Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Sick Kids...

We are getting over the flu in our house.... and in a way it sucks because as a mom of children with health issues.... the simple flu, means so much set back.....

For example... the mother of a typical child - they get the flu, they get the flu... it sucks, no one likes to see their child sick ... however... they might lose a little weight, have problems eating for a day ... but they bounce right back....

Not my kids.....

Nathan ... my youngest... we're having weight concerns with... He has always been on his own growth curve, and came home on the NG tube because - due to his Cleft Palate/High Palate issues - was not catching on to eating from a bottle... so it has been a struggle to get him to eat. He is 8 months old and eating about 3oz at a feeding... and that's about 5 or 6 bottles a day... and the last couple months, one reason being that he got sick with his Hydrocepholus in August & September ... and now the flu.... AND the child will NOT STOP MOVING!! ... he's not even 11lbs and is trying to crawl! So ... his weight gain, has NOT been impressive... they expect children who have low birth weights to at LEAST follow the general growth curve, meaning they are on their own curve, but at least following the typical patter..... Nathan is not... see.. Noah was 1lb 12oz at birth, and I looked it up in his records..... at 8 months old, he hit 12lbs 4oz... Nathan was 10lbs 11oz... 2 weeks before that, 10 lbs 11oz... 2 weeks before that... 10lbs 5oz... and at the start of this flu bug... when we took Nathan into the ER.... he was already back down to 10lb 6oz .. that's a months weight loss :( And I'm SURE he's lost more....

We were finally making improvements in Nathan's eating before the flu hit last week.... we were almost up to 4oz a feeding! I was very excited about that..... now, we're back between 2oz and 3oz... and what kicks me worse is that he is REFUSING to eat after he throws up now... he refused to eat Saturday night for 5 hours and then went to bed for the night... so from about 4pm to his wake up at 7am-ish... and then, tonight.... he vomited again - not sure if it was more of a spit up type thing or what (I wasn't in the room, Nathan was in his highchair, we were just sitting down for dinner when it happened... Dad was in the kitchen with all 3 boys) ... Calahan says that it seemed like he was choking on something - but all he had on his tray was toys... and I checked them all over... he had only been in his seat for about 30 seconds..... I put him in there and then turned and headed to the bathroom...

And then...... he cried for about an hour, over tired, and hungry... and refused to eat...

I know we're headed to a feeding tube........ :(

And Noah - poor Noah is so tramatized from DRs and Hospitals and ERs and everything that he just refuses to "be sick" ... even when he's sick and throwing up and just dog ill... he will fight with you that he is NOT SICK ...

the last thing he wants is another trip to the DR, fretting about getting poked and prodded ... needles, IVs, shots, blood tests........

It is really REALLY sad, when a 5 year old, knows what an IV is.....

1 comment:

my4kids said...

Sorry your kids are so sick. Kenzie is my one that doesn't bounce back when sick. She had the flu about 3 weeks ago and is still not herself, not eating well and still feeling like she is fluish. Randomly vomiting and I can tell she has lost weight. Last year at her 8 year well child she had only gained a pound for the year when they are still supposed to be putting on weight regularly. At 9 she is barely 50 pounds but has been in that range since she was 7. I know I need to make an appointment for her being sick so long but she really does not like drs. I hope they are able to help your little guys soon and they start feeling better.