I had a nice surprise today when I got the following email from Eliza's speech-feeding therapist about today's session. Eliza attended with Joyce her new nanny and BFF since I had to work (still waiting for the winning Lotto ticket). I don't think I have ever received such a nice report on a feeding therapy session:
Hi Anne,
Eliza had a great session with me today! She ate 2 goldfish and “crunched” on them with her molars- showing me the bites she took. She took a small bite of a grape, took the skin off of it, and ate the remaining piece. Then she took two licks of the applesauce with her finger. She didn’t particularly like the applesauce (not sure if she likes cinnamon?) but she was interested in it. Also, she took a bite of the cracker and then spit it out because it was too big of a bite. But most importantly, Eliza went through the entire session without ANY tantrums, climbing out of the chair, saying no, or swiping things off the table. It was a great session!! I’m really starting to see a huge difference in her demeanor and it can only mean positive things! I told Joyce that the session went really well and she was happy as well. It’s great that Joyce is on board with helping Eliza!!
Thanks!!
Vanessa
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The Best Milestone
Today Eliza said "I wub you Mama" for the first time. Eliza may not be able to say her name or any other three word sentences, but I really don't care since she can say the most important sentence of all.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Just One More Doctor
Today we went to see Eliza's new GI. Her old GI, who I liked, has moved and is now at Yale and an almost 3 hour drive to see him just seems to be a bit much, especially when we live in NYC, land of doctors. But I suppose seeing someone new may not be such an awful thing. I am just not a fan of change particularly when it is a change I haven't asked for or sought out.
At this practice you see a resident first to give some basic updated info and then you see the doctor. The new resident seemed pleasant enough but was a little put off when Eliza decided to pee on the floor. I'm thinking that if a toddler peeing on the floor is alarming, then pediatric GI may not be the specialty for you given how many bodily fluids are involved in that practice.
So as I suspected the new GI asked me no less than half dozen times if I wanted her to put in a G-tube or an NG tube. I explained, no less than a half dozen times that I was not morally opposed to a G-tube if Eliza was being medically or developmentally compromised but that absent that I was not thrilled with the notion. Given the severity of Eliza's sensory issues, in that I can barely wash her face, let alone tape something to her face, the GI conceded that a trial with an NG tube would be useless unless the tube was inserted and removed after each feed. As a single parent with no one to hold Eliza down for the insertion of an NG tube, I just don't see how that would work unless I hired a nurse or Hulk Hogan to come here several times a day to hold Eliza down for the insertion and the subsequent feed. Eliza, I am sure, would be more than helpful in the removal of the tube.
So we have decided to start from scratch to see if we can find a medical reason for Eliza's refusal to eat any kind of solid food and her limited volume intake of formula. I am sure I looked at the doctor like she was nuts when she asked me "are there any foods Eliza consistently pushes away?" Hmmmmm ... other than some yogurt, ice cream and goldfish (tails only) she pushes all food away.
Eliza's prevacid is being increased from 15mg every other day to 30mg a day. Eliza is scheduled to see the allergist to get tested to see if there is something that was missed on that front. If the prevacid doesn't help and if the allergy tests come back negative then we'll look into Delayed Gastric Emptying again and try some out patient sessions at St. Joe's. Eliza will also get another swallow study since she has been choking a bit on anything more "solid" than yogurt or ice cream.
For those of you who have been following our little blog here, you are not crazy nor are you having deja vue. We did all of this 18 months ago. But since Eliza is eating less than she was 18 months ago the thought is that maybe something has happened or developed in the past 18 months that has caused her food refusal to worsen.
And for anyone who has been following Eliza's "stats" she is 23 lbs 8 ozs which is a whopping 4 ounces more than she was in June of this year and she is 33.5 inches long, so virtually no change since June.
I did get a good chuckle a few days ago when someone was telling me how "huge" Eliza was. After me explaining life under the 3d percentile, the person looked at me and said with astonishment "oh, I thought she was one and a half, not two and a half." Great!
Halloween was a bit of a non-holiday once again. Last year Eliza was in the ER with dehydration the day before Halloween and this year trick-or-treating was curtailed by some surgery (me not Eliza). But we dressed up the little miss and got the camera out and once again thanks to Peter, our very favorite photographer, we got some great photos of Eliza. I know she looks like a Medieval barmaid (or the St, Paulie girl according to my friend Ann Marie!), but she is supposed to be Mary Had a Little Lamb. She refused to wear the hat or carry the staff and the lamb was mostly thrown across the lawn. But a fun time was had by all.
This is supposed to be a fun holiday?
Ack! Where did this lamb come from? If you remotely know me then you know I HATE stuffed animals:
Toddler Lamb Toss:
Let me just kill this thing with the utility company flag spike:
Maybe if I just kiss the damn lamb they'll get me out of this "bar wench" costume:
At this practice you see a resident first to give some basic updated info and then you see the doctor. The new resident seemed pleasant enough but was a little put off when Eliza decided to pee on the floor. I'm thinking that if a toddler peeing on the floor is alarming, then pediatric GI may not be the specialty for you given how many bodily fluids are involved in that practice.
