Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Pour Your Heart Out: A Sigh of Relief



It is no secret that Lil' B has been my "difficult" baby. She was a colicky infant who did not sleep well until she was 10 months old. Now at 16 months, she still does not sleep through the night every night.

Lil' B also had a hard time starting solid foods and is now an extremely picky eater. She is into carbs and butter (can I blame her?), but is only patient enough to sit in her high chair for 5 minutes at a time. Hence, there is very little actual eating going on around here.

As far as her weight goes, she has not been on the traditional growth charts for some time now. She is on her own curve below the zero percentile. Last month at her 15 month well check, B did not gain any weight, not even an ounce, in the three months since her 12 month visit.

My normally patient and understanding pediatrician came into our room with a worried look on her face. She started talking about allergy testing, specialist referrals, and endoscopies. "But first, let's try PediaSure. Come back in four weeks, and if she still hasn't gained, it's time for the next step."

I was terrified and cried right there in her office. I did not want to submit my child to a wild goose chase of tests and procedures when all other indicators of her health and development are normal or above normal.

So began the month of November. Every meal and snack was anxiety ridden. Every uneaten bite left on her tray frustrated and worried me. I felt like I was holding my breath the entire month.

Thankfully, she took to the PediaSure, which is God's gift to slow weight gainers, like a champ. I knew that the PediaSure was our only hope.

Yesterday, I took Lil' B for her weight check, and it was good news. Little miss gained a whole pound in a month! She's still not on the traditional growth curve, but she is back on track.

And Mama breathes a huge sigh of relief.

This post is Linked Up with Shell's Pour Your Heart Out meme at Things I Can't Say.

12 comments:

Shell said...

Definitely a relief! Grow, little peanut, grow!

Kmama said...

That has to be a relief!! Buddy was diagnosed as "failure to thrive" when he was about 2.5 years old. We believe it was because he was allergic to so many foods that we were feeding him, and his body wasn't digesting anything properly. He's still small (5th to 10th percentile for height and weight), but he's doing very well.

Oh, and Buster is my terrible sleeper. FINALLY, at about 2.5 years old, he started sleeping better. He's now sleeping through the night most nights, but will still wake about 10% of the time. He also doesn't need nearly as much sleep as most kids his age do, which is odd (and frustrating for me!).

Jenn said...

What a relief this must be! My daughter is on the lower end of the growth charts too. It's definitely a struggle. Good luck to you!

Go Mommy said...

Love pediasure, we had to have my son drink it when he broke his leg because the little bugger was so sad that he couldn't move that he just didn't eat.
Grow baby grow!!

Di said...

My mom use to follow us around with food since we never wanted to slow down long enough to eat. It was inconvenient for her I'm sure but it worked!

Unknown said...

Way to go Lil' B!!! So happy to hear it!

Oka said...

I would of been a wreck the whole month too, glad to hear that PediaSure helped.

Renegades said...

Glad to read she's gaining.

Jessica said...

What a worried mama you must have been. I'm glad she finally jumped on board the dinner caboose!

Dawn Lopez said...

What great news! I am SO glad that worked for you..

I am stopping by to say hi (fellow Dream Team member) Hope you have a great week!

Heather said...

I am glad you got some relief from worrying!!
Your daughters look like a lot of fun!
Thanks for stopping by yesterday and commenting on my brother's post!!
It is nice to meet you.

Cheryl said...

YAY for PediaSure!