Kylee & Brody's Developmental Check Up

Bret and I had a double date yesterday with Brody and Kylee! We spent the whole afternoon with Dr. Roberts (their developmental pediatrician) bragging on them and showing off their new skills. She was THRILLED to see them both walk into her office for the first time and said multiple times she couldn't believe her eyes and how phenomenal they are doing!

Do they not look like they're 5 years old in this picture?! They look HUGE!

Brody was up for evaluation first and did well overall. After various tests (cognitive, fine motor, expressive/receptive language...) he scored between 22months-24months of age, just where he should be! Although he's been walking for months now, he still resembles a baby deer to a degree. He has a hard time, even on flat surfaces sometimes, with his balance and coordination. When we play outside for example, he prefers to stay on the porch, avoiding the grass or any other challenging surfaces. We had X-rays done a few weeks ago to rule out any abnormalities with his hips/gait, everything looked normal, thank goodness. Brody does have some tone issues tho, through his ankles which leads Dr. Roberts to believe it's safe to say he has VERY MILD Diplegia CP (cerebral palsy affecting the legs only). You can learn more about this particular type of CP here. This doesn't mean a whole lot to us and won't change a thing when it comes to Brody and his therapy treatments, we will continue PT through ECI and once he "graduates" from ECI(at 3 years old) he will likely need additional private therapy. Brody weighed in at 27lbs 1oz and was 33 1/4 inches tall!

Kylee had a great check up as well. It was less than a year ago we were pretty concerned with Kylee's head circumference and the word "microcephaly" was added to our whole new vocabulary since having the babies. Her head size is now right on track and she is showing TREMENDOUS growth in all developmental areas. 3 months ago, she hardly said any words and today she has too many to count and even has some 2-3 word phrases. It seems like once she learned to walk, she has just taken off in all other areas at full speed! She scored a little bit higher than Brody in some areas, landing her in the 23-24month range, again perfect! Dr. Robert's had mentioned at a previous appointment that one of Kylee's legs measured a tad bit longer than the other. Yesterday, her left leg (her affected side) measured half an inch shorter than her right. We were told this is common in kids who have hemiplegia cp and that it's often that the bones on the affected side don't grow at the same rate as on the "good" side. Right now this causes Kylee's walk to look a little "Bambi-like" too. For now, her docs will keep an eye on it and treatment may be given when she gets a little older. Our big little girl weighed in at 25lbs 12oz and was a bit taller than Brody at 33 1/2 inches tall! My two little loves picking out their stickers! We're sooo sooo sooo proud of you Brody & Kylee!