So as I suspected the new GI asked me no less than half dozen times if I wanted her to put in a G-tube or an NG tube. I explained, no less than a half dozen times that I was not morally opposed to a G-tube if Eliza was being medically or developmentally compromised but that absent that I was not thrilled with the notion. Given the severity of Eliza's sensory issues, in that I can barely wash her face, let alone tape something to her face, the GI conceded that a trial with an NG tube would be useless unless the tube was inserted and removed after each feed. As a single parent with no one to hold Eliza down for the insertion of an NG tube, I just don't see how that would work unless I hired a nurse or Hulk Hogan to come here several times a day to hold Eliza down for the insertion and the subsequent feed. Eliza, I am sure, would be more than helpful in the removal of the tube.
So we have decided to start from scratch to see if we can find a medical reason for Eliza's refusal to eat any kind of solid food and her limited volume intake of formula. I am sure I looked at the doctor like she was nuts when she asked me "are there any foods Eliza consistently pushes away?" Hmmmmm ... other than some yogurt, ice cream and goldfish (tails only) she pushes all food away.
Eliza's prevacid is being increased from 15mg every other day to 30mg a day. Eliza is scheduled to see the allergist to get tested to see if there is something that was missed on that front. If the prevacid doesn't help and if the allergy tests come back negative then we'll look into Delayed Gastric Emptying again and try some out patient sessions at St. Joe's. Eliza will also get another swallow study since she has been choking a bit on anything more "solid" than yogurt or ice cream.
For those of you who have been following our little blog here, you are not crazy nor are you having deja vue. We did all of this 18 months ago. But since Eliza is eating less than she was 18 months ago the thought is that maybe something has happened or developed in the past 18 months that has caused her food refusal to worsen.
And for anyone who has been following Eliza's "stats" she is 23 lbs 8 ozs which is a whopping 4 ounces more than she was in June of this year and she is 33.5 inches long, so virtually no change since June.
I did get a good chuckle a few days ago when someone was telling me how "huge" Eliza was. After me explaining life under the 3d percentile, the person looked at me and said with astonishment "oh, I thought she was one and a half, not two and a half." Great!
Halloween was a bit of a non-holiday once again. Last year Eliza was in the ER with dehydration the day before Halloween and this year trick-or-treating was curtailed by some surgery (me not Eliza). But we dressed up the little miss and got the camera out and once again thanks to Peter, our very favorite photographer, we got some great photos of Eliza. I know she looks like a Medieval barmaid (or the St, Paulie girl according to my friend Ann Marie!), but she is supposed to be Mary Had a Little Lamb. She refused to wear the hat or carry the staff and the lamb was mostly thrown across the lawn. But a fun time was had by all.
This is supposed to be a fun holiday?
Ack! Where did this lamb come from? If you remotely know me then you know I HATE stuffed animals:
Toddler Lamb Toss:
Let me just kill this thing with the utility company flag spike:
Maybe if I just kiss the damn lamb they'll get me out of this "bar wench" costume:
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Big Foot
So I guess Eliza's oral aversion does not include sticking her own feet in her mouth. You've got to give her extra points for flexibility. And yes she does have quite the set of boats, which come in very handy when she is walking on the balance beam in PT.
Monday, October 20, 2008
How to Make Sure Your Child is Never Potty Trained
So I have this really spanky Baby Bjorn potty chair for Eliza:
It has this little insert that comes out so you can properly clean said potty chair after it has been used. Eliza in the past has enjoyed using this insert as a cup during shower time (rest assured she had never peed in it prior to using it as a cup):
Recently Eliza has made a few half-hearted attempts to pee in the potty. Tonight Eliza decided that the pink part would look very nice as a hat:
Notice the look of abject terror as Miss Eliza realizes that her potty hat was indeed stuck on her head.
Yup, that thing was stuck and stuck good. After twenty minutes of trying to extricate Eliza's head I was starting to think I'd either have to call the fire department for the Jaws of Life or amputate one of her ears.
Luckliy the ears and potty chair survived the incident. I am however fairly convinced that Eliza will never sit on this thing for fear of what it might do to her hind end!
It has this little insert that comes out so you can properly clean said potty chair after it has been used. Eliza in the past has enjoyed using this insert as a cup during shower time (rest assured she had never peed in it prior to using it as a cup):
Recently Eliza has made a few half-hearted attempts to pee in the potty. Tonight Eliza decided that the pink part would look very nice as a hat:
Notice the look of abject terror as Miss Eliza realizes that her potty hat was indeed stuck on her head.
Yup, that thing was stuck and stuck good. After twenty minutes of trying to extricate Eliza's head I was starting to think I'd either have to call the fire department for the Jaws of Life or amputate one of her ears.
Luckliy the ears and potty chair survived the incident. I am however fairly convinced that Eliza will never sit on this thing for fear of what it might do to her hind end!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Bag of Bones
I was really torn between titling this post "Bag of Bones" or "People are Asses." Since I figured the word "ass" in the header might offend some people of delicate sensibilities right off the bat, I went with the former title.
