Team Barrios: Snoopy Stickers

Well we finally got our kids in to the doctor after losing insurance, getting COBRA, rescheduling appointments, it seemed everything was against these girls going to the doctor! Leila had been due for her 2 year check-up since January and Emmalene missed her 6 month all together and just had a combo 9 monther. Our appointment was scheduled for 2:30pm but we didn't even get back behind the door until after 3. The appointment lasted for a little over 2 hours! With two kids needing naps let me tell you, it wasn't fun.
Let's start with the oldest. My Leila isn't quite as scared of the doctor anymore. She didn't burst into immediate tears as she's done in appointments past, she waited until it was time to get on the scale to start the waterworks. Luckily she got over it pretty quickly. She gained some weight since November (which was the last time she went to see the doctor) 2 pounds to be exact putting her at 22 on the dot. Still nowhere near the chart, but she is staying on her very own growth curve and that is all we can ask for. Since November she has grown 2 inches up to 34 1/2 keeping her right above the 25th% and her noggin is 48 cm (50th%). I wish they measured and charted her feet because I bet they would be in the 100th%, my little Amazon girl. She was jealous of Emmalene because she got stickers (Snoopy band aids) I told Leila to be careful what she wishes for! She got two of her own Snoopy "stickers" as well, but had to suffer through two shots for them first. Developmentally Miss Leila is above and beyond. She's so smart and talks up a storm, she counts, sings the ABC's and other songs, knows some of her letters, and has started playing pretend with her babies. She is deep into her terrible twos much to our dismay. She is super stubborn, very opinionated and very very loud. I never thought this would happen to our sweet mild mannered girl but boy was I WRONG. She's starting to adjust to daycare now and has made a friend there too named Abbey. I haven't met Abbey, but she talks about her a lot, so they must be buddies! How cute is that?--our little girl's first school friend! She's growing up so quickly it brings tears to my eyes.

Sweet Emmalene...her appointment didn't go quite as well as her sister's. The last time Emma went to the doctor was 2 months ago for her ear infection. Since then she should have put on at least a pound a month but in fact has dropped a couple of ounces putting her at 13 pounds 7.4 ounces putting her below the chart. She used to be at the 5th%. She has grown, she stretched out to 26 1/2 inches putting her in the 20th% and her dome is 43 1/2cm (35th%). If her feet were measured I would say she'd only be in the 50th%, she not quite the Amazon her sister is! Since we missed her 6 month appointment due to the insurance fiasco she got all those shots today plus a flu shot putting her up to a total of 5 Snoopy's! (Counting the Snoopy that was on her toe for her hemoglobin test.) Needless to say she was a very unhappy Emmie by the end of the appointment. So why is Emmalene so small? Well I say her number one issue would be her genes working against her. Barrios babies are petite! She shouldn't have lost weight though, that's why there was a little concern on the doctor's part. My theory is that she stinks at taking a bottle! I believe I've told you before how much grief that girl has given us with the bottle issue. After trying every bottle/nipple combination on the market we finally found one that she will take, but she still isn't a champ at it. She needs to learn quick because this Mama is a working woman now. We are going to try rearranging her eating schedule to see if we can't get her to eat better. We are also going to try to add some formula to her bottles to see if we can't get a few extra calories in her...that's a BIG if though, I've tried giving her formula a couple of time and she turned her nose up at that. By the end of the appointment the doctor said those two words I was dreading, weight check. We have to be back in one month from today to see if our new regimen worked or not, then we'll go from there. I think she'll do fine this month. I think she's having a bit of an adjustment having to take a bottle but she's learning and she's doing a little bit better every week. I know that there is nothing wrong with her. She just needs to put on a couple of pounds. Developmentally Emmalene is right on target. She waves, crawls, sits up, jabbers, I could say that she says Mama and Dada, but I don't think she knows what she's saying. Her little personality is starting to really show through. She's such a sweet happy little girl. She loves her big sister and thinks she's the funniest person she's ever met. I look forward to seeing how the two of them play together as she gets older.