Vanderbilt Down Syndrome Clinic Visit

Last week, Lady K and I made a visit to the Vanderbilt Down Syndrome Clinic.

It's sort of a one stop shop for all things Down syndrome.

You can have an exam by either a pediatrician or a nurse practitioner, have a speech evaluation, PT evaluation, OT evaluation, meet with a behavior therapist, meet with someone from genetics, and see a nutritionist.

We saw the doctor.

That was it.

And the doctor we saw?  Phenomenal.  

I want to be her friend.  Is that weird?

As a side note, Chris thinks it's weird that I make friends every place I go.  Like, I think it bothers him.  He sometimes thinks I'm too friendly and overshare.  Which is probably what I just did....

Katie was thoroughly examined, and the doctor said she's perfect.

Her words, not mine.

She was shocked that Katie has only been home for such a short time.  She said she's healthier than lots of Ds kids she sees who have been "home" since birth.

Her height and weight are fantastic, her BMI is perfect, her skin looks great (and do you remember what it looked like when she came home?!), her muscle tone is good (low tone, but nothing crazy), her speech is developing fantastically, and cognitively she is not that different than a typical four or five year old.  And she's pretty stinking cute.  

We had six comments from various people about her outfit and her hair.  Nobody says those things to you when you have boys.

She did buy herself a sleep study, a hearing test, and some orthotics.  We go for the hearing test in September, the orthotics on Friday, and the sleep study sometime still yet to be determined.  Chris and I will have to flip a coin for that one!  

The staff at the Ds clinic is phenomenal, and if you are in the area and have a child with Down syndrome, I highly, highly recommend it.

After our appointment, we went downstairs to the butterfly garden.  She loved it, and it made me think of the stay Jack had at Vanderbilt two years ago and how much he loved to turn them too.  We are so lucky to have Vanderbilt for these babies!