Living to Eat....Eating to Live

Just a little update on the challenges of growing a baby....

Since October, Rhys has been struggling to keep up his fighting weight. First, it was his bottle refusal issue after I went back to work. Then it was supposedly my milk supply, so I pumped some more. Then it was supposedly his frequent colds. Then it was better. Then it was worse. Then it was better again. Then it was worse.

Then it supposedly was his distraction issues, so I was supposed to eliminate every shadow, sibling movement or sound, dog barking, telephone ringing, etc. every two hours so he could feed in quiet piece and boredom. Guess what? That was impossible. So maybe it is my milk? So I analyzed it in a machine at work that measured its' calories/fat content and realized that nope, I make a great dairy cow! Then it was supposedly his ability to get the milk out while nursing, so I pumped around the clock for a week and Russ tried to force feed the bottles to him. It worked! Holding him in a headlock and cramming milk into him made him gain weight! Eureka, said the pediatrician's office!

So I tried doing the same thing nursing-it didn't work. Somehow the mechanics of holding him in a headlock just didn't work as well. So, we started doing half nursing and half bottlefeeding pumped milk with some formula added to boost the calories. It worked! He gained weight! Then he started taking even less from the bottle at a time and refusing to eat at all at times. So, maybe it is silent silent reflux? You know, the kind where they don't fuss that much and don't ever spit up? So we started Zantac. Hey, it's worth a shot.

So long story short, it has been a battle around here for the past three months and some really hard work. I have been a basketcase, sick with worry about him, as I watch him fight eating. One of the pediatricians I work with, on hearing about our struggles, stated that Rhys was just mad that I left him at daycare, that he felt abandoned....tears and guilt ensued. Almost didn't go to work the next day, just to spite the man.

Yet, we took him in to the pediatrician today to get him checked out, and he got a glowing report! He is resting comfortably on the 10th percentile, and the doc said, "Hey, someone needs to be on the 10th! Whatever you are doing is working!". He thought it was either reflux or just plain old temperament that was making him not want to eat much. So we will keep up the good work and wonder if some day, he will become a foodie like the rest of the family.