Henry has always been on the little side. Both in terms of height and weight. We’ve been waiting to see if he has some huge growth spurt, but always aware that he might just be little genetically. Which is fine if that’s who he is.
But lately, my mommy gut has been getting the best of me about his size. You see, Henry is below the 1% for his age. But just HOW far below 1% is the concern…and the fact that he seems to have fallen off even his OWN growth patterns. You see, to even be in the 50% range (average) he would have to weigh FIVE POUNDS more than he does now. Not to mention, that he’s only gained about 1-1.5 pounds in the last FOUR months. That’s a concern. Especially considering that he eats like a hog. Even my daycare provider has commented on how much he eats, more than once.
To complicate matters, the kid is a puzzle with a million variables:
–He’s 50% Portuguese…and we aren’t known for being a big people. So, it could just be who God made him.
–He has a heart issue. Apparently, typically Pulmonary Stenosis doesn’t affect growth…but it can. So, maybe, maybe not the cause.
–He can’t have dairy or soy. So, maybe he’s not getting enough nutritionally?
–He is really active…so maybe he’s burning it off?
–And maybe, it’s a mixture of all these things. Maybe it’s a combination of not getting enough fat in his diet PLUS his heart working harder to pump blood?
Add to the mix that it looks like he’s weaning himself…it is impossible to keep him focused during nursing times…so, while most parents are told to feed their baby cow’s milk until they are 2, I can’t do that (or soy milk…and rice milk has no fat)…so now what????
I talked about this with Dr. Bravo on the phone this morning, so we have an appointment next Thursday to run some blood panels to see what is going on metabolically, check for Celiac’s, talk to the cardiologist, look at vitamin supplements, maybe even a nutritionist and/or allergist…see if we can figure this kid out. I have to keep a detailed log of everything Hen eats over the next week.
While I would never wish him away, and would never ever want to change my little Hen Ben…I do sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a baby who didn’t have all kinds of special restrictions, impending surgery, and various doctor’s visits constantly. Kids are hard enough when there’s nothing wrong…and I know that none of this is really all THAT bad…I’m making a bigger deal of it than it is or has to be…but I just wish there was less of a guessing game. All in all, I love him to pieces and can’t imagine life (complicated as it may be) without him! Little punk!
I'm a mom to four. A wife to one. I believe in story. I love telling you about mine and would love to hear yours. There's really no sense in wasting our suffering and not sharing in each other's joy. We're all in this together...even if it doesn't always feel like it.
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Every mom worries about their babies, especially their firstborns. You just have more cause to worry. Are there any “weight gainer” shakes for babies? J/K, maybe there is a formula that would be good for him. My kids all weaned themselves around 9 months and between 9-12months we fed them formula which fattened them up almost immediately. Hope your doctor can make some recommendations. Sorry it has to be like this for you.
Hmmm… looking on the bright side, you’ll soon be able to eat whatever the heck you want again! :)
But seriously, don’t you just love Dr. Bravo? I love that he listens to our concerns and acts on them. He doesn’t just smile and nod and send you home with a pat on the back. So until you know more from the upcoming tests, just keep doing whatever you’re doing because he’s sure not looking like he’s hurtin’!
that’s frustrating! i’m glad the doc is going to run tests. warning flags went up with our doc when nehemiah was in the 7th percentile (of course, he eats like a bird). he did gain weight, so it didn’t end up being an issue. definitely be his advocate if your gut tells you something is wrong. no one knows him like you do, and it’s better to know everything’s fine after running a bunch of tests than to not know at all. and don’t think twice about getting a second opinion if you are concerned. he’s your son after all.
good thing he’s stinkin’ cute. :)
that is hard. i hear such wonderful things about doc bravo. my niece had to be on goat’s milk for awhile because of allergies. it didn’t smell that great, but you know, you do what you have to for your kid. i’ll pray for peace for you–the not knowing is the hardest. and i agree that he is so cute!