Food has always been an issue with Owen, in that he's never had a real active, healthy interest in eating. He does eat, but it only seems to be just enough to get by. And he doesn't complain about being hungry in between meals or snacks. He certainly doesn't get up at night because he would like to eat.
When he started drastically diminishing the amount of formula that he drank when he hit the 9-month mark, I figured we could wait him out and that this was maybe just his new pattern. That he'd daily fluctuate how much he drank. He kept doing his solids well, so I pushed any worry to the back of my mind, giving in to occasional flare-ups. The worry took a front-seat in the past 24 hours because he had been having more significant food issues over the past couple of weeks, but it got really bad in the past day or so. Enough to merit concern on the part of the nurse I spoke with at his pediatrician's office. Enough to merit an appointment for a weight check.
The end results: he's only gained 1/2 a pound since his 9-month check-up. He only weighs 17 lbs., 15 oz. This lack of weight gain was enough to cause him to fall off the growth chart of the normal range. This little guy (and he truly is a little guy!) also tested positive for strep throat--a rarity for infants! He's currently on medication, so we're hoping that he starts to eat a bit more once it really kicks in. The strep explains the dramatically diminished eating over the past couple of weeks, especially the past couple of days, but it doesn't explain the general disinterest in food and lack of significant weight gain.
Then, to add to the fun, I got to bookend my day with another trip to KidMed, the pediatric urgent care here in Richmond. Since Owen hadn't had any significant amount of formula or anything from a sippy cup in over 24 hours, he also hadn't had any wet diapers. His pediatrician's office referred us to get IV fluids into him. Having had a couple IV's myself when both boys were born, I can say from experience it's not any fun. But watching your baby go through it is far worse. I thought I was going to cry as much as he did. And I knew in that instant that I would have traded places with him in a heartbeat if it meant sparing him the pain of an IV and strep throat. But when he fell asleep in my arms while he was getting hydrated, what a priceless moment! They pumped 10 oz. of fluid in him to help him catch up, with the hope that he'll start to feel better once he's better hydrated. We'll keep you posted!
In the meantime, we'd appreciate your prayers for this little guy. This is the first real bout of sickness that we've encountered with either of the boys, so there's a whole lot of uncharted territory and worry, especially on my part. We go back for Owen's 1-year check-up in about 2.5 weeks, so we can get some follow-up and see if his eating picks up at all again in that time. Otherwise, we'll figure out a new game plan at that point.
Specific prayer requests: for Owen to start to feel better (good enough to eat), for him to become generally more interested in food, for more significant weight gain in this little guy, and for me to have peace going through this with him. I tend to worry too much as it is, but the worry starts to go a little crazy when I offer him plenty of food with a wide variety and he just isn't interested.
Stay tuned for further updates! And thanks so much in advance for your prayers!
Brennan really enjoyed some playground time and even willingly went on the merry-go-round!
Happy 35th!
Teething much?
