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Preemie weight problems Posted 4 months ago
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When I first started Erin Legs I wanted it to be a place where I could be honest and write about all the different trials and triumphs and go along with raising a micro prem. I also wanted it to a place where family and friends could go to check up on Erin's progress. I'm fast learning that the two don't work together.

How can I write about Erin's weight loss, her refusal to eat enough and all the things that really worry me while trying not to alarm my family? The point of the website was to lessen, if not out right stop, the endless phone calls to find out how Erin was doing, if I write that she's lost 100g or that she's reacting badly to whole milk that's only going to trigger more calls. More panic.

So now I find myself without a place to sit and write about how worried I am about her weight gain - or lack there of. You see a baby born two weeks before Erin weighing 200g/7oz more than her just returned from his most recent follow up paediatrics appointment having gained over 600g/1.3lbs in three months while we, with 4 weeks left until our appointment have gained less than 300g/10oz.

There's something wrong and I don't know how to fix it.

Recent Comments

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Soultravelers3 said (3 months ago)
Yeah, you do really need a place that you can vent about your worries.Perhaps there is a place online for feeding problems? It would be good to talk to other moms dealing with similar problems. I googled and came up with a bunch. Only a parent going thru the same thing can really understand how exasperating it can be. My child just would not gain weight and has always eaten like a air fern. She is normal height, but never on the charts for a normal range weight ( typically used by all Peds in US). So she was considered failure to thrive by weight standards, yet she was ahead developmentally and rarely got sick. Sometimes they have specific foods that they like or dislike and you could use help with that.Like some textures are hard for some and some have overly sensitive gag reflexes from the tubes and such as babies. Usually Occupational Therapy early on can prevent problems later, but if your Doc won't recommend that, not sure what you can do. You might want to look at Sensory Integration issues as well as sometimes that plays into things. It might also be normal for her. My daughter is a natural ectomorph and since she never got sick, had boundless energy, good hair and skin, was developmentally advanced....it seems it is her normal to be very thin. My child still looks like a starving child when she gets sick with a cold or something and loses a pound or two. She has never had any fat on her body and has no reserve which is scary. BUT you can only do so much. You can not compare to other children. We had babies in our family who weighed more at 6 months than my child weighed at 4 years old! Some gain easy, some do not. If she is healthy, try not to worry and try to find a support group of other mom's dealing with feeding problems online or in person. You can all share different tricks that might work. It is a maddening problem, but you will get through it one way or another. Good luck and my heart goes out to you!
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annettelyon said (4 months ago)
Oh, man. I'm so sorry--on all counts. Hang in there. I hope you find a solution soon.

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