Two Months and Four Years
Today Scarlett is two months old. That went fast!
Aside from being Grumpy Girl a whole lot of the time, she’s pretty much the most beautiful baby to ever grace the planet, don’t you think?
(I say that with the greatest humility, of course.)
Check out those blue, blue peepers. If she’s anything like her mama and both of her originally blue eyed brothers, though, they’ll turn green within a few years.
Trivia: red is my favorite color. That’s partly why we named her Scarlett. If Finn had been a girl, he would have been named Ruby.
Completely unenhanced: no Photoshop, spray tan, Botox, collagen, or cheek implants.
She had her two-month checkup this morning, and all’s well. She’s gained almost two pounds and two inches since she was born – all on mama’s milk.
Finn also had his four-year checkup today.
He weighs a whopping 29 pounds now – which is small, yes, but actually on par with all my other kids at the same age. I make ’em little.
The one issue I wanted to discuss with our pediatrician was the fact that lately, Finn’s left eye has been turning in noticeably. It’s intermittent, not constant, and it’s not necessarily when he’s tired – it happens at all times throughout the day.
Well, our pediatrician actually insisted that it’s only an illusion caused by the wide nasal bridge associated with Down syndrome! Even when Finn’s eye was totally turning in right there in the exam room, the doc insisted it really wasn’t, it just looked like it was. Seriously, I like our doctor a lot, and we’ve been with him for a long time because I like him so much, but . . . what the FUCK? If it were just an illusion caused by the wide nasal bridge, then why is it only a recent development? And why is it just the one eye? Come on. And, we live with the kid – we see him all the time, and Michael and I have both noticed his eye doing this wonky thing lately. The doctor is going to spend twenty minutes with him and decide we’re just imagining it?
Anyway, he’s going to refer Finn to a pediatric ophthalmologist anyway. Pfft.
Also, he got his neck x-ray yesterday to screen for atlantoaxial instability (AAI). No word yet.
Other than that, everything is good.
Mwah!
Life As I Know It 
i agree, lisa, it is not an illusion. i had one of my twins’ eyes to that when he was an infant and i was told that it was because he was a preemie and his eye muscles were not yet strong enough..and he did outgrow it–but finn seems to have the opposite case. hmmm…good thing that you are going to the specialist–you are doing the best job for your kids, as always…
we are also 29lb, lisa..four years old tomorrow…nothing wrong with that, right? how tall is finn now? mine are 39.5in and are considered tiny…whatever, they are perfect, i think!!!
Esther, I think Finn is only about 34 inches. Kids/people with Down syndrome usually have shorter than average stature.
Micah would have been Ruby, too!! My first blog was “Finding Ruby’s Father” – I was that sure I’d have a girl, and I’d name her Ruby. Ha.ha.ha
oh my! Cuteness overdose courtesy of Morguess kids! Beautifil beautiful beautiful…
Okay, I kid you not, Milo was also going to be Ruby if a girl! Baby girl is oh.so.pretty, and Finn is cute as ever. I already stress at the idea of that neck xray, please keep me posted. XO
Finn’s eye thing is real! Its called esotropia (sp?). It can be both eyes or just one. Its common to develop between ages 2-4, especially in kids with Ds. Miles had that diagnosed about 6 months ago (right after he turned 2). Its one of the chief reasons he wears glasses. The different prescriptions in each lens help to balance the difference in the strength of the eye muscles (thank you low tone, again). When he wears his glasses his eyes are always straight. When he doesn’t and he’s tired, especially, just the one eye (right) will turn in. If you do end up with glasses, I highly recommend Miraflex– you can pretty much run them over in your car and they’ll pop right back into shape! P.S. That Scarlett is a cutie pie!
When I took Addison in to the Pediatric Opthamologist with the same concern (in January), I too was told that it was an optical illusion. I couldn’t understand why it would just start happening all of a sudden if it had something to do with the flatness of her nose, but the doctor made me feel like a fool for even asking. Fast forward to July when I took her back in and the SAME doctor was like “Oh my goodness she is SO cross eyed it’s too late to use a patch!” I couldn’t believe it. Long story short, Addison then had surgery in November (last year) to correct her crossing because it just got worse and worse. Her eyes still don’t align perfectly, but they are much better than they were. I was so angry that the doctor didn’t take me seriously that first visit. I wondered if she had, maybe we could have avoided the surgery and just done some patch-wearing instead of waiting until the next 6 month appointment and it being out of control? I would have taken her to a different doctor for a second opinion, but I had a newborn and this was the best specialist within the nearest three states. (This same doctor has prescribed Addison glasses for nearsightedness which after a YEAR of trying Addison won’t wear. I’m convinced that perhaps she doesn’t really need them after all. This doctor isn’t on my “take seriously” list anymore.
Oh, beautiful, beautiful baby!!! Just gorgeous! And what’s up with that doctor? Optical illusion? Sounds like the doctor may need some glasses himself. Bizarre. Definitely get another opinion…
They’re both gorgeous. I love Scarlett’s big, beautiful eyes. And I’ve got to say, Finn has the coolest eyebrows.
I hope you get the eye thing figured out. Nothin’ wrong with glasses.
I go to an adult strabismus specialist at the U of MN b/c I have major issues with my left eye. He told me a trick to check for correct alignment in my own children: Look at photos of Finn. Do the spots of light in each pupil look symmetrical? Also, hold one finger up in front of Finn’s face, and have him look at it as you slowly move it toward his nose. If he has a “bad” eye, it will not be able to track the finger as you get closer. That said, general pediatricians are not to be trusted when it comes to diagnosing eye problems — a pediatric ophthalmologist is imperative.