Isabel the Giant

Yesterday was Isabel's 9/10 month well baby visit. She weighs 18 1/2 lbs. (has been thinning out due to being so active with crawling and walking along everything), which puts her in the 50th percentile for her weight. Her head circumference is in the 50th percentile, and low and behold, no surprise here.... she is over the 95th percentile for height. The pedatrician said she is the height of an average 19 month old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is only 10 months old!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She said that if she stays on this growth course, she will be the height of an average 26 month old by the time she is 19 months old. CRAZY!!!!!!!!!


She is being tested for food allergies. She has a reaction any time she has eaten carrots or tomato based baby foods (rash on face, hives), and when she eats cottage cheese, little tastes of icecream, yogurt, etc....anything dairy, she gets really cranky, throws up what looks like spoiled, curdled milk (smells like it too), and gets diarhhea and blaring red bottom. So, we are concerned what I will be able to have her start taking after done weaning from nursing. I will be going straight from nursing to the sippy cup. She's great with a cup when she has her juice throughout the day in between nursing. If she is allergic to cow's milk, there is a good chance she is allergic to soy's milk also due to they share similar proteins that may be what she is allergic to. So she said I may not be able to even have her drink formula out of a sippy cup since most formulas are made from either cow's milk or soy proteins. I was hoping to wean her around a year old, but she is already starting to show signs that she will start to wean herself. She has been showing less interest in nursing unless it is before nap or bedtime (I think it is more of a comfort thing then, snuggle time with mom). She is getting more distracted and wanting to explore and get back to playing instead of eating as well as she used to. She is a great eater otherwise, as far as solids go, so I am not too concerned she isn't getting enough. I am just concerned about getting the results from the allergy testing to find out what I will be able to switch her to once she's done nursing.

She is also exhibiting some warning signs for a need for pediatric orthotics. When she stands, she doesn't stand on the bottom of her feet. Her feet roll inward and she stands on the insides of her feet where her arch should be. But she doesn't have any- her feet are flat. So at her next check up (when she will be hopefully walking and the pediatrician can see her actually in action and see how her feet position when she is actually taking steps) it will be decided if she will need orthotics, which can get very costly since she would have to have a new one made every time she outgrows her current shoe size, which we all know, babies feet grow like crazy. Especially hers! She has had big feet from day one. She is already in a size 4 or 5 in toddler shoes. The orthotics will help to eventually force her feet to form arches, so she will not have problems in the future. It is much easier to form them when they are little and the bones more soft and pliable, than to wait til much later and have more problems and be much harder to fix.


So, alot of info and some things to worry about, but hopefully we'll get the results back from the tests soon so we know where to go from here, and we'll just have to take things one day at a time with the possible need for orthotics. I read that they can cost anywhere from $300-$600 each time you get a new one made, and that most insurances do not cover the cost. We will have to look into Kendel's insurance to see if it will be covered. Otherwise, we will really be struggling to afford that kind of cost. But you have to do what you have to do. So it will be done.

I will update when I find out more.