Tummy News
Sometimes I feel like all I talk about is G's tummy. I invite too many people in. I do. It's a problem. I share too much. I expect all people to look at the news the way I do, and just have the same reaction as me and then move on. But that's absolutely ridiculous and it just about never happens that way so you'd think I would learn to keep my big mouth shut! But I never do.
I justify this away by saying, just like you can't change people's reactions, I can't change who I am. I'm a sharer. But if I'm going to share, I'm going to have to be a grown-up about it and accept that people are going to react and not react the way I want.
Regardless. Moving on. Tummy news.
What I wanted to write about today was how much better G looks. I would show you photos but I don't want to and it hurts my heart to look back. My parents (and everyone else) said G never looked unhealthy, and he really didn't, on the surface. But he looks so much better now.
There used to be this little spot, on his chest, right below his sternum, which was concave, and it freaked me out. I hated it. I always hated that you could feel every bone in his body (this is still true) but this concaveness was just awful.
It's gone now. When I get him up in the morning he has a perfectly shaped little torso. Everything in proportion. No extended belly full of gas or upsetedness. The skin seems more, elastic. His excema is getting better. We still have to do steroids on his feet (just like his mama) but the really bad red splotches all over are getting better. Because we got rid of the soy? Probably.
Feeding him is still a battle. The little terrorist. He's the worlds pickiest eater and if it's not just so he ain't touching it. And he patently refuses to get his hands dirty. He's even started refusing to pick up his pb sandwich with his own hands. If I feed it to him, he'll eat it. Unless it comes from the pantry and is individually wrapped, he's not actively trying it. My Aunt once said she thought they get thrown off by smells and I think she's right. Some things make it up to the gate but something makes the goalie push it back. The smell? Only G knows for sure.
What else did I want to remember?
Fiber. Because of what I just mentioned, we are on the hunt for getting more fiber into him, to help make things, uh, easier. We do apple juice daily, but that has it's limits and I'm not excited about pushing sugar drinks to solve the problem. So first, like I said a few posts ago, we went to Whole F.oods and went looking for natural ways to accomplish this.
Natural fiber (not in fruit form) tastes like cardboard. He wouldn't touch any of it. No whole wheat pancakes, no whole wheat waffles, no whole wheat toast. I tried the whole wheat toast and, not only was the loaf itself incredibly heavy, but the slices were so dense. I didn't like it either.
So I went the other route. The less natural route. The F.iber One route. Specifically, the chocolate brownie flavored 5g of fiber route.
Technology is grand. Because it looks to be the answer to my problem. At least till we get through this phase of "no" grapes "no peeshes" "no" apples. He will eat apple sauce but that has so little fiber it's not even funny. And then the rest of the day he eats peanut butter sandwiches. Hmmm. Yes I know you see the problem.
I like to remind myself that kids in rural China (not the Mongols, as Lewis says, they are land locked) eat sushi and rice every day. And some of them only eat rice every day. So if he eats a peanut butter sandwich at every meal (which has happened) the world will not end.
And yesterday, we got on the scale (something my doctor told me to just stop) and he weighed 21.6 pounds. This is almost a two pound gain since Thanksgiving. It's amazing what not vomiting will do for a child's growth. I just hope it didn't stunt his growth longterm or anything.
I try to honor his food requests because he knows what he wants and what he needs. He can't tell me if his tummy is upset and that's why he only wants bread. I eat toast when I'm feeling poorly. And he can't tell me if his throat hurts and that's why swallowing acidic fruit is no fun. I don't know. Part of me thinks it's just a toddler exerting control over his enviornment and making his own rules. But because the little dictator has this weight problem, I give in a lot. I will pay for this for a very, very long time.
But he's gaining weight. So if he keeps gaining weight, and looking better, he can eat whatever he wants.
I justify this away by saying, just like you can't change people's reactions, I can't change who I am. I'm a sharer. But if I'm going to share, I'm going to have to be a grown-up about it and accept that people are going to react and not react the way I want.
Regardless. Moving on. Tummy news.
What I wanted to write about today was how much better G looks. I would show you photos but I don't want to and it hurts my heart to look back. My parents (and everyone else) said G never looked unhealthy, and he really didn't, on the surface. But he looks so much better now.
There used to be this little spot, on his chest, right below his sternum, which was concave, and it freaked me out. I hated it. I always hated that you could feel every bone in his body (this is still true) but this concaveness was just awful.
It's gone now. When I get him up in the morning he has a perfectly shaped little torso. Everything in proportion. No extended belly full of gas or upsetedness. The skin seems more, elastic. His excema is getting better. We still have to do steroids on his feet (just like his mama) but the really bad red splotches all over are getting better. Because we got rid of the soy? Probably.
Feeding him is still a battle. The little terrorist. He's the worlds pickiest eater and if it's not just so he ain't touching it. And he patently refuses to get his hands dirty. He's even started refusing to pick up his pb sandwich with his own hands. If I feed it to him, he'll eat it. Unless it comes from the pantry and is individually wrapped, he's not actively trying it. My Aunt once said she thought they get thrown off by smells and I think she's right. Some things make it up to the gate but something makes the goalie push it back. The smell? Only G knows for sure.
What else did I want to remember?
Fiber. Because of what I just mentioned, we are on the hunt for getting more fiber into him, to help make things, uh, easier. We do apple juice daily, but that has it's limits and I'm not excited about pushing sugar drinks to solve the problem. So first, like I said a few posts ago, we went to Whole F.oods and went looking for natural ways to accomplish this.
Natural fiber (not in fruit form) tastes like cardboard. He wouldn't touch any of it. No whole wheat pancakes, no whole wheat waffles, no whole wheat toast. I tried the whole wheat toast and, not only was the loaf itself incredibly heavy, but the slices were so dense. I didn't like it either.
So I went the other route. The less natural route. The F.iber One route. Specifically, the chocolate brownie flavored 5g of fiber route.
Technology is grand. Because it looks to be the answer to my problem. At least till we get through this phase of "no" grapes "no peeshes" "no" apples. He will eat apple sauce but that has so little fiber it's not even funny. And then the rest of the day he eats peanut butter sandwiches. Hmmm. Yes I know you see the problem.
I like to remind myself that kids in rural China (not the Mongols, as Lewis says, they are land locked) eat sushi and rice every day. And some of them only eat rice every day. So if he eats a peanut butter sandwich at every meal (which has happened) the world will not end.
And yesterday, we got on the scale (something my doctor told me to just stop) and he weighed 21.6 pounds. This is almost a two pound gain since Thanksgiving. It's amazing what not vomiting will do for a child's growth. I just hope it didn't stunt his growth longterm or anything.
I try to honor his food requests because he knows what he wants and what he needs. He can't tell me if his tummy is upset and that's why he only wants bread. I eat toast when I'm feeling poorly. And he can't tell me if his throat hurts and that's why swallowing acidic fruit is no fun. I don't know. Part of me thinks it's just a toddler exerting control over his enviornment and making his own rules. But because the little dictator has this weight problem, I give in a lot. I will pay for this for a very, very long time.
But he's gaining weight. So if he keeps gaining weight, and looking better, he can eat whatever he wants.
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