Sunday, February 26, 2012

Meet The Doctor

February 13, 2012

I took the girls to see our pediatrician this afternoon for their first measurements and check-ups.  Our doctor and her staff have been so supportive since I told them we were adopting.  And they have been even more excited to meet and get to know them.  The girls did really well, but didn't take too kindly to the tongue depressor.  I hope we can teach them to just say "ah" and she won't have to use it anymore. :)

Just to log where they are starting:

Hannah (Lindsay) weighs in at 24 pounds at 7yrs and 8 months old.  She is 37.5 inches tall.  She wears a 3T or 4T shirt, but 3T/4T pants have to be taken in about 2-3 inches in the waist.

Naomi (Shawna) weighs in at 25 pounds at 7yrs and 11 months old.  She is 37 inches tall. She wears a 3T or 4T shirt, and can easily wear 3T/4T pants without them falling down.

They both wear size 4 diapers.

They both fall well-below the 5th percentile on the Down syndrome growth charts.  It's unfortunate, but not at all surprising considering where they've been.

So they'll be using the 5-point harness carseats for quite a long while.  I have a dream that we can get them to that new magical number of 4ft-9in to be able to ditch the booster seats some day before they turn 18.

We braved the lab and we were able to take a boat load of blood for a plethora of standard tests and to determine the effectiveness of their vaccines.  The ladies at the CPL clinic did a fantastic job. My hat's off to them!  Hannah cried like a wet cat and probably had pity from everyone in the waiting room.  Naomi surprised us all when she didn't make a single sound the entire time. I actually found that a little odd.

We plan to visit a number of different specialists over the next few months so that we can get a good assessment of  their overall health.  Cardiology, orthopedics, and a dentist are all high on the list. Then we can set a game plan on beginning therapies and get these two up and walking, running, and talking up a storm.

Our first focus will be on nutrition and building their health.  They both eat really well and have liked almost anything that's offered.  But oddly enough, they are quite particular about drinking.  Styrofoam and paper cups are completely out of the question.  A few plastic cups might be tolerated.  Go figure!  They only drank from one particular mug at the orphanage.  So I finally was able to find a couple of Corell white coffee cups from my grandmother's cupboard that they WILL drink from.  So they now have their own special cups.   I hope to teach them to be able to drink from a straw, which will make outings much easier.  I really don't want to drag around these special cups everywhere.

They drink milk.  They LOVE Pediasure.  And we are still experimenting with fruit juices to find one they will drink.  I have to warm the drinks just a tad because they don't seem to like it very cold.


I'm looking forward to see how they much will grow and improve over the several months and on through this next year.

2 comments:

  1. Looking forward to following this journey of growth and redemption!

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  2. Thanks for the update! I have been wondering how the girls were doing.

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