Infantreflux.org | Update on Hailey

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June 7, 2006 at 4:07 pm #9290

Anonymous
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Well I was tempted to post this in the hip hip hooray section, but I fear that there may be a curse looming on that section! Please forgive me for not posting this sooner, but I wanted to enjoy it a little bit before I posted and the universe righted itself again and shot us down for having a little joy. (Forgive me for my sarcasm.)

Hailey had her one year doctor’s appointment and she gained weight: She is now 22 pounds!!!! How, I have no idea…my child must have NO metabolism whatsoever. This is extra good news because it means that Hailey can have her scope done outside of the OR, which brings the waitlist down by a month or so (as long as our GI agrees to do it). We called today and they’re going to think about it (which I guess is better than flat out “no”).

Also, I’m almost afraid to speak of it for fear of jinxing us, but in the past week Hailey has moved from a “non-eater” to what I would call a “food taster”. She’s certainly not eating enough to sustain herself, but she does finger feed herself tiny pieces of food. She’s been experiementing with puff and dissolve for a while, and then playing with soft munchables, but now she actually eats them. She’ll eat maybe 10-20 TINY pieces of food per meal, some of which doesn’t make it into her mouth- more like an amount to sustain a small bird rather than a child, but beggars can’t be choosers I suppose.

She’s tasted mixed vegetables, peas, corn, cubed squash, green beans, carrots, cheese, bologna, chicken, fish, tofu, pasta, macaroni, tortilla, bread, cottage cheese, soft serve ice cream, rice, jello, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, watermelon, mandarin oranges. For the most part that’s our menu- she doesn’t like all of it and tosses a lot on the floor, she especially doesn’t like starches like bread, noodles, etc. but I think it might be sensory related so we’re sticking with it. She won’t let us spoon feed her at all (if she even sees a spoon she swats at it), and bottles are a struggle as well (still sleep feeding). But she is taking between 2-6 ounces of soy milk from a sippy cup.

I really do worry about volume, because the amount that she is taking in is SOOOO small. Just a few TINY bites. But she is for the most part interested in food, and we pray that volume will come with time.

I just wanted to share our news.

June 7, 2006 at 4:20 pm #9294

Anonymous
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LOL I’m SO happy to hear she’s tasting food! And I don’t blame you at
all for not posting right away. And, I’m SUPER glad to hear about the
weight gain as I’ve seen you post before about the magic 22 pounds in
terms of scoping. I really hope your GI agrees to do it sooner. I hope
she keeps up the food experimenting too. Yea Hailey!

June 7, 2006 at 4:37 pm #9296

hellbennt
Keymaster

June 7, 2006 at 4:41 pm #9297

Anonymous
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Thanks guys. So funny (in a sad way)… as soon as I posted I heard Hailey start to cry in the other room. I went in and she started sneezing and snot started coming out of her nose! I really must have pissed someone off in another lifetime… I didn’t expect the curse to act that fast!!!!

June 7, 2006 at 4:56 pm #9299

Anonymous
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Awesome!! Emma is still not eating anything so I hope that comes soon. She is 22lbs as of Monday and 15 months. Please keep us posted on the scope, we might be doing that next. I am so happy for you guys!!

June 7, 2006 at 5:34 pm #9301

Anonymous
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Way to go Hailey!!! So glad to hear the good news Lori.
Zach was just 20 lbs at his year checkup but he runs around non-stop so
I’m sure his metabolism doesn’t help that. As for the food, she
sure is making progress. Pretty soon she’ll be eating you out of
house and home!!! Hope things keep moving in the right direction!

June 7, 2006 at 6:20 pm #9305

Anonymous
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That’s FANTASTIC! I’m so happy to hear that Hailey is experimenting and tasting new foods, plus the sippy too….. She has made great progress. I bet she will soon be eating you out of house and home.

You’ve been giving her a wide variety of textures and I’m curious how she eats them. I mean, does she chew or swallow whole or suck on it and then swallow? I’ve been afraid to give Noah stuff like pasta, berries, chicken or meat. He doesnt chew and just holds it in his mouth. Are you mashing them up or cubbing them?

