in) then in a month take away the am bottle and in another month stop the pm bottle. I may have to just go cold turkey with her but i think it will be much less of a shock on her if i do it slowly.

And the last subject we covered was her potty training. She was doing so well last fall and went on her potty at least every other day. Then she got a flu bug and we switched her back to disposable diapers (so we could make sure she would be ok with them while on vacation since washing her cloth diapers wouldn't be very convenient) and she now screams if we even mention the potty. She loves to come in with me when I go and loves to flush the potty but she wont sit on the big potty nor will she sit on her little potty. I ask her everyday if she wants to sit on the potty and she always says no or screams :( Her doctor said to give her a L.O.N.G. break then after we are done weaning from the bottle to start trying to potty train again. Because her tummy constantly hurts due to food intolerance's or her reflux she said it may be harder to potty train her because she doesn't associate going potty as a happy or indifferent thing. Every time she poops in her diaper it causes a burning feeling and her bum is bright red even if i change her immediately due to the acid in her poop :( So I guess Ill back off of that some and focus on the bottle instead.....when i get the balls to start weaning her!