Hannah's Pediatrician Visit

Hannah went in to see a pediatrician for a second opinion due to her "slow weight gain." He agreed that our doctor did all the labs that he would possibly run to find anything and didn't want to subject her to more. Knowing our family history, he also thinks it is probably just genetics and she will just be petite. He looked at her and said just by observing her, he could tell that she was petite-figured and is going to be petite her entire life. According to him, she is very "busy" and "nosey," both of which could be contributing to her lack of interest in solid foods, along with her reflux. She's too busy to slow down enough to really eat and she's too nosey, so that when she does actually slow down to eat, she has to constantly check out and see what's going on. And she's afraid it will hurt her tummy. Really?? I had no idea....

She is also developing well and is on target for her age. Her one lacking skill is crawling, but she is extremely leery of being on her tummy. In the last couple of weeks, she is getting better and she has been moving backwards. It rather ticks her off, but it's movement. She's hilarious if she wants something. She will work and work to get at it. She also get just irate if her brothers try to take one of her toys. She's been so conditioned by Nathanial that she already starts getting honked off the second he starts coming near her.

Because she is small boned and on target developmentally, the pediatrician wants her to be given three meals everyday and to fortify her food with extra calories. He suggested adding butter and sour cream to everything, but I absolutely refuse to give her zero nutrient foods just to "fatten her up." We discussed it and I told him I have thoroughly researched feeding infants to best maximize nutrition without increasing the risk of obesity later on. I refuse for all of that to go down the drain just to give her extra calories. So we worked together and I will add (whole fat) plain yogurt, nonfat powdered milk, oatmeal (already do this because she needs things thicker), and other nutrient-dense calorie boosters to her meals. She hasn't even noticed the nonfat milk. She was already getting yogurt and loves it, so she's been happy with that, also. The most difficult part is getting her to actually eat three full meals a day. She does not like to eat that much food. It has also slowed down her nursing a bit, but not a lot. He was thrilled that I was still nursing her and encouraged that we continue that. Not a problem. I will do it until she weans herself.

Other than that, he sent us back to Dr. B with no need to go back to him again. He wants Hannah to be seen every month between now and 12 months for weight and development checks to be sure she stays on track and continue with a high calorie diet. I was relieved he didn't tell me to stop nursing - I was so afraid he was going to and I was going to have to refuse. You never know just how educated a doctor is on the benefits of breastmilk, but he was adamant that was the very best thing for her (which I knew). It was a really good appointment and even though I pretty much knew everything that was going to be done (right down to the high calorie diet), I am glad we went, so at least we know there are no underlying issues.