I wish Noah had a metabolism like Hailey. I’m so glad to hear that she is continuing to grow and gain weight on her limited intake. Hopefully you will hear from the GI and you can get her in sooner for her scope.

Thanks for sharing the great news!

June 7, 2006 at 7:27 pm #9306

Anonymous
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Thanks everyone.

Tricia, that’s great the Zach is running around already! He sounds really active!! When did he start walking??

Lisa, we’re cubing it, but REALLY tiny pieces. For example, one piece of macaroni would be cut into four pieces. A berry, we slice, but into about 15 pieces. So everything is really tiny. If its meat, we only give really tender pieces and each piece is so small that it’s barely there. So if she eats 3 pieces of macaroni, she’s not even eating one noodle. She does chew, but not well. If it’s not really soft or really tender, then she spits it out (heck, she spits a lot of it out anyways). Also if the pieces are not tiny or really big, then she doesn’t know what to do with them. In between sizes she doesn’t know to bite and I’m afraid that she’s going to choke. Tonight I offered a million things and she just threw it all on the floor- ate 3 peas, 1 tiny cube of cheese, 3 pieces of strawberry, and 2 oz of milk from the sippy…. not exactly a meal that’s going to fill her up or put the pounds on. But she won’t take ANY puree, so I don’t know how I’m going to get her to gain anything now that she’s so active! Anyhow, like I said, it’s progress but tiny little baby steps… I don’t think she’ll be eating us into the ground any time soon. The thing that’s odd is that she still has NO appetite. It’s like she eats the food because it’s fun or something and not because she’s hungry. The doctor said that could be an issue, but he doesn’t want us to cut back formula at this point because she’s just learning.

Also, I was just joking on the curse, of course, but I honestly can’t believe that she’s just now come down with an awful cold (again!). That should be great for the eating…

s&h’s mum2006-6-7 19:30:10

June 7, 2006 at 7:47 pm #9307

Anonymous
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Lori – although Zach didn’t have the feeding issues that Hailey did,
his eating really picked up when he started walking which was around
9.5 months. Lucky us, huh? Anyway, maybe Hailey’s appetite
will increase as she becomes more active. One thing that Zach
loves, which would be easy for Hailey to eat is frozen pudding. I
make pudding pops for Nate but also cut little pieces off of the
popsicle for Zach to eat for his dessert. He loves it and I don’t
worry about him choking because it melts pretty quickly in his
mouth. Just a thought for you…….

June 7, 2006 at 7:55 pm #9308

Anonymous
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Lori – Yeah! for Hailey and mommy, it is so great that she is eating even is very small amount, she will get more efficient as she practices more. You do not need to worry as much since her weight is really good now. Your hard work finally pays off.

I need to write down the food list which you give to Hailey. His ST said he needs to eat more variety of food before he can completely self feed. How many choice of food do you offer to Hailey every meal? I offer Brian same food every meal, so maybe he gets tired of it, because it is time consuming to cook for us then for him, and sometimes food got waste since he eats so little, I wonder how do you manage offer her wide variety of food and not waste? Do you give her fresh or can fruit and veggi? How can she pick up ice cream (it melt so fast)? Sorry for all the question. Thank you.

Sharon Liu2006-6-7 20:54:55

June 7, 2006 at 8:00 pm #9309

Anonymous
Inactive

That is so great Lori. It is such a good start for Hailey, Im sure that when she has less formula she will become more interested in food too. Her weight is excellent, Tyler is only 21 pounds and he eats non-stop. I really hope things continue to improve. I am so sick of colds too! Tyler is having his fourth cold in two months, as soon as the cold weather started the colds havent stopped coming!

