Back to the GI... Again

So we're back to frequent trips to the GI. Clare had her six-month follow-up today with her GI. I was so hopeful because she's been eating a greater quantity and variety of food, she LOVES milk with a passion (to the point where we cannot even show her the cup before she eats or she won't eat her dinner, she'll only want to fill up on milk), and she suddenly is growing out of her 9-12 month clothing (yea, since she is over 20 months old!).

The good news is that in the past six months, Clare has grown an inch and a half (explaining the growing out of her clothes). She is staying consistent on her height curve (at a whopping 2% on the charts). However, she has only gained 6 ounces since her last appointment this summer and only an ounce since we were at the office last month for her Synagis shot. (Of which she got her second set of shots today, so Clare is not a happy camper today - she is in hour four of her nap right now.) Much is according to charts at the doctor's, and he is concerned because her weight curve is not a curve at all. It is a flat line. How can you be below 0%?? He kindly plotted Clare on the WS growth chart as well for me, and she jumped to 2% (hooray!), but her growth was still a flat line, so eventually she will "fall off" the WS chart as well. Not so good.

There's always a plan of attack, though. We've all tried to get kids to eat something, so we know how successful that can be. Since Clare loves her milk, we are going to fortify it to increase the calories (which will add an additional 200+ calories to her daily diet). I also have some yummy-sounding samples of Pediasure and Carnation Instant Breakfast Junior to try with her. (They have not been a big hit in the past, but I am always willing to try again.) Clare's GI is concerned about Clare's teensy weensy weight gain, yet he is not doing a full-force attack. We are starting slow and working from there. Since Clare boycotted jarred food some months ago, she has not eaten any fruits or vegetables, other than tomato sauce and the occasional sip of juice (one sip is enough for her). She recently started eating bananas like a monkey, so we're happy with that. However, that's it. So we will also be experimenting with different ways to feed Clare half a Flintstone vitamin every day. Clare is scheduled to have thyroid blood work done next month, so her GI is going to order a full panel of tests as well. (Another thing I appreciate about many of Clare's doctors - they are willing to wait a month for non-urgent tests so we can avoid too many needle sticks.) He is going to test her liver function, kidney function, enzyme levels, repeat C-DIF and other parasite tests (of which she was negative for a year ago), and anything else he can think of to be sure nothing is missed.

Here's to gaining some holiday weight!!