Last weight check appt

Finn is doing well. He has been a little stuffier than normal (if you know him, he always has a little congestion), and his sleeping pattern has been off a little, but other than that, pretty much normal and either the cold was mild and has passed or he never had it. He had a doctor appointment today and she said his chest sounds clear. Yeah! Not sure if it was my antibodies or prayers or both, but I'm thankful this has passed us by without much adieu.

So, on to his doctor appointment. Finnegan weighs 10 pounds, 2.5 ounces. Yes, TEN pounds! He is gaining above the ounce per day that he should, so he is catching up a little bit in the weight area. He is still under the 3 percentile on the normal chart for his chronological age, but up around the 25th percentile for the normal chart but for his adjusted age (2 months instead of 5). Hey, I'll take that!

We voiced our concerns about his lack of head control and preference for his right side (which is getting much better), so she referred Finn for physical and occupational therapy. Of course, the place she referred us to is booked out 4 to 6 weeks, which is too long to wait to work on this problem. So, they are looking for another facility that can accommodate us sooner. More to come on that.

Oh and this was our last "weight check" doctor appointment! He will now only be going to the doctor as needed or for his regular well-child check ups (the next one will be his 6 month one)! He has graduated, what a big boy.

Have you heard of the Apgar score for your baby? The Apgar score occurs right after your baby's birth in the delivery room. The test was designed to quickly evaluate a newborn's physical condition after delivery and to determine any immediate need for extra medical care. The Apgar test is usually given to your baby twice: once at 1 minute after birth, and again at 5 minutes after birth. If there are concerns about the baby's condition and the first two scores are low, the test may be scored for a third time at 10 minutes after birth. Five factors are used to evaluate the baby's condition and each factor is scored on a scale of 0 to 2, with 2 being the best score: 1.activity and muscle tone 2.pulse (heart rate) 3.grimace response (medically known as "reflex irritability") 4.appearance (skin coloration) 5.respiration (breathing rate and effort).

A baby who scores a 7 or above on the test at 1 minute after birth is generally considered in good health. Lower Apgar scores are also seen in premature babies, who usually have less muscle tone than full-term newborns and who, in many cases, require extra monitoring and breathing assistance because of their immature lungs. Well, we weren't told Finn's but it has a spot for it in his baby book. So I asked today. His score at 1 minute was 4, at 5 minutes it was 5 and at 10 minutes it was a 7. I just thought that was interesting.