June 7, 2006 at 8:03 pm #9310

Anonymous
Inactive

ohh that is so great!! congratulations to you both. on a side note, my 18 month old nephew is a bit like Hailey (no actual documented aversions or anything although I would bet money he had reflux just un dxd) he only weighs 22 lbs, and eats only a few bites of whatever he gets, but like Hailey, he somehow seems to get by on the small amount of calories he gets..my little sister was the same way. She hardly ate anything, hated the bottle, cup, etc..was very tiny when she was younger….now she’s 5’8 and very healthy(still picky though-lol)…just a kind of “light at the end of the tunnel” thing. I’m so glad things are finally looking up, the fact that she’s tasting things is awesome!!!!! (heck I can’t even get my 6 year old to go near, let alone taste most of the things Hailey is trying!!!!!) Big hugs to you both!!!

June 7, 2006 at 9:26 pm #9318

Anonymous
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Thanks for the encouragement.

Tricia- I can’t believe Zach was walking at 9.5 months!!!!! That’s the earliest I’ve ever heard! Must keep you on your toes. Are you at home with him, or is he in daycare?

Sharon- We waste TONS of food!!!!! We waste most of what I give her. I offer about 4-5 choices- usually a meat, a carb, a dairy, a veggie, and a fruit. I also offer a 4 ounce cup of soy milk with each meal. She still will not eat anything at all in the morning- no more bottle, and no solids or milk or anything. That’s always been her and I guess it won’t change. Then I take her out in the morning (usually shopping) and put a few snack things (like puffs or whatever) on the tray and also a cup of juice. She takes a few puffs and a few sips of juice then usually throws everything onto the ground. At noon I give her lunch, which is basically what I described above. Our feeding therapist told me to offer 4-5 items. The problem is that she gets bored of things so fast, or decides that she doesn’t want them and then just throws everything around…her new favourite trick is to throw her cup over top of her head so it lands behind her…she finds it hysterical (VERY messy). She doesn’t take much for lunch- really a few bites (less than 10 TINY pieces) and it’s hard to keep her interested, but we do a picnic and I don’t stress about it too much. She might take 0-3 oz of soy milk at lunch. Then we do dinner the same. I put down a few things at a time and let her take what she wants. At dinner she seems more thirsty and usually takes 2-3.5 oz of soy milk and she’ll eat a bit more than at lunch. As for the ice cream, she only eats it when we’re out. I discovered it last week when I treated myself to a soft serve cone at McDonald’s at the mall. She kept grunting and making noises while I was eating it, and then the little bum reached over, grabbed the cone, and stuck her face in it. I was SHOCKED! So I took the ice cream and put a bit on a spoon, and she let me give her a few mouthfuls that way. That’s the only thing she’s taking by spoon these days. The other thing is that she has only 1.5 teeth (the bottom ones) so it’s really hard for her to chew, though I know her palate is strong. That’s why everything is SOOOO small. I swear you wouldn’t believe how small it is… I don’t even know how she picks it up most of the time. And it has to be super soft, otherwise she just spits it out (she spits most of it out anyhow). But it’s a start.

Amber- I’m so glad to hear that Tyler is eating! That’s fabulous. I’m going to read your update next. Hoping that the allergies are under control. As for colds, it’s funny because summer just started here for us. Hailey didn’t have a cold for 6 months (not all winter) and now this is her second one in 2 months. The worst part is that her EEG is rescheduled (for the second time) for next week. They won’t do it if she has a cold and I don’t think she’ll be better.

Jill- Thanks for the encouraging story. As for the tasting, I think it’s easier when they’re smaller… as they get older they get smarter and can fight more!

June 7, 2006 at 9:45 pm #9325

Anonymous
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WOW!!! Awesome news!! I’m so happy to hear the she is trying foods and self feeding. This is the beginning of good things for Hailey.

Good news about her weight and possible earlier scope date. I wonder how Myles gains on what he eats, too. I always joke saying he must have the metabolism of a marshmallow. Oh, well. As long as they are growing.

I’m so very happy to hear the good news and hope and pray it continues to get better and better.

Christine

June 8, 2006 at 10:10 am #9342

Anonymous
Inactive

That is great news! I cannot believe she is 22 lbs! So she and Isaac weighed about the same at 9 months old so maybe they are about the same now! She sounds like she does what Isaac does-not really eating much at all now. The only difference is that he has been walking since he was 10 months old so he is still skinny baby!
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