Jackson’s 3 Year Check Up & Garrett’s 18 Month Check Up

The boys had their well check up Monday morning. Let’s start with the stats:

Jackson

Height: 37 in. = 50 percentile (grew 2 inches in a year)

Weight: 32 lbs. 6 oz. = 70 percentile (gained 5lbs. 2oz. in a year)

Garrett

Height: 33 in. = 70 percentile (grew 1 inch in 3 months)

Weight: 24lbs. 4 oz. = 30 percentile (gained .38 of a pound in 3 months)

The doctor was concerned with Garrett’s weight gain, or should I say lack of weight gain. She asked if he was eating okay. For those of you that have ever seen Garrett eat, will understand why that made me laugh. Eating is his favorite thing to do! She asked a few more questions, then noticed Jackson’s growth chart and realized the issue. Genetics! Their growth charts were almost identical. Comparing both boys between 15 to 18 months, Jackson gained .4oz and Garrett gained .38oz. She said they both just started out big and then leveled off. So….no worries! I do find it rather shocking that Garrett is only in the 30th percentile for his weight. That means that 70% of kids his age weigh more than he does. I never thought that would happen.

And now……comparing. Something I know you are not supposed to do, because it really doesn’t matter, but I like to do this since their height and weight have been following the same path.

Jackson @ 18 months vs. Garrett @ 18 months:

• Garrett is 1/2 an inch taller
• Jackson weighed 1.4 more

Other issues and concerns:

• For awhile now I have been slightly concerned with Jackson’s speech. At the age of 3, kids should speak in 3 to 4 word sentences. Jackson consistently speaks much longer sentences than that. His vocabulary is great, but I worry about his articulation for some sounds. If I remember correctly, our doctor said at the age of 3, strangers should be able to understand 65% of what he says. She said from listening to him, she feels he is most likely fine, however to ease my mind I could contact our school district and they would test him. She said why not….it’s free, gives me a peace of mind, he may have fun being tested, and if there was a problem he would receive pre-school speech through the district. I would just rather be proactive and I know early intervention is best! Testing doesn’t hurt! What’s the worst that will happen? They will say “He is right on track!” or “Let’s get him started in preschool speech.” The thought of having him tested gives me a little anxiety. I fear hearing the results that his speech isn’t where it should be. However, he just turned THREE. He will almost be SIX when he starts kindergarten. We have plenty of time to intervene. The easy thing would be to put it off, but I am his mom and if I don’t decide to get him tested, who else will.

I have contacted our school district and he will be tested Friday, October 9th. The speech therapist was super friendly and informative, so I feel comfortable with everything. Now, a part of me is saying “He doesn’t need to be tested. He is fine!” while a part of me is saying “If he needs help, let’s get it before he loses his confidence and becomes frustrated.”

I mean…..check out this confidence:

• Jackson’s speech was my main question for this appointment. I didn’t have any questions about Garrett. However – I thought that was quickly going to change. Jackson passed his vision screening….. Garrett passed his vision screening. Jackson passed his left ear screening….. Garrett passed his left ear screening. Jackson passed his right ear screening……Garrett didn’t. WHAT? Did the screening again. Same result. The nurse brought in another “ear tester thingy” (Can you tell I made that word up?) and tested for something else. She then said “I will print off the results and have your doctor go over them with you.” WOW. Not really what I was expecting. If the doctor is going to go over them with us, he clearly didn’t pass. Come to find out, Garrett has an ear infection. I wouldn’t have ever known. The boys and I all have colds right now, but I thought Garrett’s snotty nose was his worst symptom. Anyways, she put him on an antibiotic and hopefully all will be well in a few days.
• Since mid-August Jackson has been coughing after he has been in bed for awhile. He rarely coughs during the day, but will wake up gagging because he is coughing so bad. His lungs are clear, so there shouldn’t be any reason for the coughing. She wants him to take Zyrtec for about 3 weeks to see if it helps. After 3 weeks, if the cough goes away, stop taking Zyrtec, if the coughing returns we will know it is just an allergy issue.