He is still a peanut

I took the boys to the pediatrician today for well visits. Super Muscles had a "late" 4 year visit and Slobber Rocket had a 15 month visit.

Super Muscles was horrible. Like... really, he was bad. I have never in my life seen him behave so horrible for anyone. He hated the blood pressure cuff, refused the hearing test, didn't enjoy the vision test. Then he was mean to his brother pretty much the whole time I was discussing some important things with the doctor. We were interrupted by him at least 50 times. I really wasn't all that amused. Then she tried to look at him and it was an absolute no go. Screaming, thrashing, freaking out. Wouldn't let her shine light into his eyes, wouldn't let her look in his ears or his mouth, wouldn't sit on my lap. I had to drag him out from under the couch and put him on my lap and lay him down for her. She ended up checking his mouth after his belly because... he was screaming and that meant his mouth was wide open. I had to hold him down for ears too. Ugh, she must have thought I have no control over him ever. Seriously, he was THAT bad. THEN he had to get 3 shots. Well he didn't HAVE to but I figured why not get them out of the way. So I told him he was going to get 3 pokes before the nurses got in there and he hid some more under the couch. Thankfully 2 nurses came in and they each attacked an arm at the same time. But that didn't stop the screams. My ears were on fire. But he is healthy! lol. We are going to start him on some zyrtec and see if it helps his seasonal allergies before doing anything complicated about that. Since then, hes been in a mega crappy mood and is complaining a lot about his arms hurting and how nothing will ever make them feel better. Good times to come, I am sure.

Slobber Rocket was much more pleasant. He is still tiny tiny. He has gained a few ounces but he is still well, well below the charts for weight (like .002% is what she said) and his isn't getting much taller either. His height is sitting right at 28.5 inches which is under the 2nd%. He is developmentally very perfect though and his brain is growing well. So we are going to see about arranging regular feeding help for him to see if we can increase his solids. She saw my points on why I dislike pediasure and was very supportive of me continuing to nurse him but at the same time she, like everyone else, doesn't think supplementing with pediasure is a bad idea. I think I will hold off on that though. 18-23 g of sugar per serving is not something I can swallow unless I have to. Also he is not transitioning to solids and I don't think putting so many liquid calories in his diet is beneficial considering he still really needs to learn to eat. I am hoping speech therapy or maybe some OT will be helpful. His height and weight are more typical for a baby that is 6+ months younger than he is so it is very bothersome but I have a real problem sacrificing my beliefs on healthy eating. Plus, this is not just a weight issue. He is not growing in length much at all either. She is going to call some colleagues about him and see if there is anything we might be missing and check on some growth issues. I really liked her she was very willing to admit that growth problems are not an area she has a lot of knowledge in but that she would research it and talk to some other doctors who know more and let me know. He does need to go back in a month or so to be weighed and measured again. But, as far as his health, he seems pretty healthy. Learning normally, his head is on a growth curve! 1 for 3 :) So that means his brain is growing normally or at least, that is the word on the street. So now I just wait to see if there are any new ideas out there that don't involve telling me I don't feed my kid enough (did that sound bitter?... it was, but only a little).

It does get a little frustrating to hear people tell me to make him hungry enough and eventually he will eat. Right... maybe most kids but not this kid. It is so stressful most of the time to feed him that I want to cry. He refuses to eat 99% of food he is offered. His go to items are cracker like foods and yogurt... um, that is about it. He will eat mac n cheese on a good day and sometimes he will touch fruit with his fingers and I cheer. Decreasing nursing has only meant he gets fewer calories in a day because his solid intake is not increasing. And just as much as I can't feed him 60g of sugar a day from pediasure, I can't feed him grains and yogurt all day either. Although, admittedly, I feel better about grains and yogurt because at least he is working on chewing and/or swallowing not just drinking. Anyway that is enough for today. I guess I will update when the doctor calls me back regarding speech therapy and any other info she gathers up.