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Weight issues
By sandi | December 16, 2009
Last October I so excited that my boy had finally gained a good amount of weight. He seemed to be increasing at a steady pace.
Today Paul had his 2 year old well check. No longer is there a steady pace. In fact he has lost two and a half pounds and weighs in at 23.5 pounds.
Sure he struggles with being a picky eater. And he does eat some, just not enough. I know people say all the time that their kids grew well on just cheese and crackers for a year but that isn’t the case for Paul. He runs and plays constantly and he doesn’t eat enough to offset the calories he is burning.
The reason that this becomes worrisome is because Paul has known real hunger. He was malnourished just a short year ago. If we take into consideration how far he has come it is amazing, but that doesn’t change the fact that he should be gaining more now. Paul doesn’t feel bad when his tummy is empty. It happened so often that it probably feels normal to him. Changing this idea in his psyche is very difficult.
He will have to see the endocrinologist soon to rule out the possibility that there is an underlying physiological issue. In the meantime, we are supposed to get him to eat more. Seriously easier said than done. If only apple juice and fruit snacks had a high protein and caloric content.
Topics: Paul | 2 Comments »
December 16th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
One of my children has been followed by endocrinologists for years for a growth issue. One suggestion I have is to read about putting cornstarch into his juice/milk at night before bed. There is a formula based on body weight. I think it is 1 tablespoon per ten pounds of body weight. Uncooked cornstarch takes twice as long to digest as other foods, so it helps to keep weight on. This worked very well for my son.
December 17th, 2009 at 8:19 am
I hope he starts gaining weight again. Makes me feel so sad that he doesn’t feel bad when his tummy is empty.