The Impossible

Last Wednesday, Sarah had her 3-month checkup. Most babies don’t have a 3 month appointment but she did for two reasons: 1) they didn’t start her Hep-B vaccination in the hospital and so we are a month behind and 2) they wanted to do a weight check. The shot went well. She really is a tough cookie! The weight check however was a little disappointing.

Sarah weighed 9 pounds 13 ounces; there are babies born that size. She only gained 10 ounces since her last appointment 4 weeks ago. The doctors would like to see at least a 1 pound weight gain, if not 2. The doctors and I wouldn’t be concerned except that she’s now going down on the growth chart instead of up.

For the first 2 months of her life we weren’t too concerned that she was in the 8th percentile because at each appointment she moved up, albeit just barely. This time however, she moved down. She is a happy little girl and developing just fine but it does cause me to stop and wonder if she’s getting enough to eat—mealtimes have always been a bit of a struggle around here. Maybe, just maybe it’s just not been enough?!

The doctors decided to have an abdominal ultrasound done just so we could rule out that something is blocking the entryway to the stomach making it difficult for her meals to get in. Well, here’s where the impossible comes in…a wiggly 3 month old and an ultrasound. Don’t try this at home! It only causes trouble.

I took Sarah Jane to the ultrasound on Friday. She was in a wonderful, smiley mood so I thought we would have no problems. I put her on the table, stripped off her clothes, and the ultrasound technician put some warm jelly on her tummy (How nice that must have been. The jelly was never warm when I had ultrasounds of her while she was in my belly). No problems so far…but then the tech says that Sarah is too wiggly (what does she expect) and asks me to hold her down. Uh-oh! Trouble!

Sarah did not like this AT ALL and the crying began and proceeded to get louder and louder and louder. I tried feeding her a bottle, holding her, rocking her, all my usual tricks but nothing worked to calm her down. Meanwhile/Luckily, Richard finished work early and decided to stop by to see what they discovered. All he discovered was one unhappy baby and a frazzled mom. He then attempted to calm her so that the doctor, who was brought in because the technician could see nothing, could try his hand at spotting the stomach. They said that because she was crying so hard there was too much air in the abdomen and that ultrasound doesn’t travel well through air. This was making it difficult to see what they needed to see.

Briefly, and I mean briefly they got a view and snapped a picture of whatever they were looking for and I believe they said it looked alright. We hightailed it out of there as quickly as we could. We didn’t even get Sarah dressed. We just wrapped her in a blanket and headed home. Thankfully as soon as I pulled out of the doctor’s driveway the tears subsided and my happy baby returned. I thought for sure she was going to wail the entire way home.

Thank goodness my baby is healthy and I pray that she always is. After this little experience I feel like maybe I have a little glimpse into the lives of those whose children are really ill and I feel for them. I pray I never have to have my turn again. One abdominal ultrasound was enough for this mama and it pales in comparison to what many parents have to go through.

We have a follow-up appointment on Wednesday where they will go over the results with me. Or what of the results they could see and we will then determine what, if anything needs/should be done to help Sarah gain weight. She is awfully cute all petite. Most people think she’s really new because of how tiny she is. I do however want to make certain she is getting enough nourishment and I don’t want to see her go down on the growth chart again. I am fine with her being at the bottom; if neither of her parents can be long and lean at least she might as well be :), but I do want her strong and healthy. I have some figuring out to do before Wednesday. This parenting thing never ends! It’s a wild ride, but the best ride I have ever been on!!!