Post NICU Follow Up Appointment...

On Friday Avery had a post NICU follow up appointment. She saw six different Dr's/Specialists and the appointment ended up lasting five hours. Normally it doesn't take quite that long but the Speech Therapist was backed up so we ended up waiting for her. The staff felt bad for how long we were there and were nice enough to get us a bagel and some water. So that was nice. Overall she did very well and is pretty much on track in most areas based on her adjusted age of 19 1/2 months.

First she saw a Pediatrician. He check her overall wellness which included her lungs, heart, spleen, ears, etc. He was amazed that being a former 25 weeker she hasn't had any health issues.

Next she saw a Developmental Psychologist. She basically played with Avery and watched how she reacted to different objects. She would show her something and then cover it to see if she could find it. Of course she did. She is very territorial and would get upset when the object was taken from her. She also put out a little peg board to see if she would stick her fingers in the holes, put little cubes in a cup to see if she would take them out, put small puzzles together, etc. She did very well in most of these areas.

Next she had her eyes checked. She is slightly near sighted with an astigmatism(which we already knew from her last appointment) and her prescription changed just slightly. The Dr. was very optimistic that she will have very good vision, it is just slightly blurred.

Next she saw a nurse where she got all her regular measurements done. Of course Avery had to add a little drama and peed on the scale while being weighed. :( Here are her stats based on her adjusted age of 19 1/2 months(her actual age is almost 23 months.)

Weight=22 lbs.(10%)
Length=33 in.(75%)-this is a big jump-last visit she was about 40%-may be she will be tall like her Dad.
Head=44 1/2cm.(2%)

Next she saw a Dietitian. We are still working on her chewing and calorie packing her milk to put a little weight on her. She wasn't too concerned because she is growing and on the chart. She gave me some tips to work on her chewing. Hopefully we can get her to regular table food soon.

Last we saw the Speech Therapist. This was her first time seeing a speech therapist. She just mainly asked me questions about her vocabulary and communication skills. If she asks for things and if she can do simple things when asked, how many words she is saying, etc. Based on what I told her she determined she is at about an 18 month level(she is 19 1/2 months adjusted.) She wasn't concerned she just said to keep an eye on it and have her therapist that comes out monthly follow up. She babbles like crazy and has just recently started showing interest in talking so I think she is just getting started.

Other than it being so long and being starving by the time I left(thank goodness for that bagel) overall it was good. I also ran into a really old friend back from my Malt Shop days during high school. It was so neat. We totally caught up over the several hours in between seeing the doctors. She also had a preemie born at just 24 weeks and has had all sorts of problems. It made me so grateful for how well Avery has done!

On another subject we got Steve's MRI results and luckily he just has a torn meniscus and not ACL. He just has to get it scoped later this month and won't have much of a recovery time.