Quick Post

We have our 3rd appointment at the High Risk Follow-Up Clinic today...wish us luck! He goes to the Follow-Up Clinic because he was born at 25 weeks and will go until age 4. At each appointment we meet with a Pediatrician who specializes in Neonatology (who also works in the NICU), OT/ PT, a nurse, and sometimes the social worker. I feel comforted knowing that we will catch any major issues early.

Issues we will be discussing today:

1) Iron (Dylan has ZERO iron. I have a post in the works... Feeding him is a crazy puzzle that I don't entirely feel qualified to solve. I think I'm going to ask for a referral back to the Nutritionist.)

2) Autism Concerns (I do not think he has Autism, but he has a few behaviors that I want to ask experts about: hand flapping, no reaction to strong negative emotions although he does react to smiles and does initiate eye contact, fear of loud noises - even no so loud.) I worked with kids with Autism for my first year out of college so I feel relatively well informed, but I don't have experience with kids younger than 3. Also Dylan has tons of the risk factors for Autism: older father, antepartum stress, premature birth...so I'm just taking every detail very seriously just in case.

3) Lungs (Dylan's breathing has been a little more noticeable over the past month or so, but the Ped has never heard an issue. I want the specialists to weigh in. He was also wheezing for about 5 minutes this weekend - before and after throwing up - it's probably just a bug, but I want to mention it.)

4) Milestones (We are definitely not winning any races with walking or talking, but I'm not really concerned...yet. He is adding new words and starting to occasionally mimic. And he's climbing on chairs and strollers and couches...just not walking yet, but he's not 18 months adjusted for a few more months.)

I'll report back soon!