Not What I Wanted to Hear

Well, my "babies" are officially a year and a half old- "big" 18 monthers- and there is little baby left in them.  They are toddlers through and through.  My 18 month post is coming, but today my post is more about our 18 month well child appointment that we had on Friday- the day they actually turned 18 months old.

First off, the good of the appointment:  They are both advanced developmentally in all areas, so no concern there.  Also, I was amazed that neither one even flinched when they got their shots at this appointment.  We usually do both kids' shots at the same time with two nurses, so that neither child knows what's coming.  There was one other shot appointment before this where they didn't cry, but that was a long time ago.  The shots were done, band aids applied, and that was that.  Anna also had blood drawn after the shot, and even more amazing to me- she didn't move a muscle for the entire blood draw.  I held her arm when the needle went in and she just calmly watched.  I kept her arm extended and her elbow straight while the blood was drawn, and she just sat silently looking at her arm.  She didn't make a peep or try to move the entire time.  I was shocked... and thankful!

Now to the reason why she had a blood draw.  The not-what-I-wanted-to-hear part of the well-child appointment.

Sam and Anna have been very consistent on their %ile curves since their 1 month stats.  Anna has been 5%ile for weight since then and Sam and has been 10%ile for weight since then (At birth, Anna wasn't even on the chart and Sam was barely on it).  This time, Sam dropped to 5%ile (gaining only 2 oz in 3 months, weighing 21 lbs 8 oz) and Anna dropped off the chart (gaining only 4 oz in 3 months, weighing 19 lbs 6 oz).

Our pediatrician expressed some concern that they both dropped a little off of their individual percentile curves.

I am taking this all in a little with a gain of salt.  Most children around this age drop a little, due to an increase in their activity and marked with the advent of pickier eating habits.  Both Sam and Anna did become proficient walkers since their last appointment.  The problem is that because they were at the lower end of %iles to begin with, they had less wiggle room than the average toddler their age.  It wouldn't be a huge concern if a toddler dropped from 75%ile to 50%ile for weight, even if that means they dropped 25 total %iles.  Sam and Anna each only dropped 5%iles.

But it doesn't make me happy.  In Sam and Anna's history, we've worked really hard through their refluxing days and bottle refusals to keep their weight at a acceptable point.  It gives me an extremely defeated feeling to know that my worst fear during those  times came true.  It makes me upset with myself that we haven't been working really hard to get the most calories in them, because I thought they were pretty good eaters.  Honestly, it was freeing once they were done with bottles to not have to work so hard at feeding them anymore.  I don't think they are all that picky and I think they eat a good amount of a variety of healthy foods.

Our pediatrician isn't concerned about Sam because he's still on the chart and he eats like a horse.  He eats more than me at many meals.  The other night he ate 3 entire brats (his and mine) in addition to other food.  I ended up making something else for me to eat because he ate my dinner in addition to his.  He's just an active guy.

Anna however, doesn't eat as much as he does, and doesn't eat a lot of meat.  Her favorite things to eat are vegetables and fruit... all the foods that aren't high in calories or fat.  Our pediatrician wanted to do a blood test to check for celiac disease to rule that out.  We both think that it will be negative, so the next plan will probably be to make a conscious effort to fill her up (and Sam too) with lots of high fat, high calorie food.  We should hear about the results by the end of the week.

I'm just hoping that Anna does not have celiac disease, or allergies or some other underlying cause for her low weight and that she's just an active toddler who's just always been naturally on the petite side.  Meanwhile, we're going to attempt to add calories to both of their food while not adding them to ours!