V's Status

Still many posts to catch up on before I begin the Christmas posts!  Wish me luck. Time is a rare commodity these days.  I am so grateful that I have five amazing children--but, for this season of my life, being Mom / Taxi Driver is about all I have time for!

On to V.  I took this picture of her while at her doctor's appointment on Friday--before I woke her up.  She was blissfully ignorant of the shots she was about to receive.  I had been a little worried about V's size.  She just seemed so tiny.  I had spoken with the doctor once when I called about a separate issue and they asked me a few key questions, but she was fine according to those questions.  I assumed that my fears about her size would be alleviated once I took her to the doctor.

Nope.  I was wrong.  Fears were not alleviated.  I was right.  She is too tiny.  She hasn't gained weight.  In fact, she dropped an ounce from her last appointment over a month ago.  At more than 2 months old, she only weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz, merely 4 oz more than her birth weight.

Prior to the appointment, I had given her formula to try to supplement, just in case she was not getting enough from me.  She threw it up.  So, after a few attempts, I stopped trying.

Her doctor also wanted me to supplement, so she gave me a different kind of formula.  She threw that up.  Called the nurse on Saturday, who gave me the name of a different kind.  Bought a couple more different types to try (And, HOLY COW!  formula is expensive!).  She threw them up.  Called the doctor this morning.  She had me come get yet another sample.  We will see.

I could not get the picture to rotate--but just look at that smile--after they had me undress her and before weighing.

The scary thing is....if she does not gain weight it could be something serious.  I switch between being terrified of something serious or feeling that it probably isn't anything.  V is a happy kid (most of the time) and she has hit and exceeded all milestones.  She smiles, coos, holds her head, is very alert, has the recommended wet/dirty diapers, etc.  It is hard to imagine that something could possibly be wrong in her little body.  While sharing about V with a few friends, I have heard many, many stories of babies who had similar problems.  The end results range from heart problems to allergies to leukemia to absolutely nothing wrong.

Our hearts and prayers are with her.  I am so blessed to be her mother!  I just feel quite helpless of how to help her.  One thing that all this formula has done for her--increased the crankiness.  Hard to do anything EXCEPT hold her or she cries-even being held, she cries.  This makes for a little bit of frazzling as it IS the Christmas Season after all, and there are things I would like to do to prepare!  But, I am still so blessed!

Update, December 11, 2012:  The new formula is staying down so far!  She has had 4-5 bottles, 1-2 oz each and she has only spit up a teaspoon or less each time.  We are very hopeful that this formula will be the one that will work for her.  :)  I am guessing it will costs us our weight in gold to afford it (we are using a sample right now), but anything is worth her health---even our weight in gold!  Thank you for your prayers for our little V.