Avery's 8 Month Dr. Appointment

Today was Avery's 8 month check up and all went very well! She weighed 19 pounds, 11 ounces, so she was up almost 3 pounds from her 6 month check up, back on May 2nd (16 lbs, 14 oz). She grew 3/4 of an inch, measuring at 26 3/4 long.

A month ago, when I took Reagan in for her 2 1/2 year well visit, I asked Dr. C to look at Avery's belly ... we had just noticed there was a slight bump about an inch above her belly button. Dr. C was concerned that it could be a hernia. She recommended that I see a specialist (a pediatric surgeon), since she wasn't sure. Obviously, this had us very worried. So I made an appointment with a surgeon which is next week (the 23rd).

Well, the little bump has not been as pronounced lately, so I was starting to wonder if there was really a problem or not. Today, I discussed it with Dr. B ... when he examined her, he said that he was absolutely sure she did NOT have a hernia. He also seemed pretty perturbed with his partner's possible diagnosis. He gave me a very good explanation why it wasn't a hernia (using all the proper medical terms that I obviously can't remember now) and told me I didn't need to worry about seeing a specialist. I trust Dr. B and feel satisfied with his opinion. John and I are so relieved :)

Here is a video of Avery at the Dr.'s office. We were waiting for the nurse to come in with her two shots and she was having fun chewing on her hair clippie, as well as playing with the white paper. It's not the most exciting video, but it's kind of cute ... I don't put up videos often enough, so I'm going to try to do it more.

I'm just so happy and thankful that my children are healthy. John and I had way too many reminders today of how precious life is. I don't want to turn this post into a depressing sob story, but we talked to so many people today who were suffering.

• John's mother's doctor told us today that his mom isn't responding to the chemo treatments she's been undergoing, so it's time to stop them. It was hard for us to hear that the treatment wasn't successful. Now we have to hope and pray that her body continues to accept the platelets she receives twice a week, since it could start rejecting them at any time.
• My sister Benee has been so worried about her 5 year old son Blake ... they took him to a neurologist this morning and ran a bunch of tests. We were all terrified that he could have Muscular Dystrophy, but the results from two blood tests came back tonight and pretty much ruled that out. We were SO incredibly relieved!
• John's cousin Maribel notified him tonight that their uncle's grandson Mike died today in Florida of cancer. He was only 35. We knew it was coming, but it was a sad ending to a day of mixed emotions. We are so thankful that Avery and Blake received good news today, but we're so sad for the others who are experiencing difficulties right now.

It makes you realize just how important your health is, doesn't it?