Emrick is nine months old today. He’s also exactly 39 weeks old. And in three months he will be one year old. I can’t believe it. The other day a cashier asked me how old he was. “Nine months,” I said. She expressed surprise and then turned to Emrick and said, “My goodness! You’re so big I thought you must be a year old! Yes you are! So big!”
Of course, she could not be MORE WRONG that he is big (more on that later!) but I didn’t say anything. She later commented on all his hair which, of course, is the real reason that he seems older than he is. That, and the profound wisdom behind his intense, blue gaze. Duh.
Anyway, we had Emrick’s checkup with the pediatrician today, and almost everything looks good:
1. His weight looks good.
2. His head is nice and… BIG. His head circumference is at the 91st percentile, in fact. Ninety-one!!
3. They pricked his toe and took blood to test for anemia (routine) and were able to give me the results before I left. He doesn’t have it.
4. His muscle and motor development are excellent. I believe the doctor’s exact words were “the most advanced baby that ever lived” or something like that. Just kidding. But when I told him that Emrick could stand on his own for several seconds at a time and that he was a very proficient cruiser, he did say that was “a little advanced.” I honestly didn’t know that. Everything I’ve read says that 8 months is when a baby will start to pull himself up (that’s right when Emrick did it) and 9 months is when they will start to cruise (right on target again). So I think all he meant by “advanced” is that in the very-wide spectrum of normal, Emrick is somewhat at the earlier end. For all I know, a full quarter of all babies might be cruising at 9 months. But that’s not going to stop me from getting a bumper sticker that says, “My baby is a little advanced. Neener neener.”
But all may not be well…
5. The doctor is now starting to maybe consider becoming possibly maybe CONCERNED that Emrick is so short. In the past three months, Emrick has grown just half an inch an inch and a half. I believe the doctor’s exact words were, “the shortest baby that ever lived.” Just kidding. But his height percentile ranking? 1%. One!!!! That’s down from his all-time high of 7%, which is the real concern. They don’t care if a baby is short (especially if he has short parents), as long as his percentile ranking holds steady. But Emrick’s has not. I’ve been concerned, too, since I measure him at home and can see that he’s not growing so fast. So, we’re waiting until his next check-up (at one year) and if his growth hasn’t picked up by then, then the doc recommended we get a hormone work-up and make sure that Emrick’s growth hormone levels are normal. If they are, and he is still short, then we start considering more unlikely explanations (including the outside chance that he may have a mild form of dwarfism! I’m not joking). In the meantime, I have decided to put Emrick on a hardcore Pilates program to get him all stretched out. If that doesn’t work? Stilts.
What’s cooler than a baby that’s “a little advanced”?
a DWARF baby that’s a little advanced!
Emrick weighs 19 pounds and 3 ounces. He is 26 inches long.
We love you, Emrick Braden Sorensen. So, so much.
UPDATE SINCE PUBLISHING THIS POST: The pediatrician called me a few minutes ago and said he decided to get on the phone with an endocrinologist and ask her opinion about waiting until Emrick’s one year check-up before looking into his hormone situation. He said that he told her that Emrick has “a few symptoms of hypochondroplasia” which is a “cousin of dwarfism”. Anyway, she told him that the next available appointment to see her is usually 2-3 months out, so we should make an appointment now, and hopefully get in to see her before he is a year old. He said that she will look at Emricks’ growth chart, look at Emrick, and look at me and Marcus, and make a decision about whether or not to run labwork. He said she probably would, though. Anyway, her office closed at 4:30, so I will call tomorrow, and hopefully get in to see her sometime in August or early September.
Meanwhile, Marcus and I have spent the last 10 minutes googling hypochondroplasia, and other than a big head, Emrick has no other physical signs of it that we can see. HOWEVER, one trait of the hypo-C (my new nickname for it) is that it is usually not obvious until “middle childhood” so, who knows. It’s also extraordinarily rare.
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No worries about his height! We all just want to hold him all the time anyway! I NEED to kiss that baby!!!
Shona, If it makes you feel any better, Danielle did not grow or gain weight for 4 straight months! I believe it was from about 4 months – 8 months or so. At the end of the first year she only weighed 15 pounds…..She just got a slow start. She’s taller than I am and her weight appears fine. Try not to worry too much. His smile can light up a whole …….universe!
Much ahoo about nada I am sure. Good to get him tested and all; but I think it’s a bit reckless of the docs to be throwing out hexa-syllabic words like that without some serious testarino.
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Yeah, I thought someone might say that. But I don’t think he was trying to be alarmist. He just said that it would be good to be able to rule stuff out and give me peace of mind. But I am pretty sure that I didn’t come off as all worried about it at his checkup. I asked questions, ’cause that’s what I do, but truthfully, I am not really fretting. Not yet anyway. I think he just decided that it wasn’t a good idea to sit on it for three months without at least having an appointment planned (I made an appointment with the endocrinologist today for the soonest possible date — September 26th!). I mean Emrick should be growing half an inch a month at this point, not half an inch in THREE months. That’s pretty darn slow! [EDIT: Actually, I forgot there was a mistake made on Emrick’s chart last time, and the fact is, he IS growing half an inch a month, NOT half an inch in three months, but regardless, his height still puts him at the 1% percentile, so there is still concern.] Janet’s story about Danielle is interesting, though, and I agree that it is probably nothing. But it makes sense to get things checked out now. Maybe all of Emrick’s calories are going to his brains instead of his legs!
And what sweet legs those are! I want to squeeze them and bite them!! Just eat him up! Kiss him for me and hug him and tell him his aunt Kelly is totally crazy for him no matter how tall he may be! (this coming from a woman who is only 5’3″! lol)
Other than just knowing, what IS the advantage of knowing? Is there a hormone treatment to make him grow if it turns out he is deficient? It reminds me of when they wanted to do the test while I was pregnant to find out if Nick had down syndrome. Why? It’s not going to change anything. I agree with all of the above…no worries. Love makes everything grow!
P.S. I love picture #2. He looks like he is savoring something really tasty.
If it’s what was mentioned, the only treatments are for associated joint pain when he gets older. If it’s a hormone imbalance or something else there could be corrective treatments.
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And if it IS a hormone imbalance, and we DO give him human growth hormone as a corrective treatment, then I think that means we can engineer Emrick’s height to anything we want! We can make him 5’5″ or 6’5″, 5’8″ or 8’5″!!
Just kidding.