Hope is weighing in at just over 17 and a half pounds and is 29 1/2 inches tall. The doctor isn't very happy with that. She has gained about a pound since her 12 month visit and has grown 2 inches. Her weight has fallen off the chart from the third percentile and the doctor wants me to start her on Pediasure STAT. After trying to wean her from her acid reflux meds (Prevacid) we decided she was not ready for that yet...she quit eating and sleeping within the week and is back to doing both now that she has been back on for a week. She is also having some trouble with her scalp. It is very dry and flaky and her hair seems to be thinning a bit on top. The pediatrician prescribed a cream because he was afraid it was a fungus...I am not so sure. I am going to take her to the dermatologist on Monday because she is due for a visit anyhow and see what they say. I have no idea where she would get a fungal infection since her brothers do not have it. I think she just has super sensitive skin and maybe I need NOT put pigtails in her hair all the time. We shall see. A second opinion never hurts right?
As for the weight gain, I have decided to take a wait and see approach. She has a weight check in a couple of weeks. I don't want to put her on Pediasure if it isn't absolutely necessary. I am trying hard to feed the kids whole, natural, real foods and the first two ingredients in Pediasure are water, and sugar. Plus a whole lot of chemicals and preservatives put into a can and sold as nutrition. (OFF your soapbox Kristy!) Anyway, we stocked up on foods she loves, avacadoes, yogurt, beans, bananas, and the like and are gonna try to do it the natural way.
Don't get me wrong. IF I really thought she was not thriving, I would do it, but she is...we counted...she says about 80 words, runs, walks, follows commands, plays, eats, and even has gone on the potty a couple of times. She is not lacking in development. She looks healthy and I am thinking she might be a small girl.
That said, the doctor's words still stick right there in the back of my mind making me doubt. We will see how things go in a couple of weeks and go from there. Otherwise she is doing great! She is just starting to sleep through the night. She goes to bed around 8, wakes up at midnight for a quick snuggle, and then has been sleeping until 7 or 8 which is HUGE for us!
What, Mom? I am fine!
Sitting on the step waiting with Luke for the Bus, eating a freshly harvested pepper in her brother's old Firetruck PJ's.
Roasted Red Pepper hummus by the spoonful!
So smart she is playing chess!
Black bean and pineapple salsa at Paladar on a girls day!
Hey, it's Moses! Oh wait! Those babies in baskets are the Boltes! :)
Getting SO big (despite the numbers) and such a happy girl!
12 comments:
My daughter was my first child and was SO tiny. At 1 year she weighed just 16 pounds, then at two, just 18lbs! I was sent to take her to nutritionists and the like even though she was perfectly healthy, meeting all of her milestones and smart as a whip. I am happy to report, I did my own thing too, which, by the way, never did a whole lot of good as far as her weight was concerned (she never went over the 5th percentile...) she wore "slim" jeans with adjustable waists for the past 8 years, but I am now happy to report, she is a very happy, vibrant, 9 year-old who cannot for the life of her button the waist on size 10 jeans!!! To our amazement she gained 21 pounds in the past year and has grown by leaps and bounds! She is still a bit small for her age, but her Doc says she probably always will be! Good luck to you and Hope, she will be fine!
Claire was at almost the exact same weight percentage for a while from 12 months to 14 months. Our doctor recommended heavy fattening foods and I cringed. Claire has never had deep fried foods or ay type of pastries. And we only give her water and soy milk to drink. This time period is the most formative time period for their eating habits and will likely stick with them for life. BUT our doctor did recommend putting more olive oil on things (vegetables, breads, etc.), as well as upping her carbs, and voila Claire is now in the 40th percentile.
You do what you think is right and it will work out great in the end! We live in a society where pudgy rolls are glamorized on babies... SO overrated and sad for when those little ones grow up to have (much bigger) rolls as adults. Ok, now I'm on my soapbox! You do great Kristy! Those kids are clearly happy and healthy!
80 words????? WOW that is more than my almost 3 yr old says!!! Great job Hope!
