We had an appointment with Dr. Charnette Taylor, a pediatrician my sister suggested to me. I really did like her and she was great with me and Camden. Up until this week, I had been so anxious to see what Camden's weight was, and was almost certain that we had made it above the tenth percentile in weight. But, after the vomiting that had been going on since Sunday, and looking at how thin he appeared, I knew it wasn't going to be as good as I hoped. Well, let me just say, it was down right disheartening. He weighed 16 pounds, 4.1 ounces and was 28 inches long. This makes him in the 2nd percentile for weight and 46th percentile for height. Yes, you read that right, second percentile! He had been in the ninth percentile at his 6 month appointment. Dr. Taylor did not appear alarmed, stating that the gastroenteritis can definitely take the weight off of babies, and now that his reflux is inflamed, it would take awhile to get him back on track. She suggested we hold off on increasing his reflux medication at this point since he had been doing well up until this time and I am to let her know in a week if this reflux does not seem to be improving. She wants to see him in 1 month to do a weight check and also to reevaluate his reflux. He received two immunizations to catch him up to Texas' immunization schedule since Alabama's is different. She wanted to give him a flu vaccine, but since he is allergic to eggs, she decided not to administer that, and instead referred him to see an allergist to let him evaluate the egg allergy. She states that egg allergies seem to worsen as a child ages and would rather the allergist determine where Camden stands with that. She said that if he felt Camden okay to have the vaccine, he would administer the first dose to Camden. She also referred him to a gastroenterologist just to keep an eye on his reflux. She had reviewed his records and noted how we have been fighting his weight since he was an infant and also how much of a problem he has with constipation (since we give him almost 1 tsp of Miralax twice daily) and felt it best that he be evaluated. She said that the doctor she is referring him to probably will not have an appointment until late January or February but felt he just needed to be followed up to make sure nothing was being missed. I appreciated her and she was more than eager to answer any questions I had. She was not forceful with any of her referrals, she just suggested them to me and was fine if I did or did not want to take Camden. At this point, I feel it would be better to be safe than sorry with the allergy issue, especially since we also seem to have the dairy intolerance, and also feel that a GI consult is not a bad idea since we not only have reflux that does not seem to be improving with age, but constipation that is just miserable for him when not treated with Miralax.
I do my best not to be an over protective mother and feel like, for the most part, that I don't fret over Camden. As I have said before, nursing goes right out the window when it comes to your own child. I feel helpless when it comes to his reflux and know that it will take time, but want him to be better NOW. I just keep praying that I am doing the right things for him. Luckily, he has such a great disposition, even when he is sick. We are so lucky that we have such a happy and wonderful child!
Camden playing with the band-aid he took off his leg.
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