A repost from 9/25/12:
Josiah was born weighing a healthy 7 lbs - ironically, he weighed
more than either of his brothers at birth. However, it didn't take long
to see that he simply wasn't gaining weight as readily as his peers.
For those of you who have read the blog from the beginning, you know
this has been a sensitive issue for me (given that Josiah was/is a
breastfed baby). We have persevered. Josiah has done the same. His
providers have been patient (I was never willing to stop breastfeeding,
only willing to supplement).
'Failure to Thrive' has
always been that phrase we didn't want to hear. We didn't want Josiah
diagnosed with "failure to thrive." Though it's just a concept, I guess
the name sounds so horrific to Carl and I. Despite providers not using
it, it still remained. It was the (usually) unspoken truth. I say
usually, because hidden on a medical summary somewhere are the words
'history of failure to thrive.' Carl and I have never considered Josiah
as failing to thrive. So, I set out to check definitions.
Johns Hopkins
refers to failure to thrive in this way: "Children are diagnosed with
failure to thrive when their weight or rate of weight gain is
significantly below that of other children of similar age and gender. Infants
or children that fail to thrive seem to be dramatically smaller or
shorter than other children the same age." It goes on to say that
failure to thrive can be the result of physical problems (such as Down
Syndrome) or environmental problems (such as abuse/neglect).
Ok,
fair. I can agree that Josiah does not match the weight of other
children his age. I guess it's the phrase that is despised. It feels
like it implies something sinister. Perhaps, in some cases it is caused
by something sinister.
I've
never brought myself to write about this as it's so personal for us.
However, yesterday gave me good cause to mention it.
Josiah
came down with a fever on Sunday. 101.3. It was late in the
afternoon. He was crying non-stop, difficult to console. I finally
gave him a small dose of Tylenol and called the pediatrician's office.
An RN was on the phone within a few minutes. We agreed, Josiah could
wait until morning to be seen.
I
knew the pediatrician's office opened at 8:30, so I was up, showered,
and dressed by 8. I was watching the clock with the intention of
calling them at 8:35. Well, as usual, they beat me to the punch. At
8:15, our phone rang. Sure enough! It was the pediatrician's office
calling to see how Josiah was doing. I explained. He fussed off and on
during the night. His fever remained when he awoke at 4am. We were
given a 9:45am appointment.
At
9am, we were out the door. The big boys were in school allowing Carl
& I to take Josiah in alone. Once inside the room, they asked what
he currently weighs. Well, you know me - I stopped weighing him at home
because I was becoming a bit obsessive about the weight issues lol.
So, I gently said "Can we weigh him here?" Minutes later, Josiah was
undressed and laying on the scale. I knew that he weighed 15 lbs 3oz on
Aug 16th. I watched the scale teeter - I was simply waiting for the
end result. OMG! 17lbs 2oz. He did it! He gained 2 lbs in 5 weeks! I
almost started dancing in the hallway.
They
examined Josiah. Luckily, nothing serious. No ear infections. No
respiratory issues. It boils down to a cold/viral thing. Thank
goodness! As we were leaving, we stopped in the hallway. The MD passes
by smiling. He tells the nurse, "my two failure to thrive kids are
both thriving."
"My two failure to thrive kids are both thriving."
I'll take it!
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