Three Year Well Check

Marcus and I were so excited to see our pediatrician this morning. We then realized how blessed we were- we have seen her 2 times in the last year. We have a healthy little girl and we wanted to show off how wonderfully smart and big she is, but we also had a couple of questions and concerns that we wanted to get her opinion on.

First up, the stats. Abby is a healthy big girl. She is 37 pounds and in the 95th percentile. She is also tall at 38 3/4 inches which is the 88th percentile. Dr. Sperling looked at her and proclaimed her healthy with a "strong bone structure" and not overweight. She said she could tell it was her build and not a big belly. She is a little linebacker :)

We talked about all the normal things like moving her to a bigger carseat. We purchased a new one after the appointment since she is too long for the current one! I evaluated all the seats based upon price and the length they can accommodate. This one will keep her in a 5 point harness to 65 pounds and converts all the way to a booster for up to 100 pounds and 57". Perfect! 

We also discussed moving her to 2% milk, switching her to regular toothpaste after testing her ability to spit, how much sleep she should be getting, and refilled her Epi-Pens and Flonase for another year. We also did a vision test which she passed.

Our biggest areas of concern likely sound silly to other people and especially parents with older kids, but she is our first and we don't want to mess up or not report something we should. 

We wanted to update her on Abby's fear of noises. We have left playgrounds and movies because she was scared. During her school play, they put tissue in her ears to muffle the other kids singing. Other noises that frighten her- toilets flushing, blowdryers, leaf blowers, hand dryers, big trucks, motorcycles, etc. The Target bathroom is a nightmare. When she hears these noises, she will freeze and cover her ears until we reassure her or the sound passes. She genuinely seems frightened.

Our other concern is Abby's OCD, as we call it. She is VERY particular about some of her things. Sets belong together and she will lose her mind if she has 4 of the 5 toys that came together. She even questions when,  for example, 2 Gabba characters are in a scene and the others are not. She doesn't understand why they are not all together. She can't just have her Dora toy, she needs the whole family. She is also particular about matching like colors together- pink foam must go in the pink bowl. A yellow toy must have a yellow blanket. Three animals means three blankets at night. I am particular and like things to match, but she has a more aggressive almost obsession with it.

In both of these cases, Dr. Sperling wanted us to watch her and if we felt like either of these were disruptive to her happiness or the flow of daily life they she would recommend occupational therapy. Until then, we should expose her to sounds over time and praise her for being brave and that we keep her engaged in MDO and a preschool program to help her learn to transition better before kindergarten. All reassuring!