Today was Faith and Grace's 15-month check up. I went in knowing exactly what would become sticking points -- their ears and their weight. And I wasn't disappointed.
Today, their ears seemed to be fine, but Dr. T could already see some fluid build up in Grace's right ear, so we're on "alert" for an ear infection. And since Faith is just one big ear infection after another, we're always on alert for her. I'm certain tubes will happen sometime in the not-too-distant future.
The girls' naked weights were taken and Faith came in at 17 lbs, 14 oz while Grace is at 18 lbs, 8 lbs, 8 oz. I was astonished to see how little both of them had gained in recent months. I knew Faith wasn't gaining, but Grace isn't exactly packing on the pounds either.
I asked Dr. T about them and she agreed that they really aren't where they should be. To give you a reference, a friend of mine has a little boy who weighs 15 pounds and he's only four-and-a-half months old. My best friend's son is six months younger than the twins and weighs nearly 21 pounds. YOWZA.
Truthfully, my heart feels as though they will be just fine. I don't really think that there's anything wrong with them. But there's always that element of doubt that sticks in the back of your mind, making you doubt everything you know to be true. This time is no different -- I definitely have doubts.
Dr. T isn't in panic mode, either, which helped me a lot. She told me that they may just be small kids. She very politely pointed out that Todd and I are not exactly tall (Todd's a monster at 5' 10" compared to me at 5' 2") and that the twins being preemies may just be making their small nature all the smaller.
To be on the safe side, we're going to do some blood work to check for red and white cell counts and thyroid activity and see a Gastrointerologist to make sure there isn't some sort of digestion issue going on.
I'm not looking forward to either one of these, but I am looking forward to confirming that my girls are fine and just petite.
So here are my questions for you moms-of-preemies, moms-of-small kids and anyone else who just has something to add: Have you been through this with your kids? What was the outcome? Can you recommend any foods that can help my little ones "beef up" a little? We eat a lot of cheese and avocados around here, but I'll take all kinds of suggestions.
Leave a comment or zip me an email -- I'll take all the advice and reassurance I can get and truly appreciate anything you can add.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Calling All Moms of Preemies
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
You asked the right person on the weights. Sydney and Hailey were only 15 pounds and 16 pounds at their one year and I was upset. The doctor felt o.k. about it but I was in a panic because I felt their weight gain had really slowed from before. I was worried I was not feeding them enough etc... My doctor reassured me that they were fine and that babies do not gain as much as they get older. Several of my other preemie moms also reassured me. I was told that table foods were higher in calories so I went ahead and pushed those and I also added a scoop of formula to make their milk higher in calories. Again all things I did to ease my mind, doctor was not worried. At two the girls had gained to be 22 and 23 pounds, still just 5%. No one was concerned they were just meant to be petite. Anyway, I hope this will reassure you. They are bigger now, still waiting for their appointment to confirm if they are on the charts much though. I really think your girls will catch up where they need to be. ((HUGS))
Ryann was not quite 20 lbs at her first year check-up, and I was told she was a little on the petite side! The doc said not to be afraid to put butter on her toast (or anything else that tastes better with butter). I'm sure the girls are just fine. Everyone grows at their own speed. Luke's been 30 lbs for over a year now...he must need more butter.
Bye for now!
Sara
We give Tate Carnation Instant Breakfast in his whole milk . . . it boosts the calories from 22 an ounce to 35 an ouce! It is high in protein, so the nutritionist said not to give it to him more than 3x per day (24 oz). The problem is that if we don't space out the milk from the meals, he won't touch his food. We usually just give it right AFTER a meal "to fill in the cracks" as the nutritionist says. I am always surprised at how much milk he will drink when he was supposedly "finished" with his dinner. As you know, we have all sorts of feeding issues though . . . so your girls may eat plenty at meal time and want nothing to do with an after meal top-off.
Also, there is a product called DuoCal . . . it is a powder that will dissolve in foods and is tasteless/odorless . . . a tablespoon is 45 calories, I think.
