Kye turned nine in March. His 9 year check up happened to fall on the same day as his school field trip to Jacksonville Zoo. When I called to reschedule his appointment the soonest one they had was in July. I was annoyed and asked them if we could just skip this year because I didn’t want to mess up the routine of him going to his annual visit every March. I like their appointments to be as close to their actual birthdays as possible, which I don’t think is an unrealistic thing to want to have.
When Kye and I showed up to his appointment in July they had canceled it. Yup. Randomly cancelled it. So they wanted to reschedule again which I was beyond frustrated about so I told them I would just bring him in August when I brought Tess for her check up and they were okay with breaking their office rule of multiple kids not being allowed in the same appointment. I also told them it’s important to me to have his 10 year well check up in March next year so we went ahead and scheduled it for then.
Not the best way to start of a well check up appointment for him. It’s always interesting to me to see how things work out. Because I had multiple opportunities to not go to this appointment. When I had to cancel his original one due to the field trip, I could have just skipped this year (there are no shots or anything at the 9 year appointment). When they had messed up and canceled our July appointment, I could have just skipped this year. I could have put it all off and waited until March for when he’s 10 and just have his visit then. But I didn’t. And I think God helped make sure I was there for that appointment that day. Hurdles kept coming, but I kept jumping them and I wish I’d been able to go in March but am at least thankful we went in August!
Since we were already taking half of our crew to the doctor that day (Friday August 17th) I went ahead and gave Spear eggs again that morning. I figured that way if he had any sort of rash again when he ate them that we could just bring him along to the appointment with us and be checked out at the same time. Kill several birds with one stone, right?
Spear did totally FINE when I re-introduced cheerios and did totally fine when I re-introduced eggs. I guess the rash he got that day just was a coincidence and totally unrelated to the foods he was eating or it was just some fluke his first time trying them and he’s fine now? So weird but I’ll happily take it as a win!
The four year visit is a BIG check up appointment. It’s MEGA shot time so I’m thankful Zach was able to work his schedule around being there with us as I think it’s important for him to handle the shots whenever possible. Tess was so incredible during the whole visit. We had some insurance issues (our pediatrician is no longer taking our insurance which is disappointing and means extra work on our end to have to file it.
We’ve been super loyal with this office since Kye was born and I really hate to make a switch when I adore so many of the staff and feel so comfortable there. But we are considering switching as having this many kids and having to file the insurance ourselves every single visit is a LOT.
I was dealing with some of the insurance junk and missed the start of Tess’s visit but this was a big one for her with her eye exam and hearing test and she did beautifully on both of them!
She was funny during the hearing test. Tess doesn’t like responding when asked a question. At school when they’d ask if she knew what letter they were holding up she’d say “no” when she’d really know the answer just because she didn’t want to vocalize the answer. I’m not sure the “why” behind that and it’s kinda a tricky thing to parent?!? She did the same thing with the hearing test. She heard the sound. We could tell she heard it. But she didn’t want to raise her hand. She eventually got rolling with it and did great and passed with no concerns!
While there I had them take a look at my eye. Yall this MRSA battle is not an easy one to fight whatsoever. I personally think maybe it’s stress induced? Or lack of sleep induced? I have to become more hardcore about doing the ointment in my nose. It always comes back to my eye. The same eye. The same spot. Every time. It’s almost like an ingrown hair combined with a pimple sorta but it never comes to a head or anything but is hard and painful.
In case anyone else deals with it this is the ointment I use. You take a qtip and put the ointment in each nostril. Supposedly it helps prevent the MRSA because it actually lives in your nose. Fun stuff. I know. It also helps to put it on the area where the MRSA is located to help heal it. The last few times I’ve dealt with it I haven’t had to take any antibiotics because I’ve been able to battle it on my own with the ointment!
A LOT was covered at this appointment. Let’s cover Tess first!
Tess is 39.25 inches tall (49th percentile), 31 lbs (11th percentile), and has an excellent hemoglobin of 12.2. She also passed her hearing and vision tests beautifully.
At her 3 year well visit she was 36.5 inches tall (35th percentile), 28.5 lbs (25th percentile). BMI is 25%. (they didn’t talk about BMI at her 4 year check up?)
To compare with her siblings…at Britt’s 4 year well visit she was: 41.5 inches tall (76th percentile) and 34.5 lbs (45th percentile).
And Kye’s was (this was the visit where we learned he had growth delay issues so it’s always etched in my memory as a very vivid visit): 39 inches tall (25th percentile) and 36 pounds (50th percentile).
It’s crazy to me that Tess is taller than Kye was at this age! Def points to those growth delay concerns being valid because I feel like Tess is so itty bitty! I’m also shocked that she’s the lightest only because Britt was SO skinny but I guess the height difference makes that make more sense!
