I took the kids in for their check-ups in two waves this year. Tommy and Janie went a few weeks ago, and after having both big girls totally melt down for their 4 year check-ups, I was extra prepared with sweet talking and bribes for Janie. She got all three of her shots without crying. Go figure. I had to reward her (and thus everyone) with ice cream cones, which they ate right before French class and then were bouncing out of their chairs for Marion.
Then the big girls had their check-ups today. Elizabeth checked out fine. She’s average size, perfectly healthy, and no big concerns. Susanna, however, was another story. Things were great in the food department a couple months ago, but they’ve slowly gotten worse, and ever since getting sick about three weeks ago, she has basically stopped eating. Things she no longer likes: milk, cheese in any form (including pizza, homemade, or a variety of restaurant types!), eggs, basically all meat, bacon, sunflower seed butter, cashew butter, pistachios, yogurt, granola, oatmeal, hummus, babaganoush, Chickfila chicken nuggets, pretty much anything with fat or protein that she liked the day before. Things she likes: cucumbers, cherries, watermelon. Sometimes bread and butter or chips and guac if we’re lucky. When Grandma was here to help me brainstorm, we tried adding ovaltine to heavy cream, and that was a moderate success a couple times. Her behavior has reflected the lack of calories in her diet, and I went out and bought five kinds of sugary cereal (she might like them one day but not the next) and a bunch of pediasure just to try to get some calories in. Dr. Vallance agreed that this is why she’d dropped so much in her growth curves (from 16th percentile down to seventh for weight, which is a big jump for a little girl) and agreed that this situation is not sustainable longterm nor fair to the other kids who are still being expected to eat normally and not complain and not get special sugary treats all the time. It’s quite easy to get into a vicious cycle with rewarding extreme orthorexic behavior. Per Dr. Vallance’s advice, I’m going to keep going with one pediasure shake in the evening if she hasn’t eaten enough protein all day and then try adding a scoop of protein powder or some tofu to homemade breakfast smoothies so that we can at least get some normal, real food into her and hopefully help her get used to the feeling of having a properly filled tummy again. Oh, and after failing her hearing test for several check-ups in a row and chalking it up to extra ear wax one too many times, Dr Vallance did a thorough clean out and extra close look, and there’s something unusual looking about Susie’s right ear drum. We’re on oral antibiotics (the first time in her life!) in case it’s a weird ear infection, and we’ll be back in two weeks to re-check the ears and talk about eating progress. If her ear isn’t better, we’ll go to an ENT specialist to take a closer look. It doesn’t seem like this should have anything to do with the eating issue, but we’ll discuss more at that follow-up visit. I am SO grateful for Dr. Vallance. She knows my kids, knows me, and is on top of the things that I should be concerned about and reassuring about the other stuff.
Janie’s 4 Year Stats
Weight: 32 lbs (22%) (Susie was 31 lbs, Elizabeth was 39 lbs, Tommy was 41 lbs 7 0z)
Height: 39.5 inches (41%) (Susie was 39 1/2 in, Elizabeth was 40 1/2 in, Tommy was 39 3/4 inches)
BMI: 14 (21%–the first time she has broken tenth percentile since birth!)
Susanna’s 6 Year Stats
Weight: 37 lb (7%) (Elizabeth was 50 lb, Tommy was 51 lb)
Height: 44 in (24%) (Elizabeth was 45 3/4 in, Tommy was 46 1/4 in.)
BMI: 13 (5%, down quite a bit)
Elizabeth’s 8 Year Stats
Weight: 61 lbs (75%) (Tommy was 62 lbs)
Height: 50 1/4 in (50%) (Tommy was 51 3/4 inches)
BMI: 17 (71%)
Tommy’s 10 Year Stats
Weight: 75 lbs (59%)
Height: 55.5 inches (59%)
BMI: 17 (58%)
