1/18 Arie's Feeding Update

Oh where to begin. We'll start with the good news. Arie is now eating baby food! He is doing really well and eating about 12-16oz a day. His Prevacid seems to be helping him with the reflux, though when he gets full he still gags.

Now for the bad news. Although he is eating baby food, he has lost 1lb and 3oz, taking him from 16lbs down to 14lbs 13oz (at 8 months old). The reason is because baby food has less fat and calories in it than formula has, and since he started eating food he is drinking waaaay less. That leads us to the next problem. He has slowly started drinking less and less formula. He has been getting constipated on and off as a result, and as I already mentioned he has started loosing weight.

I've been talking back and forth with the Feeding Clinic about what to do. We will be going to get him allergy tested (perhaps tomorrow??). Apparently now they can just draw blood and send it off instead of doing the whole "prick test" thing. The problem with Arie is that he has NO veins, so I'm worried that he will get stuck a million times. The last time they needed blood from him it took 2 different visits with total of 6 needle sticks and STILL no blood! They ultimately had to do it while he was under general anesthesia (for a small procedure), and even then they had to draw his blood and start his I.V. in his foot. Poor guy. So, hopefully the allergy testing will yield some answers. Aside from the eating, the other reason I think he may have an allergy is because he has a wicked diaper rash that just wont go away. We are using $40 butt-cream (and that's what we pay after insurance) to try and clear it up... and I am NEUROTIC about applying it every time we change his diaper. Anyway, I have to wonder if that's from an allergy. It's been an issue since he came home.

In terms of his development, we still haven't started P.T. I haven't heard back from the P.T. and I need to call, but the eating issues are enough to deal with at the moment. He isn't sitting yet (even when I prop him he will only sit up for about 20-30 seconds... it use to be longer) and he isn't crawling. The good news is that he is getting on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth! YEAH ARIE!

I count my blessings that he is such a sweet happy baby. I just wish that we could be done with all of the eating issues. I have to admit that I get so frustrated with him. It's horrible to just watch him starve himself and loose weight like he does... I feel like I'm doing something wrong or like it's my fault. And when I get frustrated at him it makes me feel even more upset at myself.... I should be more sympathetic, but after you've dumped 3 bottles down the drain in a day, it's REALLY hard to be sympathetic! (Not to mention that formula is not cheap!)

The nurse from the clinic is supposed to be calling me back today with some suggestions of things to try/change. I really hope that he starts gaining weight soon! He's now in the 50% for height (meaning that 50% of boys his age are shorter than him, and 50% are taller) and he is waaaay below 0% for weight (meaning that 100% of boys his age weigh more than him). He is also in the 0% on the Korean growth chart.

I've been saying the Serenity Prayer a LOT lately.... for those of you who don't know it, here it is:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage
to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference