Hi friends & family! We have had quite the month! Mostly good things…just a lot of appointments! We did an October medical update last year, so we thought we would just do another one for this year. Over the past month we have met with Hattie’s Pediatrician, GI, Endocrine, had a Feeding Consultation, got blood work done TWICE, met with an Ophthalmologist, and started with our new Occupational Therapist. Whoa. So here we go!!

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15-month appointment with Hattie’s Pediatrician:

We were actually really excited for this appointment, because it was Hattie’s first appointment in a few months! Everything had been going really well, and we were pumped to have a “regular” doctor’s appointment. We were convinced that Hattie had gained a bunch of weight, but when they put her on the scale she still hadn’t even hit 16 pounds. She dropped down in her percentiles, and wasn’t on the chart anymore L. Dr. Kallio wasn’t too concerned, but thought it would be a good idea to get GI involved again to see if there was anything else that we could do to help her grow a little quicker. Hattie had to get 2 shots at this appointment, and didn’t even cry! Big girl!

GI (Gastrointestinal):

It had been a while since we’d met with GI, so they couldn’t believe how big Hattie has gotten! When they looked at Hattie’s weight for length, they weren’t too concerned because she was in the 15th percentile for BMI. (I’m so over the “charts… Hattie is just on her own little chart, and she always has been). They brought a dietician in, and she recommended that we start a new formula called Nutren Junior. Nutren Junior is TWICE as many calories as her old formula, and we would only need to give her 3 bottles a day—hallelujah!!! This was such an amazing change for us - not to mention it tastes like a vanilla protein shake, so Hattie LOVES it. Since she has been on her new formula, she has already gained weight!

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Endocrine:

We followed up with Endocrine to make sure all of Hattie growth hormones were in check. This is one specialist that I still have a hard time understanding, just because all of that stuff confuses me. All I know is that our endocrine appointments are never fun, because they always follow with blood work. For the specific tests they needed, Hattie’s tummy needed to be completely empty.. which meant us getting to the lab at 7am. We went for the blood work bright and early, and they couldn’t get a good stick so they had to prick her finger and squeeze out blood for 10 minutes. It was awful. Since they didn’t get enough blood for all of the tests, we had to come back later that day after she was hydrated a little. All of her lab work came back normal so hopefully it will be a while before we have to do that again!

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Poor baby. We went and got a new babydoll afterwards to make us feel better.

Feeding Consultation:

Hattie’s therapists had recommended that we get a feeding study done to see if Hattie will qualify for feeding therapy. When I called to make the appointment they were booked out until late January 2019. A couple of weeks ago I got a call from Children’s at 7:15am, and they had a cancelation at 9am that morning! So of course we dropped everything, hopped in the car, and made the drive to Aurora. I had no idea what to expect with this. When I got there, they brought us to a room that looked like one of the interrogation rooms on CSI with the one way mirrors. I sat Hattie in a Special Tomato seat, like the one we have at home, and I fed her. On the other side of the mirror watching was a Dietician, Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist, a Dentist and a Geneticist. I was kinda nervous—ha ha! I don’t know why? But I guess a bunch of people watching our every move, just made me a little uncomfortable. I fed her some peanut butter (PB2 powder), puréed veggies, and gave her a bottle. After she was done eating, each Doctor came in to talk with me one by one and tell me what they observed. In a nutshell, they thought that Hattie did very well. Of course she is not feeding herself chicken nuggets and mac n cheese like a typical 1 ½ year old, BUT for where she is developmentally, they were pleased with what they saw. Once Hattie really starts to sit up on her own, they will circle back and she will probably start some feeding therapy so she can eventually learn to hold her bottle and feed herself.

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Ophthalmologist:

Hattie’s new Occupational Therapist, Joy, noticed that Hattie was not tracking with her eyes as well as she thought she should be. We have also noticed this, and had been wondering if we needed to get Hattie’s eyes checked out. Joy used to work at the Anchor Center for Blind Children, and recommended that we make an appointment. The Anchor Center is not just for blind children; it is for all visually impaired kiddos. First of all… The Anchor Center is AMAZING. The entire building is sensory friendly, very adaptive, and it is just an overall happy place to be. The Ophthalmologist did a full eye exam on Hattie, and here is what we know now.

1. Hattie was diagnosed with CVI (Cortical Visual Impairment… CVI is a decreased visual response due to a neurological problem affecting the visual part of the brain.) This was kind of a bummer to hear, but we were told that this will hopefully get better over time as Hattie continues to develop. We are also going to start a program at the Anchor Center that will help with Hattie’s CVI. We will start this in about a month, and will be going to therapy at the Anchor Center on Mondays and Wednesdays.

2. Hattie also has Esotropia, which is where one of her eyes tends to cross in. This can sometimes be corrected with glasses, but her Doctor said it will most likely need to be corrected with surgery. Praying for no surgery, but we will find out more in the next couple of months

3. She also has an Astigmatism in both eyes. This is of course very common, but we are just glad we found out sooner than later! Because of this, Hattie will be getting glasses. Who knew she could get any cuter, but oh yes she can... she’s going to be so cute in her little glasses.

Hopefully she’ll like them better once she realizes she can SEE!

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Thanks for following along with us on this crazy journey!! We appreciate all of your love and support, more than you know!

-Abby & David