Henry Helper
Miss April had to make a pit stop at the Office Depot. HL pulled her antibiotics out of her purse and headed for the door. Good thing those bottles are child-proof!
Filed under Adventures with Miss April | Comment (0)
Elliot’s Cupcakes
Henry enjoys one of the cupcakes Elliot’s mom gave us at Elliot’s birthday party. Claude, ahem, begs.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (1)Test Results
HL’s BLL is down from 7 to 6. Not 3 or under, which is what we’re shooting for, but we’re moving in the right direction.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (2)More BLL/Lead links from Terry
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG2543.html
(I think we’ll go ahead and test the soil too. Not that HL plays outside at this age (or in this weather) but the dogs track in dirt and dust constantly.)
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-Fact/5000/5008.html
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Get the Lead Out
So…
Henry had his check up yesterday. For those of you playing along at home, his stats:
Weight = 50th percentile
Height = >97th percentile (“Off the charts,” the nurse said. I suspect he may have been mismeasured. We’ll find out at his 18 month check up, I guess.)
Head Circ = 95th percentile
…he seems to have had a growth spurt height-wise (clearly, he doesn’t take after his mother) (unless this is both his first and last growth spurt), but the rest of him is falling neatly in the proscribed curve. He’s hitting all his milestones and he’s as verbal a kid as there’s ever been. The dry skin patches on his legs and elbows? Nothing a little Aquaphor Healing Ointment won’t clear right up.
Here’s the unnerving part: the doctor had some concern about the level of lead in his blood at his one year screening. Apparently there is no “normal” level – the normal level of lead in the blood is 0. They screen for anything over 10. (Ten what?) Most of the kids our doctor sees have levels of less than or equal to 3. Henry’s level at his 1yr exam was 7. It’s still under 10, but it’s high enough to catch their attention. He was retested yesterday and we should have the results in a couple of days. In the meantime, we’re doing a little research and we bought some lead testing kits.
We do live in a 100 year old house and we did have the kitchen remodeled right before Henry was born. Who knows what that stirred up.
Has anyone reading this been through anything similar? Any tips or tales would be appreciated.
Edited to Add:
Terry sent us a bunch of info that I’ve just started making my way through. This (from here) was helpful:
5-9 µg/dl
If the blood was taken from your child’s finger or heel it may be in this range due to contamination. If
the test was a venous draw it MAY be a sign of recent exposure to lead. At this level no medical
management is needed, but parents should take steps to identify possible sources of lead in their
child’s environment in order to prevent any further exposure. There is no totally safe level of lead for
children. Recent research has shown that lead levels below 10 µg/dl can lower intelligence. You
should keep your child away from lead around the home and give your child healthy foods. Lead
absorption is increased when there is not enough iron or calcium in a child’s diet. Serve foods high in
calcium, iron, and vitamin C and low in fat.
…Henry’s test was taken from his heel — both at his 1 year exam and at the retest yesterday. So… the possibility of contamination is comforting. And the notion that I might be able to help nutritionally alleviates some of the feeling of powerlessness.
Filed under Milestones | Comment (0)Henry and Miss April
They actually have matching HOPKINS (Baby Signing Time) shirts, but April’s not wearing hers here.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Playdate
Wee! These two hadn’t seen each other since before Christmas. It was the cutest reunion in the history of cute, let me tell you.
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