At Ben's 18 month appointment his pediatrician noticed that there was fluid in his ears. I told her that quite often different doctors have told me this. Whether we've been in to My Doctor Now (the local urgent care) or seen another doctor in our normal pediatrician's office they always seem to say, "He has some fluid in his ears. Has he been sick?" Whether he has or not they then tell me not to worry and that the fluid will dry up soon. Upon hearing this my pediatrician (who hadn't seen Ben in awhile due to maternity leave) became semi-concerned and scheduled a follow up in a month to recheck his ears.
We went for the follow up yesterday and the fluid was still there. They also did a test to check the pressure in his ears and that showed fluid also. She has referred us to an ENT (Ear Nose and Throat doctor) who will check and see if he needs tubes put in. Chronic fluid in the ear can lead to speech delays which could explain why Ben doesn't really talk. He understands everything we say and he says a handful of words but mostly he grunts. When he babbles it is mainly with the da and na sounds - no other consonants. He calls me DaDa - although he has said MaMa a few times. I've scheduled an appointment with the ENT for April 2nd.
Our pediatrician also wants us to see a pediatric dentist because Ben's top incisor teeth (I think she said the incisors - the ones on either side of the top middle teeth) have not come in yet. Usually those are some of the first to come in. She said the dentist will do x-rays to make sure the teeth are there and then he might have to go in and bring them down. Super fun!
Ben's weight at his 19 month follow up - 32.6 lbs
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Ben's weight at his 19 month follow up - 32.6 lbs
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Poor little, I mean BIG, guy!! It looks like he is in for some not so fun times. It may help him start to talk though, once he can really hear.
Happy storytelling!
Aldine Allen
all wrapped up...
...and into bags
mixing the pepperoni pasta bake
The boys and girls competing to see who could build the tallest wood chip pile
Everyone had lined up to go inside and then Mrs. Bocchino just started running...
...so everyone chased her!
Once inside it was time for snack - Lucky Charms. But they couldn't just eat them. First they had to seperate the cereal from the marshmellows, then sort the marshmellows, and then graph the marshmellows. So fun! 
...and now the boys have her. She is AmAzInG!! She still better be teaching when Ben goes to school. 
