Pedi made me cry at 9mo check up
mrsjengle
member
Some of you might remember that Lo had a horrible case of the stomach flu in January, and that, combined with her failure to thrive and a severe milk protein intolerance, was enough to land her at Children's Hospital for 8 days where she also ended up with a blood infection. Since then we have been under the care of the GI docs at Children's. They follow her pretty closely, and I call in every week to give them a weight update.
Yesterday I took her in to her regular pedi for a cough, rash, and her 9mo shots. The doctor came in a pretty much spent the entire appointment asking me why Children's isn't doing anything more invasive for her. Yes, she's still a little below the growth chart, but she is gaining steadily. She already cruising, and, I think, she will soon be walking. However, all the doc wanted to talk about was what we were doing about her slow weight gain. He told me to call Children's today and start asking questions. He questioned why she didn't have a G-tube already. He also said that she won't gain weight if she's not taking at least 30 oz a day. She's never taken that much. She averages between 15-18 oz/day, and she gains about 4 oz/week. I think that's pretty good. Her weight yesterday was 15 lbs 8oz. She's come so far from where she was.
I guess I was just upset because he seems to think that Children's isn't managing her case well, and he grilled me about why we weren't "doing anything." I left the appointment feeling like a major medical intervention was necessary. I'm so upset that the pedi attacked me like that. I think if he had major questions about Children's management plan, he should have called and questioned them.
Sorry, I just need to vent about it.
Re: Pedi made me cry at 9mo check up
Ugh that stinks. I know how you feel though. Our first GI told us "there is nothing wrong" "this is NOT reflux, babies with REFLUX don't do this". he told us to take him off of all his meds, don't bother thickening his formula, it wont' help. It's all neurological.
come to find out this IS why he was FTT. Because it is reflux. We've had a slow steady gainer, took 9.5 months to double his birth weight.
It's so frustrating when one doctor tells you something then another makes you feel like total SHIIIIIT for using that plan.
If you feel like the GI is proactive and your DD is doing well, the let what the pedi says go in one ear and out the other. Thats why you pay more money to specialists.
Bar tab = $156,000, Bus to Foxwoods = $0, Puking in the Stanley Cup = Priceless
Okay, I'll be the lone dissenter here...I actually think it's great that your pedi is so passionate about your daughter's case. If he thinks that not everything that could be done for your daughter is being done, then I think he's right to tell you to ask questions. I'm not sure why you're so upset with him...if he feels like they're managing the case wrong, wouldn't you want him to tell you? It doesn't sound like he thinks you're being a bad parent or something (although I'm sure it feels that way), he just wants to make sure your daughter is getting good care.
If I were you, I would take his advice and ask the Children's Hospital some questions. It's always good to be proactive as a parent, and there's no harm in being better informed. That way, the next time you go to the pedi, you can give him direct answers as to why they are or are not doing things. I know it's hard, but try not to take what he said so personally - he actually sounds like he cares a lot about what happens to your daughter.
I don't often post, but I can totally relate. DD has been growing very slowly since her 6 month appt, and she was only 14 lbs 4 oz at her 9 month visit. She has always barely been on the growth chart (born 4 lbs 12 oz), and she fell off her growth curve a bit but seems to be bouncing back. That said, she is doing well, meeting milestones, is happy, etc. Her pedi (who trained at Children's) recommended adding butter, cream, olive oil, full fat yogurt, avocados, etc to the solids that she eats, and making sure she eats solids 3 times per day (she is EBF). Other than taking her in for monthly weight checks, the pedi isn't worried--she just says DD is petite.
My husband is a GI fellow at Children's, and he has informally consulted with numerous GI docs, nutritionists, etc regarding our DD's growth. He agrees with our pedi's approach. DD is petite but healthy, and although we are trying to encourage faster weight gain, we're not stressing about it too much. From what I hear, general pedis don't always know how best to manage non-average cases. Good luck!