Ever since Eliza came home almost 16 months ago she has never, ever, ever consumed more than four ounces of formula at a time. I have been told "she has a small stomach." Well I was willing to buy that for some time, although considering the rest of her has grown, not much mind you, one would think her stomach had also grown. No such luck. In fact this past week it seems her stomach has in fact shrunk. For the past week she has rarely been able to consume more than two ounces at a time. I can only imagine what explanation I'll be given for this new development when I see her GI on Friday. I am fairly certain that the majority of the medical profession believes that parents, like me, are blooming idiots and that any nonsense they try to pass off on us will be happily accepted by us.
My little guy has a tiny stomach as well - 4 oz? That would have been a joke not even 6 months ago. When he first came home we were ecstatic if he would have 2 oz. He's nearly 20 months now, and finally got the hang of and the desire for more (a whopping 7 oz if we're lucky).
ReplyDeleteHe's a relatively good eater though, so I really feel a lot of compassion for you. I'm pulling for you and little Eliza Grace.
When Eliza first came home she was the queen of the 2 ounce "snack." After a few months she did "bulk up" to 4 ounces but has now regressed back to 2 ounces. Can't figure it out for the life of me since she is not eating anything to supplement her meager formula intake.
ReplyDeleteI read your post about the frozen breast milk.... I can't think of anything more meaningful to say than "Arrrgggghhhh."
I've been thinking of you guys and wondering how the eating has been going...or not going unfortunately. I too think that the "small stomach" line is a load of you know what. It will be interesting to see what your GI thinks this week.
ReplyDeleteDid you girls watch the runners in the marathon yesterday?
OH, I know, it's so frustrating! I'm trying to come up with some kind of ceremony or party to make it easier to throw away :)
ReplyDeleteIs Eliza Grace eating any better today?
Emery can now take a whopping 75 mL at a time (which is what he was supposed to be taking 4 months ago in the hospital)... oh, and that's when he wants to. We're 'lucky' though. We have the tube.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I don't know if they think we are idiots or not, but each time we go to the doc and I explain about the vomiting, the pain, the refusal to eat, the vomiting, the frustration, the vomiting, the screaming, the painful bowel movements, and did I mention the vomiting, he just sort of laughs and says "try this." He tells me that basically what they're doing is buying time until the kid grows out of it. My thought process is, 'exactly when do these kids grow out of it.' Prematurity is a life-long problem unfortunately.
I hope you get a solid answer, and then let us know what it is.
I do think that many of these doctors think we are pure idiots. You are right, they are buying time for something magical to happen. One reason, among many, that I adore Eliza's pedi is that he will actually say "I really don't have a good answer for you and I feel awful for you and Eliza." Now THAT's refreshing coming from a doctor. I also wonder if it hasn't dawned on some of these guys that there is a group like us out here who talk to one another and trade notes, tips, medical info, etc. Maybe they think we are so distraught that we don't have time to research and find other familes in the same boat (actually given the number of us we'd need a freaking ship)?
ReplyDeleteWe went through exactly this!! Caitlin to this day has such a small tummy. I remember crying because Caitlin would only intake 2 oz. Caitlin still is just 20 lbs exactly and going to be 2 next month. What you can do to help her put some weight on is add oatmeal and also heavy whipping cream to her bottle. Just for one tbsp it is 50 calories. We normally add 2 and its an extra 100 calories and they can't even really taste it. Also another thing we do is add carnation instant breakfast about 2 scoops the vanilla flavor. Its totaly safe and good for them. Hope this helps a bit. I knwo where you are at and its darn frustrating
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