I wanted to update everyone on our Failure to Thrive journey. We have had some very interesting past few months. In my last blog post I reported on our meeting with the Occupational Therapist. Since seeing her we have started Maddie on the new eating rules, chewy tubes, and have begun to really pay attention to her calorie intake. We have had some great days and some pretty stressful days but are still pushing forward. February 1st we had a Dr's appointment for my youngest. The girls' Dr was shocked and scared at how Maddie was looking. Maddie, at the time, had red all around her eyes from not getting a nap all day and the veins in her forehead were more prominent than usual. Maddie looked pretty sick at that moment which freaked out her Dr. She Dr gave us some suggestions and a major warning. She said that if Maddie didn't gain any weight in one month then she was going to hospitalize Maddie. She would settle for even one pound. Her (almost) exact words were "You need to crack the whip and get her to drink 3-4 Pediasures a day. She needs to start gaining weight or I am putting her in a hospital by the first of next month." This is something we did not want to hear.
This mama cried her eyes out all night. I held my little girl close and prayed for her, squeezed her and tried overcoming my personal feelings so we could focus on the task at hand. At that moment I felt like such a failure. I failed my daughter. I failed to get her to eat, gain weight and now we were being threatened with Maddie being forced away from us and hospitalized for 10-14 days. All I could think about was her being alone and scared in that hospital. I pictured the Dr's forcing food and drinks down her throat till they were satisfied. I pictured her crying for her mommy and daddy and so alone and scared wondering what she did to deserve this treatment. My mind probably went a little crazy and over exaggerated the extent of treatment that Maddie would be getting but it did send me into a worry frenzy. I decided to do what I normally do when presented with a problem that I needed answers to; I worry researched.
I was researching ways to increase her calories till 2 am! I reached out to other moms on a hunch and it paid off! I found this new calorie increasing supplement called Benecalories. It is a 1.5 oz container which is a whopping total of 330 calories and 50% fat. The contents look like coffee creamer and are tasteless. They just change the texture of drinks a little by making them a little thicker. These things are a godsend! Expensive but very much worth it. I can make one of Maddie's Pediasures go from 240 calories to 620 with the help of the Benecalories and some Hershey's syrup for flavoring. This makes reaching our 1000 calorie goal much more attainable and less stressful. Maddie at first didn't care for the Benecalories but has seemed to have gotten used to it. We have been able to reach 1000 most days with the help of these little things and yes we have been cracking the whip. I hate the pressure and stress this puts on us all but for the moment it is working.
