I've found the solution to the Princess weight problem - Chip needs to share the love and give her some of his weight. Or I need to start feeding her dog food. He's currently 18lbs and 5oz, but he's supposed to be only 12lbs. 6lbs doesn't seem like a lot, but when you're only supposed to weigh 12lbs, that 50% of your weight! That's like a 180lb man weighing 270lbs. For a dog with luxtating patellas, being 6lbs overweight is a big deal, especially since this will be his first winter in cold weather. It's kind of ironic that I'm trying so hard to pile the pounds onto the little princess, and now I'm going to have to peel them off Chip. If only there was a weight transfer machine...then we can transfer those 6lbs from Chip to the princess. He'll be perfect at 12lbs, and she'll be perfect at 16lbs!
Can you tell that I'm starting to lose my sanity JUST a tiny tad? It's been a hard weekend - I've been trying to clean the house in preparation for my parents and grandma to visit for Thanksgiving. Hubby is away all weekend, so I'm on strict mommy-only duty and it makes it all that much harder.
When the doctor prescribed her diet plan, he certainly didn't have me in mind. When I'm not nursing her, I'm giving her a bottle (we're FINALLY taking one) or shoving a spoon down her throat. I don't have time to eat, shower, or sleep until she goes to sleep, but that doesn't last for long. Not that she doesn't want to sleep - but the doctor wants her woken up to eat. It's crazy, I tell you...the last feeding she actually fell asleep in her bumbo (again) while the spoon was in her mouth. When she eats, it's not like a 5 minute snack. Between nursing, the bottle, and eating solids...a feeding session could go for an hour or more, depending on how cooperative she is. There's just not enough time in the day.
BUT, it's not all for naught. We're making progress, just extremely painfully slow. Friday at the pediatrician's office, she weighed in at 10lbs 7oz - that's a 3oz weight gain. She's been holding steady at 10lbs 4oz since last Friday, so I'm not sure if a 3oz weight gain in 7 days is much cause for celebration, but at least it's not a loss.
Our home nurse was kind enough to lend me her scale for the weekend, so I'm been weighing her like a crazy person to see how much food she absorbs and how much milk I'm producing. If I have my numbers right, today she gained 1.25oz. That's great, but I was honestly expecting something more. On Friday, she had at least 27.5oz between nursing and the calorie-enhanced formula, and on top of it she had nearly 7oz of solids. That doesn't sound like a lot, but that calorie-enhanced formula is some major heavy stuff. It's like drinking a milkshake all the time.
The numbers seem right for what a 6 month old should be eating, but I thicken her solids with baby cereal, and her cereal is mixed with that milkshake formula. If you actually sat down and counted calories, she's on a mega super calorie diet. I mean, so much food is going into the child that it should be a highway to obesity. Something just doesn't seem right - they honestly can't expect me to stuff her mouth for the rest of eternity just to maintain a "normal" weight gain. What happens when we revert to a normal people diet? Something's just not right.
Or maybe she's just super mega hungry. I mean, I did catch her eating her foot earlier. I hope that specialist guy isn't trolling the internet...he'll probably accuse me of starving her to the point where she has to start eating her own body parts out of desperation. Oh wait, I forgot - he makes gazillions, he won't be trolling around penny saving blogs. I'm too low for him to dirty himself with. I'm safe. Whew. Had me worried there for a second. Anyway, I REALLY appreciate the outpouring of concern, advice, and encourage from everyone. It means the world to me that strangers are reaching out to help us, when people who really should be helping aren't lifting a single finger. For those of you who shared stories about your own children, I am so grateful to you - in a way you're my glimpse into the future, because frankly I'm having trouble seeing tomorrow (or rather, seeing a tomorrow made up of something other than food).
We're meeting with our local pediatrician on Monday, and hopefully he'll say something smart and sensible and give me a break from this feeding binge. Thanks to some of you who emailed me with resources, we've managed to hit a small breakthrough with hubby's work. The right people are now aware of what's going on and are willing to work with him to make our appointments. Things are looking good, except for the fact that Mommy is dead tired and it's not a solution to do absolutely nothing but feed her. I mean, the poor kid can't even sleep.
I've got some awesome guest posts lined up, as well as a few regular features, so it shouldn't be a deserted graveyard around here. Besides, now that she's on a mainly bottle-and-solid diet, daddy can take over some feedings when he's home and mommy can enjoy some time without a spoon attached to her hand.
4 comments:
I hate you and your princess are going through this. When I was pregnant I had Inner Uterine Growth Restriction. I felt like a terrible Mom from the start. Even though I couldn't control it. Hang in there and they will figure it all out. Maybe she will just start absorbing it all soon and you will have to cut way back. Have your doctors mentioned using real food instead of baby food? You know the high fat foods like advocado or real sweet potatoes with butter. You would just need to mush them up pretty good. I hope it all works out soon. I know you are ready to pull your hair out.
How long has Chip been diagnosed w/ LP? My Cocker (Midnight; just turned 9 on Halloween)has them in both knees and he had surgery on the right one in July and will have to have the other surgery come spring. Midnight had it in the right knee for a little over a yr when he had to have the surgery. He is still doing therapy and is still not putting all his weight on it and using it like he should. I can tell you that he lost 4lbs during therapy and had to gain 1lb back.
Well..from her picture she looks like a healthy little squirt..and look at all that hair! My babies were bald until they were at least 2..lol! I remember having to measure and keep track of every ounce of food and liquid in a notebook....I think I almost ripped some hair out! I took a few weeks but I remember his weight jumped up after that...maybe you will see a bigger weight gain after some time. I know it's hard to not be freaking out..but you are doing all you can right now...just be patient and keep being consistent...it will pay off!
~Angie
Hi, I just wanted to send positive thoughts your way. My 4 month old boy is hungry ALL the time so I know the feeling of constantly preparing bottles, smashing bananas and mixing cereal, then feeding, then cleaning up the kid, washing bottles and dishes, not to mention breastfeeding and pumping, it seems to go on forever! Hope she fattens right up!
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