15 Month Well Baby Exam

It's been a few weeks since this appointment and this was by far the hardest well-baby exam for Annelisa and me. It was hard for several reasons. First, our pediatrician, Dr. Starnes, will be leaving the practice at the end of August to stay home with her children. I totally understand as a fellow stay-at-home mom, but we will miss her! Secondly, we have dealt with a lot of health issues with Annelisa over the last six months and Dr. Starnes was out on maternity leave. Again, not her fault, but it made "catching up" all the harder in light of her leaving. Thirdly, Annelisa cried (really screamed!) from the moment they called us back to the exam room. Let me tell you, it's hard to have a conversation with the Medical Assistant, RN, or doctor while your daughter is almost inconsolable! Thankfully this shows separation anxiety is in FULL FORCE!! Yay for a milestone! Fourth, I hate the conversation about milestones...Annelisa is on the "later" side of the ranges especially in gross motor skills (walking) and it's really frustrating for me to observe (or perceive) what others perceptions are of her. Lastly, it was hard because of the blood draw at the end of the appointment. I had to literally pin Annelisa down by laying on her chest and legs, holding her arms and turning her face. It's so hard to watch and feel your child sob and know that this is really for her good, brought this mama to tears! 

The blood draw was for a blood allergy panel. We've been battling eczema since last summer and GERD (reflux) diagnosed in April of this year. Based on Annelisa's response to egg at her birthday (more on that here and here) we wanted to proceed with this allergy testing. Man! Am I glad we went through this! We have since seen a wonderful allergist, Dr. Joann Lin, in McKinney about the results of the panel. Annelisa came back with six allergens, four of them are considered somewhat serious. The scores of the panel range from 0 = no allergy to 6 = very serious allergy. Thankfully, we had no 6's! 

Egg white = 4

Dog = 4

Wheat = 3

Peanut = 2

Milk = 1

Soy = 1 

Dr. Lin has advised that for the next one to two years (or until we allergy test again) we AVOID all egg, peanuts, and tree nuts with Annelisa. We are currently feeding her a wheat free diet to see how she does when we reintroduce it, as it could be a false positive from exposure to wheat product...which is in TONS of foods! If you really start reading ingredient labels it's mind blowing how many things have wheat! A wheat allergy is NOT a gluten allergy...they are two totally different things! The dog allergy made me heart sick! We have our Westie, Farley, I feared that he would have to leave us to live in Houston with my parents. Thankfully, Dr. Lin suggested that instead we make Annelisa's room a Farley free zone and use a quality air purifier in there. Both very doable to keep our pup! The milk and soy are negligible, most people would register with a low 1 on this type of test for those products so we can continue to feed Annelisa her loved dairy products.  We will continue to carry Annelisa's EpiPen and Benadryl with us at all times in case of an allergic reaction. We also have an eczema treatment plan with Green, Yellow, and Red zones! This appointment was a bright spot following the well baby on June 27th. We have a plan and a great doctor to walk with down the food allergy road! I thought that I was compassionate to parents of littles with food allergies...I've realized that no I really wasn't! I have a new and improved perspective on the topic and the seriousness of it. I will never take a food allergy for granted again!

Annelisa also received one vaccine at her 15 month visit, the DTap. That was nothing after the blood draw!

We would love to have you praying with us for Annelisa! Please pray that Annelisa will continue to develop into the woman God has designed her to be in every way (physically, mentally, emotionally). Pray that we will parent Annelisa' heart and not just her behavior. Pray that God will continue to grant us wisdom with how we feed her and manage her allergies and reflux. We are so thankful for the work that God has and is doing in her little life. We are so thankful to see all the growth and development she has done, in spite of the challenges she has faced over the last almost 16 months. Glory be to God!  

15 Month Stats (66 weeks, June 27, 2013)

Weight: 22 pounds, 4 ounces, 50th percentile

Height: 31.5 inches, 80th percentile

Head size: 18 inches, 50th percentile

Where Annelisa's been by the Stats! 

12 Month Stats (52 Weeks, 5 days, March 26, 2013): 

Weight: 19 pounds, 8 ounces, 40th percentile

Height: 29.75 inches, 70th percentile

Head size: 17.50 inches, 35th percentile 

9 Month Stats (42 Weeks, 1 day, January 11, 2013): 

Weight: 18 pounds, 13 ounces, 50th percentile

Height: 28.25 inches, 65th percentile

Head size: 17.50 inches, 60th percentile

6 Month Stats (27 Weeks, September 27, 2012): 

Weight: 16 pounds, 11 ounces, 60th percentile
Height: 27.5 inches, 95th percentile
Head size: 16.75 inches, 50th percentile

4 Month Stats (18 Weeks, July 26, 2012):

Weight: 14 pounds, 7 ounces, 60th percentile
Height: 25 inches, 75th percentile
Head size: 15.75 inches, 25th percentile

2 Month Stats (9 Weeks, 1 day, May 25, 2012):

Weight: 11 pounds, 10 ounces, 60th percentile
Height: 23.75 inches, 90th percentile
Head size: 15.25 inches, 50th percentile

2 Week Stats (2 weeks, 4 days, April 9, 2012 (the day before my due date)):

Weight: 7 pounds, 10 ounces, 25th percentile
Height: 21 inches, 75th percentile
Head size: 14.14 inches, 50th percentile

4 Days Old Stats (March 26, 2012): 

Weight: 7 pounds, 2 ounces, 35th percentile
Height: 20.75 inches, 85th percentile
Head size: 13.75 inches, 50th percentile

Birth Stats (March 22, 2012):

Weight: 8 pounds, 0 ounces, 70th percentile
Height: 20.5 inches, 85th percentile
Head size: 15 inches, 99th percentile