3 year check up

I took Kiya in for her 3 year check up. It has been one year since we have seen her pediatrician. Kiya (knock on wood) doesn't need to see her regular doctor often. She gets the sniffles or a slight fever but nothing we haven't been able to manage. That said she does see a few doctors every 12 weeks so I think we are good on the doctor visit quota.

So here is what we learned while at Kiya's yearly check up.

1) She is VERY tall. Everyone couldn't believe just how tall she was. She wasn't being super cooperative so at a minimum she measured in at 39.5 inches tall but is likely closer to 40 inches maybe more. On record she is 39.5. That puts her well into the 90th percentile for height.

2) She is super skinny. She weighed in at 33 3/4lb in cast so we have to subtract about 3lbs. She is in the 25th percentile for weight once you adjust it down to factor out the extra weight the cast adds.

3) She has super dry skin in the winter. The doctor wants us to really work on it and keep in touch if our ideas don't work. We are using the Aveeno baby lotion twice daily with a layer of aquaphor on top and that seems to be working.

4) She is a trooper when it comes to getting shots. She just got the flu shot this year but was so great. One scream and done. Of course the princess sticker helped :)

5) Scoliosis and her treatment were definitely on the agenda. We got caught up on the casting and the progress or should I say lack of progress. We discussed long term what could happen and at what point we are willing to stop casting and go to bracing and or surgery. She and I both agree that as long as Dr. H agrees to keep casting her that we will cast as long as we can. Then if feasible we will brace to allow her time to grow and get older before pursing rod surgery. Our ultimate hope is to not have to have surgery at all but if we do then we would hope to be able to delay it so we could do permanent rods and not growth rods. We are so far from this point in Kiya's treatment but it was nice to lay it all out there too.

6) Ok I saved the big issue for last. The heart murmur. We discussed it at length and she listened a few times and heard nothing. She is of the opinion that it is possible that Kiya has a benign flow murmur which can't present in children when sick, stressed or dehydrated. It is harmless and something she will outgrow. She does not feel that an EKG or an echo cardiogram are necessary at this point but will support us if we decide differently. She also said that if she did have an actual heart murmur it wouldn't be heard sometimes and not others. At this point we can't do tests in cast so come cast off week in January, we will go back and see her doctor again and see if she hears the murmur when Kiya is out of cast. We will decide at that time if we need to pursue further testing.