Update on SR

It has been one of those weeks where you just feel like you are stuck in the mud with your wheels spinning. I was sick. It was no fun. Had to prepare for the boys birthday party. I think everyone had a good time. Super Muscles especially loved it. Slobber Rocket seemed tired and to not be feeling great. He was a bit congested. He wanted to be on his perch the whole time (in mamas arms on her hip or on daddys lap). He also didn't eat anything and just licked the icing off his fingers. Had just a tiny tiny bit of cake. Which is not unexpected. He rarely eats any solids and when he does, he gags on it.

Then from there I started about my mission of trying desperately to figure out what is going on with my peanut of a boy. Took him to the dr on monday and got what I considered to be horrible advice from the NP who is helping to cover for our new pediatrician (who is on maternity leave). Not saying the NP is not a good one. She may be, but I left feeling angry with how uneducated about nursing she seemed to be. Her hypothesis was that I needed to withhold breastmilk from my 16.5 lb 12 month old in order to get him to eat more solids. This, apparently, will make him gain more weight. She compared it to letting a child fill up on cows milk (drink) so that the child is not getting enough food and nutrition. Considering breast milk is pretty nutritionally complete I just didn't get the parallel. Not sure how withholding the bulk of his calories (not to mention that breast milk has more calories than anything he would eat in solid form) will accomplish the goal of making him gain weight. I also have been trying diligently with solids and he refuses them. He can't eat anything thicker or chunkier than yogurt mixed with cereal without gagging. We also have a lot of allergies in our family and it just didn't seem to me to be what I should be doing with my child. I would feel so horrible to let him be hungry. I have always been a parent who kind of goes by what I feel is right. I don't say it is right for everyone but I do not believe in forcing my children to eat things they refuse to eat.  And I don't withhold food from my kids when they are hungry. Just doesn't fit my philosophy. I assume children know when they are hungry and what they need. Eating food you gag on doesn't sound particularly fun to me either. Anyway, all that to say I just couldn't get behind the advice she gave us. Even if it would only be for a month. I felt like I ran the risk of him losing weight more than the potential for reward. So I called a LC at Carle who has been helping me a ton. She is working with my ped (apparently this is my Peds LC too) and her nurse to try and get Slobber Rocket the referrals that would hopefully get us on track to figure out why he isn't growing.  The first things would be a speech consult (to see if he has physical problems swallowing or with his tongue) and a GI consult (to make sure his gut is okay and absorbing all the nutrition he is getting). I definitely feel more at ease to know I am not crazy. Even if I were still nursing him exclusively, it makes no sense for him to stop gaining weight. I have done this nursing a baby thing before and I know kind of how it works. I am so thankful to finally have someone on my side who is saying "this just isn't right". She also gave me some ideas on how to get him to try and start using a straw. He will not do a cup or bottle at all. But maybe he can learn to use a straw. So that is something I am going to try and do for him. Anyway, I feel like we are making some progress and I am thankful for that. It is hard to watch my child eat and eat and eat and not gain any weight.

*** update to the update, the referrals did go through. I have to call friday if I haven't heard anything about getting him an appointment.