Rory is eating and still no weight gain!!

I'll admit it. I'm bummed. I wasn't going to weigh her, but the curiousity got the better of me. She's been eating so well, I thought for sure she would have gained (well, I was hoping....she didn't look bigger). She weighed 18lbs 5 oz today, the same as 2 weeks ago and just under a pound gained in 5 months. I'm bummed. But really, it is sooo enjoyable to watch her eat. We went to McD's yesterday while shopping (a girls day out so to speak) and I bought her a jar of baby food, Apples & Strawberries, just to satisfy the motherly side of me who said "you can't give your baby salty fries only).....and to my surprise she ate half the jar, fries, cheerios and hot fudge sundae...I fed her the white part and kept the fudge for myself :). It's thoroughly life changing. BUT I still can't help myself...I NEED to worry.

My friends at PAGER and I were discussing what would happen if she were to get sick. The thought hadn't crossed my mind, but it's a legitimate concern considering she'll be starting daycare next month and has never really been exposed to much in the apartment. Well, wouldn't you know, she woke up from nap early, and feeling quite miserable. Not sure what's going on. She ate a CRAP LOAD of KD for lunch...but her nose is runny...cold....teeth? Not sure. She's really whiny, which is sort of rare....so of course, I had to take some pictures :P

What I mean by *ribby*

Rory swimming at Grand Lake. She is soooo ribby. Her little swimmers are a size small, and are still too big!!!

Update on Rory

K, I'm the suckiest blogger lately....but I have good reason. Rory has been keeping me very busy. She is so active!

The last month has been very productive. Rory's eating has improved drastically. We've put her on cold bottles, self-fed only, "cold turkey" and while I had apprehension about doing this, it has actually increased her appetite, because she's only drinking about 22 to 24 oz a day, instead of 26 to 30 oz.

While she is eating very nicely, with few refusals and lots of self-feeding, the quantity she consumes is still not there. However, we hope that it will come with time. Things Rory has eaten in the last month:

Cheerios, Cheese, Soup puree, homemade fruit sherbet, cottage cheese, yogurt, bread & butter, scrambled/fried eggs, blueberries, corn, kidney beans (once), stage 2 baby food, hot dogs chopped and mixed with ketchup, any deli meat, cereal, banana, spaghetti, potatoes and cream cheese, arrowroot cookies, cheezies. She is accepting meat and veggies separately but still not swallowing them. This variety though, has allowed me to offer something different at each meal and snack throughout the day. I just can't believe how far she's come. She still will only eat about an oz of food at a sitting, sometimes less, but because I'm offering food at 2 hour intervals, she gets a lot over the course of the day!!!! The biggest accomplishment is that she's not whining and swatting (at least on good days she's not, we still have bad days).

Her sleeping is still hit or miss. I can't put my finger on the reason. It appears to be tummy pain, but it's not every night and she's fine during the day. It could be a particular food, I suppose, but I'd never figure it out, because I'm not cutting anything out now that she's actually eating.

The only down side to all of this is that I'm afraid she's losing weight, or at least not gaining. She appears very very ribby to me. She'll be 17 months on Sunday, and I'm guessing she's still not 18 1/2 lbs. I'm going to take her to be weighed on Monday, hopefully just to ease my mind. I'm sure it will take a while for her to catch up, weight-wise. I'd LOVE to see her hit 20lbs before she starts daycare, because then the onus is on them to get her to eat, and I'm still not sure how that will go.

I see a lot of children through my support groups online, both with and without medical conditions as well as reflux. Rory is VERY small. I know it's partly genetic, but I still can't help but feel like I should be doing *something* to fatten her up a bit. Whether she needs a higher calorie formula or some kind of supplement, I'm not sure. Her weight on Monday will determine whether I call her pediatrician to discuss this concern.

I can't even imagine at this point when she will come off the bottle. She just doesn't drink from a cup with the exception of a few sips of water over the course of the day. I offer juice and formula in it, but she just spits it out and avoids the cup entirely. I cannot even fathom trying to put her on a cup the cold turkey way....she just wouldn't survive it.

Anyway, I'm trying not to be concerned....after all, she has come very very far. But she still refluxes throughout the day, and she has started holding her breath after she eats, almost like she's grunting or in discomfort. It's weird. I also have to mention this to the ped. Obviously, the acid isn't an issue according to the scope, but the fact that she regurgitates constantly must be uncomfortable!

Feeding Clinic Appt

Rory had her feeding clinic appt today at lunch. She did very well. She ate 1 1/2 oz of soup cube mixture and 2 small bites of banana off the spoon, 1 of which she fed herself. They were quite impressed, as was I for the fact she ate some banana. Also, while we were in the waiting room a little boy offered her a raspberry and she stuffed the whole thing in her mouth....she later spit it out, but I was impressed because she was very put off by the raspberries mommy had offered her days before.

Weight gain: 2 months ago she weighed 8.34 kg, today she weighed 8.41 kg...I think that works out to 18lbs 5 oz today...three weeks ago she weighed 18lbs 4 oz, but on a different scale. They seem to think any gain is fine, that she is following her curve, sooooo.....I can start doing some things "cold turkey" with her, like, NOT warming the bottle and NOT feeding her the bottle myself. They said she can afford to miss a meal or two because it's more important to develop these skills. Should be interesting.

They also told me NOT to feed her soup every day for lunch, to always try different things. I do always try different things, but there is NO WAY I'm going to stop feeding her the ONE thing I KNOW she'll eat everyday...SORRY!!!!

I know she's come a long way, but I just get the feeling that the clinic is disinterested, like, not at all concerned about the fact that she eats less than 4 oz of food a day, 2 oz of which is SOUP!!!

Anyway, they suggested that I not feed her before bed, and not to feed her when she wakes up at night, and not to feed her the bottle if she won't do it herself....I'm trying to stay positive, but it is counter-intuitive to me. I am going to try hard to adhere to their suggestions. I also got a talking to about using "tangible" reinforcers if I want her to move beyond soup. I'm going to buckle down and try to whip her in shape before daycare starts. But I swear, if this child loses weight.........

We go back on Friday, Sept 19th to "tie" things up and talk more about how she is doing in daycare. I didn't want to book her for an appt after she's in daycare because I can't miss time my first two weeks at work. The psych didn't think we'd know anything after a few days, but if she doesn't do well, I can always take time off to see them again. I think she is actually going to do well there. I'll probably cancel the feeding appt....all they tell me is the same old stuff.

Anyway, please pray that Rory continues to improve her eating so she can transition easily to daycare and please pray that I have the strength to allow her to learn to feed herself. :)