Ellie is officially "failing to thrive". She weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces on January 4th. She weighed 7 pounds 8.4 ounces on January 22nd. We spent a full week adding extra calories to any expressed breast milk (EBM) bottles she received (3-4 per day while I'm at work, none on the weekend), and pushing feedings every 3 hours during the day.
Today she weighed... 7 pounds 8.4 ounces.
So we're going to do a trial of Zantac, knowing that it probably won't help because she's not showing ANY of the classic signs of reflux except for failure to gain weight, but also knowing it won't hurt either. And I'm making an appointment with a pediatric gastroenterologist who will hopefully have some more answers for us (though I'm not counting on it).
My poor, tiny Ellie.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Failure to Thrive
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33 comments:
Oh, I'm so sorry. I hope the gastroenterologist will provide some answers for you.
elizabeth
Oh, poor little sweetheart!
Poor kiddo! Hopefully the specialist will be able to figure out what's going on quickly.
Oh goodness, how scary. I hope the docs can figure out what's going on.
poor little boo. i hope the docs can turn things around soon.
I am praying for little Ellie.
Oh, the poor sweet little girl. I'm so sorry about the diagnosis, but hopefully the gi doc will have some ideas for you.
Yikes, that is scary. What about feeding her every 2 hours? A lot of breastfed babies seem to stick to the ever-2-hours schedule. I have read that breastmilk takes about 90 minutes to digest so it makes sense. Or maybe it's an allergy thing? Sometimes that appears in weird ways. You have probably throught of those things already, but I figured I'd throw 'em out there just in case. Hopefully I'm not being annoying.
I hope you get it all figured out soon!
Oh poor little Ellie and poor you! You must be so worried! I hope the Zantac helps!
I hope that it works and that she is soon gaining weight like her brother and sister!
I'm so sorry, feeding/FTT issues can be some of the MOST frustrating. I hope that the ped gast person helps and that you get all the support you need. Also, it goes without saying, you are doing such a good job helping her with this. Your dedication to her well-being is amazing.
oh, poor little ellie. i hope things turn around soon.
Poor little Ellie.
I hope they can figure out what is going on. A friend of mine has been struggling with this for over 2 years with her daughter. Let me know if you'd like to get in touch with her about it.
Bless her little heart and yours too.
Poor baby (and mommy). Hope you're able to get some answers from the docs.
Poor little Ellie. After her share of 58 gallons plus supplemental calories, it's amazing that she's still a pipsqueak.
Hopefully the doc will find an answer and get our girl on the fast track to some chubby cheeks soon.
Great to see you on Saturday night!
So sorry to hear about the failure to thrive. My Alyssa also had failure to thrive. She was allegric to me and wasn't absorbing protiens. The GI did wonders, so here's hopeing that you guys get the answers and she can get back on track.
Thanks for keeping us updated...
Kimberly and the GA Guinn trips
www.guinnfamilyhome.com
I am so sorry this is happening. At the same time, is it appropriate to feel a bit of relief that it is official now?
I was almost asleep this past Shabbat when, for no particular reason, an idea appeared in my head that Ellie's stomach could be too small. I have no idea why that popped into my head. It doesn't make sense either, because it would mean she'd want to eat more often, not go on strike.
But it did get me thinking that the problem could be purely anatomical, not about something happening like reflux or allergies, but plainly about structure. Examining internal anatomy is different from performing blood, urine, and stool tests.
Relatedly, I wondered whether Ellie is taking a long time to digest, that she eats and then isn't hungry for a long time because her stomach and GI tract and everything is still all full. But then, you'd probably notice a pattern, with all your keeping track of the intake and output. I don't think you've yet given us an idea of her eating and striking patterns, though.
In any event, I am relieved to read that there exists and you plan to see a pediatric gastroenterologist! I hope s/he's a good one. May this be solved speedily and completely.
You did get the results of the blood tests, right? Does Ellie's output seem different from that of the others in any way? At what point did the growth first begin to slow? When Ellie is striking, will she take a bottle of water?
Ellie and all of you will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.
I am so sorry this is happening. At the same time, is it appropriate to feel a bit of relief that it is official now?
I was almost asleep this past Shabbat when, for no particular reason, an idea appeared in my head that Ellie's stomach could be too small. I have no idea why that popped into my head. It doesn't make sense either, because it would mean she'd want to eat more often, not go on strike.
But it did get me thinking that the problem could be purely anatomical, not about something happening like reflux or allergies, but plainly about structure. Examining internal anatomy is different from performing blood, urine, and stool tests.
Relatedly, I wondered whether Ellie is taking a long time to digest, that she eats and then isn't hungry for a long time because her stomach and GI tract and everything is still all full. But then, you'd probably notice a pattern, with all your keeping track of the intake and output. I don't think you've yet given us an idea of her eating and striking patterns, though.
In any event, I am relieved to read that there exists and you plan to see a pediatric gastroenterologist! I hope s/he's a good one. May this be solved speedily and completely.
You did get the results of the blood tests, right? Does Ellie's output seem different from that of the others in any way? At what point did the growth first begin to slow? When Ellie is striking, will she take a bottle of water?
Ellie and all of you will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.
oh karen I'm so sorry this is happening. I will hope hard that it doesn't take long to find out what's causing ellie's issues, and to fix them.
Karen,
I'm so sorry to hear that the increased calories are not showing any improvements with Ellie. I hope you get in with the gastro doc quick and find some answers.
I hope the doctor is able to discover what the problem is quickly. Good luck!
So sorry to hear about Ellie. Hope the GI docs can find out what is going on soon. It was great to meet you on Saturday night.
Karen, I'm so sorry. I hope you get some answers and solutions to this problem soon.
Oh Karen, I am so sorry! I will be thinking of you and Ellie and hope that the GI will give you some answers. I'm thinking of you!!!
I just found your blog through another I read. I am REALLY impressed with your nursing 3, that is awesome! Keep up the great work! You are super mom!
Hugs and best wishes to all of you.
I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. I have a friend who dealt with this, and her GI put her arm around her and said, "failure to thrive is NOT failure to nurture!" She broke down crying at that point, because it gave voice to having to hear that awful term, and all the guilt she felt even though she was doing everything right, as I'm sure you are. I hope you get some answers soon. I think you're doing an incredible job with those three (plus one more).
I am keeping Ellie and you in my prayers....I hope you all can find some answers soon!!!
- Kelli
Love to little Ellie.
And lots of strength to you.
oh ellie! how she will learn later in life how yummy food is and how much fun eating is. i hope the doctor can figure out what's wrong so she can get all fat and roly-poly soon.
Thinking of you and little Ellie. Wishing for the best for her.
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