After all of the testing they did on Tate, the endocrinolgist recently ordered a "bone age" study on him. Basically, they took xrays of several key points on his body and then checked to make sure his growth was on track for his age. Indeed, it is. This told us that he is actually growing (height-wise) as he should be . . . he's just on the small side . . . and with Jeff at 5'10 and me at 5'1" it makes sense. Why they couldn't do this test sooner, I don't know . . .
i don't have any advise as far as weight wise on the twins as mine were 18 & 19 lbs. at a year, but i do think that your girls are just going to be pettite. the dr.s still say that my girls are on the small side too, go figure! anyway, i bet they are fine, but i think it's a good idea to have the tests just to be sure and to put your own mind at ease! have a great weekend, and keep us updated!
My girls are petite! At 16 months old my girls weighed between 18.11 lbs and 19.5 lbs. They still are below the 4th percentile for weight but are finally well on the charts for height. Are your girls still progressing on their own growth curve? That is what our ped always looked at. We also eat alot of cheese and sour cream around here. I add it to pasta and potatoes all the time! I hope your follow up dr. appts confirm that your girls are just petite. We never tried the Carnation Instant breakfast, but I bet it would be a big treat:)
Dr Danney...that is who Dale went to. He had the tests and all and his growth hormones were a little low but not bells and whitsles...but he is fine now....all in due time, they sleep when they want, eat when they want, listen when they want so they will grow when they want. As far as extra calories, maybe try the carnation instant breakfast or protein products that body builders use to pack on pounds. But in their defense they are moving around and not that they have ever been still blobs, but they were still for a while and now they are mobile which burns all they take it....what packs it on for me would be good tv, candy, soda and junk food....not saying that is the most sound option out there but it is an option.
Travis is a little guy too, but not a multiple and was born at 36.5 weeks. At 21 months, he's at 22lbs. His doctors (pediatrician & pediatric gastroenterologist) are not concerned as long as he keeps going along his own growth curve that parallels the "normal" curve. Our gastro was funny about it -- he asked what the grandparents were saying. He said the grandparents are always the first to remark if a child is unusually small or big for what is "normal" in a family. No comments from the grandparents, and he's similar in size to what Matt and I, and our siblings were, at that age. Our doctor did advise us to give Travis his milk with his snacks, not his meals, so that he'd eat a full meal. That has seemed to help!
Hey Erin! I wouldn't worry if I were you..indeed look at you and your hubby... I know my little girl Georgia is small..she was 17 lbs 12 oz at her 15 month appt...smaller than both of yours and she wasn't a preemie! As you know, I'm not real big so she comes by it naturally. Neither of my kiddos are big and we're not worried and neither is my pedi. We didn't and aren't going to do any tests on Georgia as she is still gaining and fine on her own curve (even though at that appt she wasn't even on the chart!.. at her one year though she was up to the 3%!) As far as food..she eats whatever we eat. For adding calories, I think just to stick with what you're doing and add maybe a few more healthy choices (I love that you do avocados!). Bagels with almond honey whipped cream cheese, natural ice cream...that sort of thing. Adding calories without adding sugar can be a treat for everyone! :0)
~robin
Hey Erin! I know exactly how you feel. Madison is about 12 pounds at 5 1/2 months. But just remember how tiny they were when they were born, and how far they have come. I used to get so irritated when people would ask " How old is she", then i could finish their sentence." She is so small" Now I just look and see how happy and healthy she is and realize, hey I am no monster either. They will grow, and before long you will wonder what happened to that tiny little thing!
Lita
Do you use anything like PediaSure? That is supposed to have major calories in it and very effective from what I've heard from friends of mine who have used it to encourage weight gain. My b/g twins were born at 35 weeks weighing 5.5 and 5.15 and left the hospital on Enfacare (high cal formula) but they gained TOO MUCH weight on it so now they are on regular formula. At 10 months they are both 20 lbs. I bet everything is just fine, I think I'd focus on how they have been growing for them not just based on the height/weight chart. Good luck with the tests and we'll be thinking of you all.
Post a Comment