Health Updates On The Girls

There have been numerous health issues regarding the girls that I have written about over the months so I just wanted to give some updates.

Makenna had all of her allergy testing done mid-August. She did exceptionally well with the blood test. We were mainly testing to figure out if she was allergic to antibiotics and if so, which ones. She has only been on antibiotics twice so far (thank God!) but has reacted with a rash each time. We were surprised and relieved to have all the tests come back negative. This means that she won't have a more severe reaction to the antibiotics than a rash, which is the main thing we wanted to find out. We can deal with a rash, it was the other more serious side effects that we were concerned about. We were not able to test for one of the specific drugs she reacted to (Cephalexin), so the doctors decided we would just avoid that one from here on out. We are so relieved because this gives us plenty of options for treating her in the future if need be. Right now in the allergy department it just looks like she will be dealing with some skin sensitivity issues and some mild seasonal allergies.

Last week Makenna also met with an ENT (Dr. Carpenter) to discuss the possibility of getting her tonsils removed. We have been told by three different doctors on three different occasions that she needs her tonsils removed based on their shear size, so I finally broke down and made an appointment. First of all, I have to say that this doctor was the best doctor I think I've ever seen in my life. He was SO good at dealing with kids. He talked directly to Makenna (not over her like most) and told her she has ears that look just like Belle and Aurora (trust me to a 4 year old, this made a HUGE impression). He even tried to race her down the hall to the check out when we were done. So on to her tonsils... he was in agreement that her tonsils are huge. On a scale up to 4, her tonsils are a 2 1/2 to 3 in size, with a 4 meaning that they touch. But he said outside of their size, she has had no issues with them whatsoever (sleep apnea, tonsillitis, etc) so the benefit of surgery would be close to nothing at this point. He said his daughter's tonsils look almost exactly the same and they are still in her throat. He was very thorough and answered all of our questions as for what to look for in the future in case they do become a problem. Overall, we are so thankful that she doesn't have to go through any surgery at this point. Thank you God!

Maryn had her 2 year check-up yesterday. Maryn has been as healthy as can be ever since we had her ear tubes put in back in April. It was an answer to our prayers. She feels so much better now. Maryn shocked us all yesterday and weighed in at 26 pounds and was 34 3/4 inches tall! She has grown a ton! We have always called her our little peanut but we might have to change that now - she is in the 80% for height (as she was last time) and she finally broke out of the 7-8% and jumped to the 44% for weight! Since her 18 month appointment she grew close to 2 inches and gained over 4 pounds!! The doctor said she is going to be a tall, skinny kid. It is so weird for us to hear that she is tall for her age because we obviously compare her to Makenna at that age, who seemed SO much bigger. Well yesterday I decided to pull my journals out to check Makenna's size at her two year check-up... it wasn't our imagination, she was a lot bigger. Well over 2 inches taller and 3 pounds heavier at the exact same age. That's a huge difference on a 2 year old - no wonder everyone thought Makenna was so much older than she was.

As has been mentioned on here before, Maryn has numerous birthmarks on her body. Three are cafe au lait spots (including a very large one on her ankle) and she also has a mongolian spot on her lower back/upper buttocks area. The doctors have always told us to watch them closely and report any change. I have noticed that the mongolian spot seemed to have been growing larger so the doctor took a look yesterday. He said that her spot is very light for a mongolian spot (thankfully) and that he can almost guarantee that it will fade away completely as she gets older. He also wasn't the tiniest bit concerned about it growing a little bit. He said it all looked fine.

In talking about development at Maryn's 2 year check, the doctor asked if we had concerns and I just mentioned that her speech seemed delayed to us due to her ears but that we've noticed a significant improvement ever since she had the ear tubes put in. He decided to check her with a typical 2 year old speech test (asking her about various pictures) and she knew them all and was able to say everything out loud. The doctor said that only about half of 2 year olds are able to do that at their 2 year check-up so she is very normal in her speaking, in fact probably ahead of the game (since she actually knows probably 10 times more than what he tested her for). Maryn's appointment ended with a shot (she missed one somewhere along the way so we had to make it up) and she did really well. A short mad scream, a few big tears and hug for mommy and then she was fine by the time I opened the door.

We continue to thank God everyday for the good health of our little girls.