I always breathe a sigh of relief when my kids grow the 2 inches they are expected to grow each year and Tess really shot up this year! We were hoping she’d hit 40 inches for our Disneyland trip but she was close enough where we made it work (posts to come!)
Last year when I did the height predictor for Tess based on her stats it said she’d be roughly 5’1″ at age 18. This year it’s predicting her to be 5’6″! If this ends up being true I’m gonna be the shortest short old lady ever next to all my grown children haha!
Some other things discussed about Tess:
- We showed the dr her chin from jumping into the pool and they agreed that rubbing vitamin e oil on it as often as possible is the best way to heal it up!
- She gets itchy red privates at time which Britt had at this age and I know it’s from not wiping well enough independently. She confirmed just to use baking soda in the bath tub for her to soak in and to use A&D ointment at bedtime to help too.
- I also went ahead and got Tess’s school forms both for this year and next year since I’ll be needing them to register her for kindergarten!!!
While I was there I wanted to also ask some additional questions about myself and the other kids who weren’t at the appointment. Even though they don’t like seeing multiple siblings in one visit they usually don’t mind answering general questions when I have them.
- I showed her photos of Spear’s rash and explained his current non-reactions to the cheerios or eggs and she agreed it was probably just viral.
- We talked about Britt having headaches frequently and she said it could be allergies with where we live
- I also showed her the photos of Britt’s scalp and she agreed (as did my dermatologist when I went to see her for my check up this same month) that it for sure looks like psoriasis and if/when she gets any spots like it again to bring her in to either dr asap so they can see what they think. I think most likely I’ll go to the dermatologist because I feel like it’s a skin thing so a skin specialist makes the most sense!
- I asked them to check me out because on top of the MRSA I wasn’t feeling very well and she said I probably have allergies too and that her favorite combo is Zyrtec and Flonaze and to take Sudafed as needed to dry up.
Super thankful for this healthy girl! She didn’t even cry for her MEGA 4 year old shots! SO BRAVE and TOUGH!
Now onto Kye!
He didn’t have to have any shots so it wasn’t as intense of a visit for him and poor kid was upset with Tess having to have them (we both left the room together to avoid seeing her!)
He a little older than 9…so keep that in mind when comparing his growth stats. And I made sure to tell them that when we come back in March I want THEM to make sure they compare accurately because I can see them trying to say he didn’t grow enough but it won’t have been nearly a full year! Heck we go back in seven months!
So these stats seem higher and his ones at 10 will seem lower!
He’s currently 53.52 inches tall (50th percentile) and 64 lbs 8 oz (49th percentile)
At his 8 year well check he was 50.25 inches tall (50th percentile) and 59 lbs (51st percentile). His BMI is in the 60th percentile at 16.59 and his blood pressure was 96/56 (they didn’t mention BMI or blood pressure this visit at all?)
He clearly grew plenty over the 2 inch marker which was to be expected with this large of a gap between visits.
This year the height predictor is putting Kye at a height of 5’11” at 18 years old. I just think with having SUCH a TALL dad and SUCH a SHORT mom that it’s going to be SO interesting to see where our kids end up. Really tall? Really short? All average? I’m so intrigued by it!
His vision was excellent so I’m not doing an eye exam for him this year at the eye doctor. We’ll wait and go back if/when he seems to need it. I needed glasses in 2nd grade so I think it’s important to take each of our kids around that age to have a check up with the legit eye doctor but Zach has flawless vision so if they have great vision, why spend that money and time when it’s not necessary?
We talked some about his tummy. It gets upset pretty easily. Some IBS issues do run in Zach’s family so it’s something worth noting. I’ve given him Tums but I’m not super comfortable with it since they aren’t meant for his age but the dr agreed that it’s the best thing to give and that it’s gentle enough for him to handle it fine.
So thankful for this healthy growing boy! It’s crazy to believe it’s been 5 years since he was the 4 year old getting that big check up!
Now we get to another element of the check up:
I really have debated about how much to share in this post. And I’m going to keep it vague for now. We haven’t told family, friends, etc anything because we don’t KNOW anything yet to tell and I just don’t want people asking Kye questions and concerning him or even being kind and saying things like “we’re praying for you” which would also concern him. So we’re keeping it light and vague and when we know more, we’ll share more if Kye, Zach and I decide to do so. If we need specific prayers we’ll share then as well.
I have no regrets in how we handled everything with Zach’s health. We shared when it was time for prayers and we appreciate all the prayers lifted on his, and our, behalf. It has been a blessing to help others who walk a similar path, but there has been a downside to sharing the health stuff as well. Our core family looks at Zach as “just Zach/Daddy.” But others have shifted to seeing him as “Zach who is doing well really with his MS” We appreciate when people care and ask us how he’s doing but so often we just wish no one knew.
