Ella had her 18 month check yesterday. Usually, I come home and update the blog right away, but this one was a little harder and took some time to process. Ella continues to be a very healthy, happy girl.
The stats:
Height - 33 3/4 inches - 97%
Weight - 22 1/2 pounds - 50%
Head - 25%
She continues to grow along her growth curves and with her height, should be able to ride the big kid rides any day now. And - no shots!!
We were given a list of questions to answer yes or no to about what Ella can and cannot do. I knew right away in was an autism assessment. Ella failed.
But, Ella's doctor, Loran and I don't think Ella's autistic. Autism in girls is very pronounced, it doesn't run the spectrum that autism in boys does. When girls have it, they have it bad. Because Ella is so present, makes eye contact, communicates and shows affection - it's pretty clear she's not autistic. However, her developmental delay is holding her back in other areas other than mobility.
So, Ella's doctor has scheduled an MRI to rule out anything else that could be going on. Because an MRI would require Ella to sit still for up to an hour, she'll have to be mildly sedated. Then, we'll have a follow-up appointment with a neurologist who specializes in developmental delays.
Ugh. It was a lot to digest for me. And I'm not exactly on an emotional even-keel lately. I practically start crying during toilet paper commercials. I did quite a bit of research, and it's really not a big deal. She won't be heavily sedated, but will probably be groggy most of the day. No food leading up to the MRI, which is in the morning, so that shouldn't be a problem. So, we have it scheduled for July 21, the neurologist on Aug. 4 and just to round out the doctor's appointments, my first appointment is July 27th. So, back to Children's Hospital we go, for another procedure. But, luckily, Children's is one happy place, if you can look beyond the sick kids and stuff - they have a starry ceiling that changes colors!! How cool is that? But, if you want to read about it, the info from Children's is here.
In other toddler news - Ella has figured out how to unscrew the tops to her sippy cups, so now I have to make sure they're on tight. I glanced in the rear-view mirror as we were running errands, and saw my adorable daughter holding her cup triumphantly over her head, as milk poured down on her...So, after a day of 90 degree weather, the interior of my car smells lovely. So, there is a mass cleaning project currently underway to freshen some things up a bit.
Speaking of freshening things up, someone needs a diaper change - badly - as she cruises along the kitchen table.
So anyway, long story short, Ella is very healthy and the MRI is more to make sure we aren't missing anything. It's an easy procedure. The sedation will be hard to see, but will make the entire process so much easier on Ella. Now if only they could sedate me...having a healthy child has been hard. It all started with that pesky choroid plexus cyst at the 20 week ultrasound - my baby is one benign health problem after another!
3 comments:
Oh Christy, that sounds tough. You and your beautiful baby are in my thoughts right now. And the MRI, I've had lots of those, granted I wasn't as young, but the process itself is harmless. And the machine is actually really cool. Ella is a happy healthy little girl and she will continue down that road. Sending love!
We're in the same boat with Jolie, except they're holding off on testing because I was slow too! Don't worry! Jolie can walk, but has but one word! We "failed" our autism test, but doc and I aren't too worried. Trust your mommy instincts! It must be a tall, skinny girl problem- Jolie's 35 inches and 22 lbs 13 oz... off the charts and 25%
I echo Annie's comment: Trust your mommy instincts. And either way, Ella will be the wonderful, happy, healthy girl she was meant to be.
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