After running a mysterious temperature for 36 hours with no other real noticable symptoms (other than sleeping about 30 of those hours) I took Lily into the doctor's office. The doctor keyed in on Lily's eyes, both had big bags under them, but one looked like she had been stung by a bee (or punched by someone). I didn't even really notice it until he pointed it out, I thought it was just the sick, red, puffy eyes that kids get.
The doc called in another physician to consult. They both agreed it is periorbital cellulitis.
Basically she has a bacterial infection of the tissue surrounding her eye. We're happy they caught it extremely early as this could lead to eye/nerve/bone damage if left untreated. At my request, they are treating this pretty agressively. Lily was given 2 shots of antibiotic in her thigh in the clinic and was sent home with oral antibiotics. She also has another appointment on Friday to see if there's been improvement.
The other thing we found out at the clinic is that Lily weighs 17 lbs, 13 oz. Basically the same as she did 2 months ago, and less than she did at 9 months. The kid eats and eats. She eats more than Addie at most meals! The doctor put her on a calorie supplement and wants to see how she does on that for 1 month before they do anything further. We're also going to be giving her more concentrated formula so she gets more calories per serving. The doc gave us a few other ideas to try. Basically I'm very scared. At our 12 month appt. the doctor told us that if she doesn't start gaining weight by her 15 month appointment (at the end of June) we would test her for metabolic disorders. It might be related to the dairy allergy, but it might be something additional. The words failure to thrive just keeps running through my head.
1 comment:
I would be worried too! Everything I looked up seemed to focus on milk, or adding powdered milk and/or breakfast powders to milk. Which in Lily's case, she can't have.
On the plus side, I'm guessing she had the newborn screen at the hospital, so all the "big" metabolic problems were already screened for. (Not that that helps or reassures at all)
I did find some interesting ideas:
-make high calorie jello by substituting fruit juice for water in its preparation (this actually sounds good...)
Use mashed potato as a base to which you can add margarine, grated cheese, or baked beans. (sounds less good, especially the beans....)
• Use mayonnaise as a dip for raw vegetables. (or is this dairy?)
• Try giving your toddler avocado, which is high in calories and full of vitamins and other nutrients and can be made into a dip or mashed into potato.
Peanut butter....lots of peanut butter and eggs.
Don't use high fibre foods such as wholemeal pasta and brown rice as it can reduce his ability to absorb essential vitamins and minerals. ( i did not know this!)
her's an interesting link:
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/eating/failuretothrive.html
July 2003
My baby is now a year old and still only weighs 17 lbs. She was 16 pounds at 6 months, and has only gained a pound 6 months later. I've been having a lot of difficulty feeding her. When I first started her out on solids (at 5 months), she was a good eater until she hit the 6 month age mark. Since then, she doesn't want to eat no matter what I do or put in front of her. I try to distract her with toys, videos, whatever and slip food into her mouth. The only thing she really likes is oatios and rice chex. I should also mention that she has a ton of food allergies too (that's another topic). She's allergic to dairy, eggs, wheat and nuts. I try to feed her fatty items, such as soy margarine, avocado...sometimes she'll take it, sometimes she just won't open her mouth. Her pediatrician has run about 9 blood tests on her and everything came back normal. He also checked her stools for blood and that came back negative. We're waiting for more tests on whether there may be parasites found in her stool. I'm not sure what else I can do to get food into her. I started feeding her soy formula recently (whatever, to get calories into her). Since she doesn't take the bottle, this has been a slow process as well. Today I managed to get 4 oz of formula into her by giving it to her in a cup. Does any parent out there have any advice you can give me on this. It's been very frustrating, and I'm starting to get really worried. She's very thin and continues to not gain weight. In fact, she's now off the charts in terms of weight for her age. Thanks very much, I really appreciate any help you can prvodice. may
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I know it can be frustrating to see your baby slip off the chart. I hate those charts- they should do away with them! 17 pounds does not seem that small for her age.
My son is 17 months old and has been off the chart since he was 10 months old. He now weighs a mere 20 lbs, however, he is very bright and active and he has been hitting all of his developmental milestones right on track. My son is half Filipino and half American (my husband is 6'' where I am only 4'11)I am very petite so part of being small could be in the genes. As long as your daughter is plotting her own chart- it might not be as rapid as you would like but perhaps she might be small by nature (if you and/or your husband are small, also she could just be a small baby but grow to be a bigger person. If your daughter is alert and active and happy then I think this should be your measurement for her.
my daughter also weighed 17 pounds at her one year checkup and she has no known food allergies. our doctor said she looked very healthy and attributed it to our being ''petite'' people. I am half chinese on my mother's side and that seems to have dominated her size gene. she is now 2 3/4 and weighes 24 pounds. sometimes I worry when I see the kids she has been around since she was just a wee thing because she is quite tiny in comparison. as long as she remains vivacious and eats decently (many days a frustrating task as she is a very selective diner) I'll just adore her skinny little arms and legs. at least ''uppies'' is still manageable! gael
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My kiddo went through a similar phase (no weight gain at ALL from 6-9 months) although he didn't have allergies. I found that the key to improvement was to not get emotional about it, offer frequently, NEVER to force food, and to give him as much finger food as he could eat (ie meatballs, soft apples, etc.). Part of it was a fierce independence. Distraction also helped. I hope some of that helps. He's now a 2 year old and healthy as can be although he'll never be huge (25% ht and 5% wt).
It sounds to me like Lily is hitting all the developmental markes, just lacking in weight. Looking forward to seeing you all in a few weeks!
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