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    Weight update

    I realize I owe an update on the latest of G’s weight issues. (This is a long one too, so go grab some popcorn.)

    So good news is that he’s eating well… again. And he’s gaining weight… again. However, I’m skeptical over getting excited here since his trend is to pig out for a week or two and then scale back on eating. He’s almost like a hibernating bear, without the hibernation part.

    We met with a speech and occupational therapist this past Tuesday. The appointment went well. G slobbered all over their toys and then munched down on his breakfast and sucked down a bottle, while being observed. All like a champ (of course ‘cuz he’s being monitored). Good news is that he doesn’t have any issues swallowing, or concerns with food texture or taste. I could have assessed that myself, but since I don’t have “MD” on the back of my name it’s good to have the pros rule it out.

    Since they couldn’t figure anything out, they recommended an appointment with a nutritionist who can make some suggestions to G’s diet (to fatten him up).

    My luck with our health insurance company was short lived. Whereas the speech and occupational therapist evaluation was easy to make and is (supposedly) covered, it doesn’t appear that the nutritionist visit will be. This will be for 2 reasons: 1) Aetna covers dietitian evaluations only if you’re diabetic; 2) the practice we’re referred to is not in network. While they bill to a taxid that is in network, they themselves are not. Don’t ask my how one is, but the other isn’t — this makes no sense to me. We could also find a dietitian that is in network, except that then we run into exclusion #1. Lovely, right? 🙂

    We would consider paying out of pocket if the cost is reasonable, and there aren’t multiple return visits. However, the specialist office didn’t call me back today, so there’s no way for me to get those details. So now we wait until they do.

    One thing that did strike me though was hearing the occupational therapist mention that our pedi had written “Failure to thrive” in G’s referral to them. While I know this was done (mostly) for insurance purposes, it stung to hear. “Failure to thrive” in my mind is what happens to malnourished children. I’d like to think of G as far from malnourished. And it bugs me to hear it because I’m still responsible for 95% of his daily caloric intake. In that respect “failure to thrive” is a direct affront to me. [Insert neurotic mom platitude here]

    I shall now proceed to bore you with charts and data. This is mostly for personal future reference, so feel free to tune out if you’d like. Below are two graphs, tracking G’s weight and his placement on the percentile curve for weight. He was born in the 10%, jumped up to 25% (a short-lived visit), then declined to the 5% where he hung out for a few months, then declined to the 3%, then fell off the curve, went back on, and has now fallen off again. It’s primarily the curve hopping that has me concerned. If he wants to be a 3rd percentile baby, that’s fine, I’m ok with that — just let’s have some consistency.

    Weight for Age (08-22-09)

    He’s had 4 periods of weight-loss, most of which he bounced back from pretty quickly, except for the last bit where he kept loosing weight over the span of a month. He’s gained it all back and is now on track, but “Way to keep mom on her toes, G!”

    Weight (08-22-09)

    Now my hungry bear is chowing things down pretty well. He’s feeding himself a lot these days too.  He actually pulls food out of your hand if you hand it to him, so he can do it himself. I love his independence! He’s also very eager to try whatever we’re eating. In some cases he gets pissed if he doesn’t get to share your food. Luckily he’s liked most everything we’ve given him. Even Ms. F at daycare is impressed with his interest in food. All this stuff is really good! I can only hope we’ve turned a permanent corner here and we’re not about to plunge into another weight-gain valley.

    This concludes my neurotic vent for the week. We’ll be back to happier topics soon.

    2 responses to “Weight update”

    1. Adrienne says:

      I don’t think you’re being “neurotic mom” at all. And I agree with you, I’d be hurt and very upset if my pedi put FTT on M’s chart. I think G’s graphs look great (not that I have an MD by my name either… but)
      M’s first month (two months) of life she was in the -5 to -10 percentile… and EVERY frackin office visit we have our Pedi brings that up – and warns us she has A LOT of catching up to do (Like it helps my emotional state) – it irks me. Monthly. She’s somewhere around 10% on the CDC charts, (pedi won’t use WHO charts for us) and R and I have come to terms with the fact M will ALWAYS be small, I mean, both her parents are freakin tiny, doesn’t it stand to reason?
      I’m sorry your insurance and pedi are adding to your woes. But I think G’s charts look good and he loves food and IS thriving! You, Mama deserve to hear ‘Good Work!’

      • avalikelava says:

        I will actually note that our pedi is absolutely amazing. He’s been assuring me (all along) that G’s size is a reflection of his parents’ size. The FFT on his chart was mostly so that insurance wouldn’t give us grief during our referrals to specialists. If it wasn’t for the latest, prolonged weight decline and the whole refusing to eat thing for awhile, the pedi would have placated me as well. He’s been keeping an eye on it so far, but this time he said we should see a specialist.
        So pedi == good guy 🙂
        Insurance == still sucks!

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