It has been some time since Madison was diagnosed with Failure To Thrive. This journey through discovering how to manage and overcome it has been nothing short of stressful. We have been to countless Dr's appointments, Therapy sessions and recently had a slew of tests done at the GI's office to make sure there was nothing medically preventing her from gaining weight. As a mom I want nothing but the best for my daughter. I want her to receive the best care possible, see the best OT's, and have a reasonably happy experience through all of this. This is why we have decided to switch pediatricians. When we initially started receiving care from her new pediatrician (which was only after her old Pediatrician retired and we were gifted to this one) we were so excited that this Dr seemed to know what was really going on with Madison. We thought she knew what she was talking about because she had gone through this same thing with her daughter and had personal experience. To us, personal experience is great because it meant we had someone who knew what we were dealing with, going through and could offer a slew of help to progress us towards overcoming the diagnosis. After some time with this doctor however, I have become uneasy with her. She has threatened to take my daughter and place her in a hospital countless times, she told us to force food and drinks down Madison's throat any way possible and is not taking into account Madison's sensory disorder issues. She scolded me like a child at the last appointment after I told Madison (who was just playing on the floor a moment earlier) to not put her hands in her mouth. This is how she easily gets sick as her immune system is not very strong. Her Pediatrician told me to let her put her hands and whatever else she wants in her mouth as we don't want to deter her from the hand to mouth movements. Whereas I understand her thinking in this advice, I don't agree with it at all. I have two children to care for and if we are to stay healthy, I cannot have Madison getting sick because she touched everything yucky and decided to suck it off her fingers.
You cannot force a child to drink or eat anything. Especially when they have a sensory disorder. Forcing the child or threatening to use a syringe (as the Dr told us to do- we are not proud to say we have tried this multiple times before realizing we were doing more harm than good) to pour her drinks down her throat, just makes the child shut down, have epic meltdowns and makes them scared of the item in question. Her Dr seems to want immediate results with each appointment. She isn't happy with just one pound gained, she wants multiple pounds. Even after expressing to her the stress, tears, and misery we go through each and every day just to get her to eat and drink her required calories, she is still unsatisfied. I am very understanding that my daughter needs to gain weight. I understand that a full year of no weight gain is not a good thing and that she has a lot of catching up to do. I also understand the struggles we are going to have to go through for many more years to get her to where she needs to be. What I don't understand is why her Dr cannot understand how much past the limit of stress and struggle we really are. Her Dr thinks that Pediasure is our saving grace and is the only thing that will put meat on Maddie's bones, but Maddie has come to dislike the one drink that she was being forced to drink multiple times a day. Honestly, I don't blame her. I have done many hours of research on high calorie/fat products that will help Madison gain weight and believe that we finally have a few products that will help.