So there is a lesson there for us in that and we want to handle things tenderly, especially when it comes to our own children. We don’t want to put something out there that can’t be taken back and we don’t want people seeing Kye, or any of our kids, in a different way other than just the incredible children that they are as individuals.
So I’m a protective mama. And it’s a struggle. Because yall also know I’m a big believer in being open, in sharing, in the power of prayer. But for now vague is where we’re going to stay. And I apologize for that as I know it’s not my norm.
I still want to chart all this for myself so I want to have it here as a reference. And I also shared about it on my IG Stories during live time that it happened because I just was thrown for such a loop about it that I didn’t even think about it maybe being something that shouldn’t be shared!
Kye is always throwing us for a loop at doctors visits. His well visits over the years have continually had an element of surprise. During Britt’s 2 month well visit we found out he’d have to have a minor surgical procedure done. His 4 year well visit resulted in so many scans and tests and visits to a specialist in Tallahassee regarding growth delay concerns. 5 years after the whole growth delay visit that truly rocked my world (it was SO out of the BLUE) my mama heart got rocked again during his 9 year well visit.
The PA did a back exam for the first time ever, and I guess they don’t begin them until age 9. She immediately said we’d need to go to the imaging center at the hospital for an x-ray due to some curvature concerns. She said the x-ray would only be for a baseline purpose. Just to have to review and compare future possible x-rays to. She didn’t seem super concerned that anything was wrong, just that somethings had potential to be concerning in the future so it was important to have a place to compare to when/if the future presented itself and that baseline comparison was needed.
Since Mrs. Charlotte already had Spear and Kye was already missing school and since that well check went SUPER fast (we were done by 10:30 which is a MIRACLE at our office!) and since I’d packed Kye’s and Tess’s lunches anyway I figured why not go ahead and go get the scan done and be done with it.
Much like his growth delay discovery visit I was just thrown off too much to really ask questions or even absorb exactly what was going on or what the concerns were. I just do as I am told so off we went to the hospital for an x-ray!
The kids ate lunch while we waited for him to have his scan done and the staff was all super nice!
I’d been into the imaging center before leading up to my foot surgery but obviously the images Kye was having done were much different than mine. It turns out he didn’t even use this bed and instead…
Stood to use this machine. He’d have to hold his breath and it’d take three photos of him!
He did GREAT! It was not a big deal at all and we were in and out pretty quickly! Obviously it’s been several weeks since that visit (actually about 8 weeks now…)and that is frustrating as a mother who likes answers and a planner who likes to know how to plan accordingly. But if Zach’s health journey has taught me anything it taught me to ENJOY the time BEFORE. So that’s what we’ve been doing.
There are already a lot of God moments in this story, and it makes me appreciate our walk through Zach’s health on a whole new level because I see the ways in which it has prepared us for future obstacles we will face as a family.
Even just the fact that we didn’t put off this appointment until Kye turned 10 was a big God thing! Some of the bumps in the road to getting results have been frustrating and some of the timing of learning some of the results have been poor (like the day before we left for Cali…I mean WHY then, right?!?!) but I know there is a purpose in it all and I have faith in the wait (thank you adoption for that lesson!).
We have had some personal things happen within our family over the last few years that have really taught me to trust my gut and I am thankful for that lesson as well when it comes to these sort of health matters and my children. I’m sure when/if the time comes I will go into more detail about this but yall you gotta be the advocate for your child. Don’t hesitate to annoy the CRAP out of people until you get the answers you need. Don’t stop asking questions. Don’t stop pushing for more information. Don’t stop fighting for them. Because the reality is you are the only one who will. Don’t sit back and wait on doctors, nurses, staff. You have to ACT.
In my personal walk I’ve learned to seek God’s goodness and blessings in all things because they are ALWAYS there. Always. It doesn’t matter what the circumstance. There is a silver lining. There is a blessing from the Lord to cling to. And we’ve found many already in this situation and will continue to do so.
Of course we always appreciate prayers, I wish I could be more specific about them but we should know more regarding this situation and be able to decide how to proceed in moving forward by the end of October. For now we just enjoy each day and don’t live in worry for what tomorrow may bring!
It ended up being quite the crazy well check up and chain of events but overall I’m thankful for healthy growing babies who both rocked out that day even with the curveballs tossed our way!
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You are so fortunate that your doctors office will let you ask questions about other family members while you are in. That’s so rare! (And PS will keep Kye in prayers.)
I really appreciate your honesty in this post! I totally understand about needing to be vague and it’s so kind of you to share about why. I completely agree about having to be your own advocate and pushing for answers when it comes to medical issues. I hope everything is ok and will keep your family in my prayers. God Bless!