Question from Zanesville, Ohio, USA:

My son weighed 9 pounds, 8 ounces and was born one week ahead of my due date. At birth, his blood sugar was very low and he had difficulty maintaining his body temperature and breathing for the first 24 hours. He turned blue several times so he spent his first day and night in the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU). One of our nurses told me, just as an “FYI,” that babies who are born with many of the problems he experienced would often develop diabetes in their life.

I work with the disabled population and am heavily involved in the coordination of their medical care. Because of this, I am vaguely aware of some of the signs and symptoms of diabetes, which leads me to my question. My now eight-month-old son has a distinctly sweet smell to his skin. Is this cause for concern? He has been overweight since birth, despite our best efforts to control this although he does not eat more than the books I read tell me he should consume.

I have a nine-year-old daughter, too, and have not been prone to paranoia with all the typical things a child will put you through. I constantly smell this on his skin and it is beginning to concern me. I just don’t want to waste a co-pay to have my pediatrician tell me I have lost my mind.