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My daughter sees 6 specialists and 2 therapists...why is my pediatrician appointment always the most stressful of all of them?




Pediatrician check ups always stress me out. I know it is because of this whole weight issue. Every time we go in I know he is not going to be satisfied because she is still not on the chart with her weight. Today Aaron went with me so it made it a little better, but I still left the office feeling like a horrible mother. Maddy weighed 10 lb 13.5 oz so we are creeping toward that 11 lb mark we thought she was at a couple of weeks ago. Still, she has gained a lb in 1 month. Between August and October she gain 1 lb so this is a big improvement for her. Still not good enough though. This time he decided that she is not getting enough calories. She is eating about 23 oz a day which we thought was doing pretty good. Nope. She needs to be eating 28 oz minimum and he'd like to see her eat 30-33oz. Sometimes I feel like I am doing something wrong, but when your child starts screaming and punching the bottle away because she's had enough there is not much you can do. She is eating more and more solid food so maybe that will contribute a few extra calories although I know it doesn't do much.
So far she loves fruit, especially peaches. We haven't tried a fruit yet that she doesn't like, though pears are definitely her least favorite. She really loves carrots and sweet potatoes. When she eats carrots she makes ummy noises. It is hilarious. She still doesn't like peas much. She will eat a few bites but that is it. I still offer them to her because I want to give her a chance to learn to like them but I don't push eating them. Not yet anyway. That comes later. The verdict is still out on green beans. Aaron tried to give them to her last night but she was way to tired to want to cooperate with eating from a spoon. She has gotten really good at opening her mouth wide for the spoon...if it's something she likes. If it's peas, she can shut her little mouth up tighter than a clam and she puckers her lips out just to make sure that you understand she does not want that nasty gunk in her mouth.
We have been really working on trying to get her hips stretched good every day. She is finally able to sit by herself for a little bit-still less than a minute. She tips over pretty easily because her hips still don't go down quite far enough to really help her maintain her balance. She loves sitting up and playing though, which is good because we can get some good stretching in that way on her hips without her getting mad.
So she is doing really good it seems. It is just hard to not worry about the weight issue. If adding extra calories does not work then we will go see a nephrologist. I have no idea if I'm spelling that right but it is a person who looks at kidney function. I guess there is a possibility that poor weight gain can be due to kidney function and she may not be eliminating acid out of her body like she needs to. We have an appointment with Dr. Honeycutt in a month and he may want to get some tests like that done anyway just to make sure she is still asymptomatic with the tethered spine stuff so if that is the case we may can kill two birds with one stone.

Comments

bee said…
Looks like she is enjoying the bath. I would love to see her open up for a big bite of something she likes. Fun times.
Chrissy Cross said…
You are not a horrible mother. I think your pedi needs to back off on the weight thing. It is not a big deal. Just because she is little doesn't mean there is something wrong with her. Also, if she was a little bit early, like your OB said, then there is a completely different growth chart for preemies. Don't let your pedi make you feel bad. I think Maddy sounds like she is eating great. Clayton didn't eat baby food at all, she would close her mouth as tight as possible. So I just started her on real food. I think Maddy is doing great, 1 lb. in 1 month is good positive weight gain. and the fact she is already starting to sit up a little is awesome!!
bee said…
I LOVE the little sweat suit. Adorable! Of course. : )
bee said…
OHHHH!!!!! Look at her hands!!!!! Her fingers are great! I didn't notice that the first time.

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