How do you know when to be concerned?

The girls had a well-visit with the pediatrician today. Many times I don't examine the girls before we leave the house. I'm too preoccupied with getting OUT the door. Generally, I notice if they're wearing shoes and if the outfit isn't a Garaminals mix and match gone bad. This oversight, however, means they will inevitably have a milk mustache and/or toothpaste dribble  in several trails down their shirt. This morning was no different. E promptly "cleaned" off her dribble by spitting onto her finger and smearing the dribble into her shirt. Little K had dog snot and hair plastered to her pants. But, I've got priorities people. It was a lost cause.

So, as most well visits go I'm pretty anxious to see if Little K has grown. She's little to begin with. Just barely 40 pounds. She also has autoimmune hypothyroidism and vitiligo, and because they are autoimmune she is predisposed to other autoimmune diseases. If you've ever researched any illness or symptom online, you are familiar with the range of diseases you or your child could fall victim too. Usually we're a week away from our death bed. But we're especially on edge about anything out of the ordinary for K.

K is highly emotional. Say no to her and it's instant tears and tantrums. The kind where you're left thinking, "Jeezus! She's in first grade, will this shit ever end?" She also needs to eat on a regular basis, not one for big meals. And if she doesn't eat enough she has a tendancy to have low blood sugar episodes, which makes it even harder to get her to eat. She's a grazer, they say. But, is she? Are her mood swings something else we should be concerned with? How can we know what's simply her personality and make up, or something serious?

E looked tired this morning, except that she went to bed close to 8pm and was up around 7:30. Yet, the dark circles were still under her eyes. She confessed to the doctor that sometimes she has a hard time falling asleep. This was news to me. Do I have another child with thyroid issues? Probably not. She has little white spots on her body. Could it be the beginnings of vitiligo? Maybe.

The unknown sucks.