Weight Check

As I told all of you a few posts ago, Ethan had lost a whole pound. For him, that's a ton! I know we all wish we had his problem. However, it's a big problem for him.

We went to see Dr. Russell as well as the dietician that works with him. She specializes in treating these kids with Celiac Disease. Come to find out our little guy is supposed to be taking in about 1300 calories a day. On a good day, he's only taking in about 800 calories!!! I don't know how he manages to have so much energy!! The question isn't so much, what to feed this child, it's how to get him to eat the high calorie stuff. Since it's already a restrictive diet, we don't have much wiggle room. Plus, we don't want him to have empty calories and become a junk food junky.

So, they weighed him and on their scale he was 24 lbs. 12 oz. According to our scale at home he checked in at 25 lbs. So, he gained back his pound give or take...and I was strictly forbidden from weighing him again! :) I absolutely love this doctor. He gets it. He knows that as a mom we worry and worry and worry about these things, but he doesn't want me to drive myself, (or my husband for that matter), crazy. Granted Ethan should have gained more than that by now, but we have to remember that we are still dealing with a very picky 3 year old!

Changes to the diet...well, not many...but a few. First of all we have to get him to drink milk as much as possible. About five 8 oz glasses a day!!! Less water, more milk. Uh hun! Ummm, my kid doesn't drink that much water, never mind milk which he seems to have a lack of love for. Plus, we have to fortify everything we give him to drink with this duocal powder, which helps to boost the calories of the milk or water that he is drinking. Okay...my son seems to have a knack for figuring out when we've added something that supposed to be tasteless to any of his liquids. Well, we found a gluten free choc. milk, which the doctor said we could do since he's not as concerned about calcium absorption right now as he is weight gain. Ethan loved it...for the day yesterday. Today...not so much! ARRRGGGGHHHHH!!

Also, we need to make sure he's eating about every two hours...roughly six times a day. Including a snack after dinner, right before bed. The dietician recommended having him help me make a frozen fruity ice cream shake, fortified with flax seed just before bed. Haven't tried it yet...but I have a feeling that someone will catch on to that one fairly quickly!

I have noticed that he tends to eat better at other people's houses, and sometimes with his friends as a sort of peer pressure thing. Around us, it's like we suck the appetite right out of him!

Pray for us, we're going to need it.