Little CoCo is exactly that---LITTLE!! Her weight has been a concern ever since her 8 week check up when she was still just 8lbs (she was born 7lbs 9oz). Now she is 6 months old and weighing 13lbs 8oz (3rd percentile), not a big deal that she is little ...it is just over the last 6 weeks she hasnt even gained a pound. By 6 months drs would like babies to have doubled their weight because over the next few months weight gain slows and activity increases. Well back to the point, she also has a few other concerns that we discussed at her check-up one of which is her tongue. If you have ever met my little girl in person, you know what I am talking about...she ALWAYS has her mouth open and her tongue sticking out. Again, no big deal but we are now at the age where she should be mastering solid food off of a spoon. I struggle daily to get 3 or 4 bites down her successfully. After discussing these concerns with the dr we did some bloodwork as a precaution. Poor girl has mommy's veins too and they had to do a heel prick and sqeeze out the blood. Tuesday we got the call and the diagnosis---Hypothyroidism. She has all of the symtoms--little weight gain, swollen/thick tongue, chronic constipation, bloated/swollen tummy, and cold extremeties.
Now what do we do? She has started a drug called Synthroid which is an artificial form of the hormone that the thyroid produces. The dose will be monitored by bloodwork that right now she will receive every 3 weeks and hoping to stretch out to 6 wks for the first 2 years of her life. She is seeing a pediatric endocrinologist next month that will follow her also. She is scheduled to see a nutritionist and speech therapist Wednesday to evaluate if she will be able to meet her nutritional needs through oral intake. Because of the bloating and her reflux she can only tolerate so much of a bottle, and at this age she should be receiving 3 "meals" a day along with bottles. Also we are hoping that the medicine will help to alleviate these symtoms over time.
We cant help but worry about her. I am now constantly analyzing her. The thyroid hormone plays a vital role in mental and physical development. We are not sure how long she has had a deficit (they test all babies at birth and she was fine at that time), but at this stage in life babies are growing leaps and bounds daily. Good news is that physically she is right on target with a 6 month old--sitting up unsupported for short periods, raking objects towards her, rolling in both directions, etc. She is a very quiet baby and that concerns me now, so I am really focusing on getting her to "talk" to me in her language--she is not mimicing, hard consanants, or squealing/laughing out loud. We are returning May 11 for a thorough eval from the ped to check milestones and we will follow a new schedule so we will pick up any deficits/delays early. He said if there are any long term effects, it is way too early to tell just because all babies develop at a different rate fluctuating +/- 2-3 months. We are very confident in our dr and the care she has received so far and we are now just trying to not worry too much. I will definitely update as things unfold.
My camera batteries are dead so I havent been able to upload the last few weeks of pics but this is a RARE picture of my 2 babies together!! Also I got get pictures of Bear's latest feat--Adventure Racing--he did his first race last weekend in Mobile...more on that later!!