She looks beautiful and so smart. Just remember as you already know God has His hands watching over your precious girl. He is keeping her skin safe and protected and I am sure He will do the same for the rest of her body. My oldest Rose was always tiny and the doctors gave me a hard time about her weight (I'd have gladly donated some of my excess pounds to her if I could have haha). Anyway she was always a great eater and still is but her body just wasn't ready to put on that weight. Now at age 6 she has gone from being at the bottom of the charts in height and weight to being near the top. I did nothing different Her body did what it needed to do and I just kept feeding her well and healthy like I had been all along. I also used to wonder how many of those growth charts are skewed by kids who eat McDonald's and other fattening food. (Although I have a very healthy eating baby who is a chunk and doesn't eat a lot of junk foods) When Rose was needing some fattening up I used baby cereal in her applesauce, yogurt, soups smoothies etc. It added a few extra calories and also made her food thicker so she could feed herself.
On another note my baby Violet (same age as Hope) had a big blister on the bottom of her toe last week. It had popped and was red raw and causing her pain. I hurt for her so badly and yet was so thankful that her skin can heal so quickly, something I used to take for granted. I also was thanking God that that blister was not on your precious Hope's little toe and that God was watching over her. I can't even imagine the pain EB moms must face when they have to change their children's bandages after our week with just one blister that healed quickly. Hugs and prayers that Hope's skin continues to miraculously stay clear and healthy.
Rachel in TN
she looks just like her red-haired big brother!
can i tell you just how much i love seeing pictures of your girl? it isn't because she's cute... although she IS absolutely adorable! that certainly makes it even better! but the REAL reason i love it is because technically, scientifically, medically, she should NOT look how she does. not at all. and as someone who is facing potentially fatal health conditions that doctors really can't get a grip on, or even control the symptoms of, and it's nice to see how well Hope is doing.
because, really, there is only one explanation. ONE. and it's the One who has the power to do the same for me and anyone else.
so thank you for sharing your girl with us & allowing God to use her. :-)
- michelle
She may just be tiny. My daughter had severe reflux as an infant and was weighing 18 1/2 lbs. at 16 mon. And at birth, she was an 8 lb. 15 oz. baby! That means she took 16 months to even double her birth weight. She was on the small side until about 3 1/2. From then on, she stayed average. She was like Hope, sang whole songs, talked up a storm, but was a late walker, thanks to chronic ear infections. Keep an eye on Hope, but don't worry too much. She looks and sounds healthy. :)
is that an amber teething necklace? does she wear it alot? try having her not wear it for a month or longer and see if her scalp gets better. I got one for my daughter and I think it is really cute but she gets little bumps on her neck when she wears it. maybe your daughter is having a reaction to it. It get's into their blood stream so maybe it's not good for some children. Just a thought..
Oh, and I think she looks very healthy and happy! :)
Cort was exactly like that and a gastro doctor wanted him on pediasure but I felt the exact same way - it hardly has more fat and calories then whole milk(that we get from a local dairy farm here) and we could up his calories in a much more healthy way. Cort has always been on target developmentally and at 4.5 just now weight 30 lbs....but he is FINE just no where on the charts!!!. You are good to keep an eye on it, but trust your gut - you know your girl!! Cort had horrible reflux too - it took for ever for us to wean him off his prevacid.
Completely agree with you on the Pediasure. I would try everything before I gave my child a steady diet of it. Perhaps you could get her on high-calorie homemade drinks of some sort... there have to be recipes out there! We are NOT the only "natural" mamas out there with teeny kids!
(Aaron is off the chart for weight too, at 2 years & 22ish lbs)
Anyway, Hope is so sweet! Thanks for updating!
She looks healthy to me...for what thats worth ;) Don't let them give you a hard time. Both my boys were SCRAWNY (still are). Silas fell off the bottom of the chart as a toddler for weight too. He has all kinds of allergies, and major food aversions too so it was hard to get him enough sometimes. fortunately he liked avocados :) Our 6 month old foster baby is a porker though..Loves her bottle, loves all kinds of food and is over 17 lbs!
Babes come in all shapes and sizes.
All my kids are still wirey and wear "slim" jeans...I think it's healthier that way anyway. The "babyfat" sometimes doesn't get outgrown....
I like Rachaels comment. i never really though about the percentiles being skewed by overweight french fry scarfing kids. They probably are though. I think feeding our kids healthy foods...and teaching them good eating habits from infancy sets them up for a life time of better health...even if they start out a little scrawny compared to their peers.
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