Do you know what Precocious Puberty means? If your answer is no, you’re not alone. Neither did I, until my daughter started having symptoms.
In January 2018, my five year old started smelling really musty. I used baking soda to control the odor, until that wasn’t enough. Then, I had to start using deodorant. Shortly after, she came to me digging and scratching at her private parts. As I cleaned her, I saw some peach fuzz, or very light hairs. I didn’t think anything of it. I just thought every kid has peach fuzz.
Months went by until November 2018, and she started digging again. As a mother, I’m like “Do you have to pee? What’s going on?” She then said it itched. So, I took her and cleaned thoroughly. That’s when I found that the “peach fuzz” was getting longer. I was still not thinking it could be puberty. I was thinking it’s a possibility it’ll fall off. It didn’t. It continued to grow, and now it began growing under her arm pits as well.
By now, it’s late April of 2019. Concerned, I called her pediatrician. He asked me to bring her into the office. The office didn’t have availability for a couple weeks, so I just tried to watch for any changes while awaiting our appointment. I googled her symptoms, but I couldn’t find any information specific to her age.
One day, she walked into my room with tears running down her cheeks, clutching her chest in complete pain. Her breasts were hurting and burning. Smh! I immediately freaked out, and said “Let’s go to the hospital.” I thought to myself, “She can’t be growing breasts already! She’s barely six years old!”
The next day, I went to her pediatrician. He examined her and immediately gave her a lab slip. He ordered a bone age test and gave us a referral to the endocrinologist. The endocrinologist got her in within two days. One of her labs was high, but wasn’t too much of a concern. The bone age test came back only a few months older than her actual age, six. This was a relief, but it didn’t answer the “WHY” regarding what’s happening to her changing body.
WHAT IS A BONE AGE TEST?
X-Ray Exam: Bone Age Study
A bone age study can help evaluate how a child's skeleton is maturing, which can help doctors diagnose conditions. This test is usually ordered by pediatricians or pediatric endocrinologists.
Now it’s August 2019, and my daughter’s pediatrician isn’t satisfied with the results and answers given by the endocrinologist. We’re scheduled to see a different one, and hopefully get the answers to the “WHY”. She’s only six years old, so she doesn’t fully understand what’s going on. Much earlier than expected, I had to explain to my daughter the changing of her body and what to expect. Hopefully she won’t start her menstrual cycle any time soon, let alone develop breasts in the 1st grade 🤦🏽♀️.
Her doctor told me it's mainly what's in the foods we eat. I can honestly say that we do eat out a LOT and if i wanted to try and slow the process I should change her eating habits. So not only did I consider this for her but for my whole family, all my kids so it's time to change our lifestyle and diet..
Have you or someone you know had a similar experience? If so, leave a comment! I want to know what you did!!