So yesterday I was in Talbots returning a pair of slacks that were too big (you'll see the irony of this in a minute). While I was checking out, Eliza decided to decorate the front of the counter with her "Winn- Pooh" stickers. After apologizing for the toddler graffiti, two of the clerks came over to help me get the stickers off at which point they got a close look at Eliza. They both proceeded to exclaim "Oh my god, what a bag of bones she is" and "she looks like a stick figure." This was followed by a handful of other equally unsolicited comments on how skinny Eliza is. Although unusual for me, I walked out without saying anything. And stewed for the next day and a half.
Then I went back.
I found the two clerks and asked if they remembered me and they didn't (no one ever remembers the brown haired girls). But when I asked if they remembered the "bag of bones" their memories perked right up! More comments on Eliza's skinniness ensued. I asked them if they had any kids and as luck would have it they both did. So I asked if their kids were perfect. This was met with very, very blank stares. They asked what I meant and I said "well are your kids fat, bald, do they have flat heads, big noses, crooked teeth, anything along those lines?" They both conceded to having "chubby kids" and one admitted to her son having a bit of a flat head. I do believe they thought they were on a game show at this point since they were all smiles. Then I asked "so you you would be OK with me calling your child "tub of lard" or "flounder head?" No laughter at all. I asked if they thought my comments were cute or funny? No ma'am. They thought I was rude and abrasive. My point exactly! But when I asked them if they thought their comments about Little Miss Bag of Bones were abrasive, they actually insisted that calling a skinny kid names wasn't nearly as bad as calling a fat kid names because they "meant well" and "it's not really a criticism when you point out that someone is skinny." Huh? I mentioned that the bag of bones comment is not too welcome when your kid is skinny because of a feeding disorder, then left them to ponder whether they will increase sales at Talbots if they continue to critique the size of the customers' kids.
So I guess the lesson is that it is OK for someone to comment if your child is noticeably underweight but let's just not go there if someone's child is noticeably overweight. Go figure.
And to clarify:
This is a Bag of Bones:
This is Eliza:
So yesterday I was in Talbots returning a pair of slacks that were too big (you'll see the irony of this in a minute). While I was checking out, Eliza decided to decorate the front of the counter with her "Winn- Pooh" stickers. After apologizing for the toddler graffiti, two of the clerks came over to help me get the stickers off at which point they got a close look at Eliza. They both proceeded to exclaim "Oh my god, what a bag of bones she is" and "she looks like a stick figure." This was followed by a handful of other equally unsolicited comments on how skinny Eliza is. Although unusual for me, I walked out without saying anything. And stewed for the next day and a half.
Then I went back.
I found the two clerks and asked if they remembered me and they didn't (no one ever remembers the brown haired girls). But when I asked if they remembered the "bag of bones" their memories perked right up! More comments on Eliza's skinniness ensued. I asked them if they had any kids and as luck would have it they both did. So I asked if their kids were perfect. This was met with very, very blank stares. They asked what I meant and I said "well are your kids fat, bald, do they have flat heads, big noses, crooked teeth, anything along those lines?" They both conceded to having "chubby kids" and one admitted to her son having a bit of a flat head. I do believe they thought they were on a game show at this point since they were all smiles. Then I asked "so you you would be OK with me calling your child "tub of lard" or "flounder head?" No laughter at all. I asked if they thought my comments were cute or funny? No ma'am. They thought I was rude and abrasive. My point exactly! But when I asked them if they thought their comments about Little Miss Bag of Bones were abrasive, they actually insisted that calling a skinny kid names wasn't nearly as bad as calling a fat kid names because they "meant well" and "it's not really a criticism when you point out that someone is skinny." Huh? I mentioned that the bag of bones comment is not too welcome when your kid is skinny because of a feeding disorder, then left them to ponder whether they will increase sales at Talbots if they continue to critique the size of the customers' kids.
So I guess the lesson is that it is OK for someone to comment if your child is noticeably underweight but let's just not go there if someone's child is noticeably overweight. Go figure.
And to clarify:
This is a Bag of Bones:
This is Eliza:
Friday, October 17, 2008
These Boots Are Made For Walking
Have I mentioned to you that this kid can walk? And walk. And walk. And walk ...
Eliza has decided that her beloved Bugaboo stroller which has been our primary means of transport throughout the city should be retired. What she once thought of as her Rolls Royce ride is now an instrument of torture. Eliza simply will not get into the thing and would prefer to hoof it on her own everywhere we go.
Now I know few people people believe me when I tell them Eliza can easily walk a mile without breaking a sweat, so I have enlisted Mapquest to prove my point.
Twice weekly trek to the hospital for therapy: .97 miles each way.
Twice weekly trek to gym class: .65 miles each way
Daily trip to either of her favorite playgrounds: .40 miles each way.
Adding all this up, just walking to and from these three destinations each week totals 10.48 miles per week.
This does not count the running, climbing and jumping in the park, gym class or therapy. Nor does it include the various short walks to the grocery, the pharmacy, the parking garage, etc.
So can anyone tell me where a toddler who lives on about 700 calories a day finds the energy for all of this?
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