Interesting questions she asked:
Dr: Does he eat a lot of carrots, squash and sweet potatoes?
Me: Actually the only vegetable he eats is sweet potatoes and yes, he eats it twice a day.
Dr: That's explains why his coloring is so orange.
Dr: So how did he react with you first introduced milk to him?
Me: We first gave him cow's milk around 15 months old and he'd drink it then spit up cottage cheese. So we tried Lactaid milk and that had the same effect. Then we tried Goat's Milk and that stayed down a little better. Finally around 2- 2 1/2 he started keeping cow's milk down.
Dr: So what did he drink before he tolerated cow's milk?
Me: Breastmilk, almost exclusively. We used the Goat's Milk for minimal supplements since he digested breastmilk the best.
Dr: Does he drink Pediasure or some other fortified milk for nutrients?
Me: No, he refuses them.
Dr: So he's just been growing on the few baby foods and milk?
Me: Yes.
Dr: That is why he is on the smaller side of the growth charts. Those foods are not providing enough variety and nutrients to sustain long term growth.
(FTR, Sean is one month shy of his 5th birthday, weighs 34 lbs and is about 39.5" tall. He wears size 4 clothing for the most part, though he is tiny in the britches.)
Sean was super good for the appointment (he usually is good at appointments, must be a benefit of frequent Dr visits.) She brought up that food allergies can cause reflux-like symptoms and feeding issues. We also discussed Celiac Disease as a possible trigger for feeding aversions. She had us take Sean for a blood draw and scheduled us to return on Thursday for a sedated endoscopy. She said she will have the initial results of the endoscopy within a couple of days.
The best thing about the appointment was that she feels there is a physical reason Sean has developed his feeding aversions and she is going to be active in finding it. YES!!!!
We want to see more of this (ignore the fact that his shirt is soaking wet from his fabric chewing addiction):
And we'd love to see this disappear (btw, that is about a week's worth of food for Sean. He makes up in quantity what he lacks in variety.)
I sure hope this Dr can help him. There just might be sometime wrong and the scope will help to find out what it is. Love Nana
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you found a Dr willing to look for a physical reason! (Instead of blaming it on the DS) That may be half the battle right there.
ReplyDeleteGoldie's GI doc said dairy allergies (technically he said its a milk protein intolerance) are the most common ones he sees. She still doesn't get anything with milk in it.
I still can't figure out how you have not seen a GI for all this time... that's amazing! All the stuff they told you is right on with what we've heard too, especially about the nutrition. We have a dietician through EI that comes out once or twice a month to check her height/weight and intake to figure if she is getting what she needs. And she's getting 95% of her nutrition from Pediasure and STILL can't gain weight.
ReplyDeleteI hope the scope brings some answers or at least some reassurance!! Here's to more eating! :)
I hope the scope can find out what is going on. Praying you find some answers soon.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get some help in this department!! I'm curious to see what else they tell you in regards to nutrition.
ReplyDeleteI knew he only eats baby food but man that man that must get really expensive!! I remember when I would stock up like that for Max.
ReplyDeleteNew doc sounds great!