The first of many

We had The Girl's 6 month check up on Friday and needless to say, it was intense. We of course waited an hour as we always seem to, no matter what time the appointment is made for. So by the time we got to see the doctor, it was naptime and she was cranky. She screamed when they put her on the scale and when I saw the numbers, my first inkling of trouble begain. Her temp was fine though and we waited for the doc. And waited and waited. When she finally came in, The Girl was not happy and neither were we. We went over the normal questions, etc, etc. Then the doc looked at her weight. She hasn't gained enough weight. She hasn't doubled her birth weight. At her 4 month check up she weighed 13.3 pounds and she only weighs 13.10 now, two months later.

The doc gave us some things to try to get her to gain some weight and they will most likely work. The feeling you get when something is wrong with your child is horrible. I felt like a bad mother. I felt helpless. They took blood to see if she was anemic and then collected urine to see if she had a thyroid problem. Poor thing was so upset at being pricked and stuck and having things stuck to her, it was awful. She also had her 6 month shots on top of everything else.

She has had a flat spot on the back right side of her head. At 2 months I asked the doctor about it and she said it was minor. It has gotten worse and so we pointed it out again and the doc referred us to a craniofacial specialist to see if she has positional plagiocephaly. Generally treatment includes therapy and having to wear a specialized helmet for 23-24 hours a day for 4-6 months. My poor baby. I know it isn't the end of the world and better to fix it than to have her head be misshapen, but it's hard. All mother's want their children to be perfect and she is really, but it hurts to have something wrong with her. We will get it fixed and at least then she won't have to deal with children making fun of her later in life. I am sure that we will get strange looks from people that don't know what it is, but I want to make sure that she in no way feels weird about it. I can handle it, I know I can. And I will decorate that thing so it's the prettiest in the world and that it looks like it belongs on her head.

The doc said that because it is considered cosmetic, insurance probably won't cover it. Bummer, really, but we will do whatever it takes. Okay, enough of the pity party. I will wait to really freak out til we go to the specialist. Their first appointment isn't until August 1st, so the waiting that is so painful to do will last another 2 weeks.

My poor sweet baby.