We've been rather confused by advice given by various healthcare professionals... The dietician told us to increase the number of scoops of formula milk (she did her calculations and said up to 5 1/2 scoops of Enfapro to 120 ml of water would be the maximum her kidneys could take) to increase her protein intake. But an experienced paediatrician told us that was bad advice because it would be bad for her kidneys and could cause constipation. (And we saw a leaflet from Wyeth - a brand of formula milk, which advised against incorrect amounts of formula used.) So it's always best to just follow the manufacturer's guidelines as written on the tin - so really not sure why that dietician would have given such advice.
As such, Annette ended up having blood in her stools yesterday despite us trying our very best to give her as much fluids as she would have taken in. Paed checked today that she has anal fissure - a small tear in her anus that would make it very painful for her when she passes motion. Thus we have to apply some cream twice daily and give her some medicine to make her stools softer. Praying that the tear will heal quickly.
Some time back, another paed advised us to give more yoghurt and cheese to increase her calcium intake (which online sites confer that it is safe for babies but I would prefer not to just in case of allergies) but another doctor friend of ours with 3 kids of her own said yoghurt is bad for babies. So this was another case of "should we give or shouldn't we?"
In any case, the experienced paed advised that it was best to just give as much solids and milk as we can (cos sometimes when we force Annette to take more, everything that had gone in for the past one hour gets thrown up!!!) and as long as she's happy and alert, it's ok to remain small :) so maybe we all shouldn't get too stressed over size and pace of development... most of the time the stress is induced by comparisons so guess we just need to remember to enjoy Annette for who she is :)
2 comments:
I can't quite remember when I started introducing yoghurt to Kate but think it was before she turned one.
Does she enjoy her solids? 8-10 tablespoons is cooked or uncooked food (e.g. rice grains?) sounds like quite a bit to me.
Perhaps can give her more of whatever she enjoys (e.g. white rice cooked to creamy porridge consistency - more 'fattening' than brown rice cos they burn a lot of energy at this age). Praying for her too! :)
Read about Anette. I would probably go with the experienced paed. As long as you had some tests done to rule out some organic cause, like thyroid problems, I wouldn't worry too much. The rule of thumb is that if the child eats a good amount, still drinks milk and is happy and otherwise healthy, it's probably nothing serious. Children grow at their own pace.
Also please pick a paed and stick to him/her so that she gets good followup. See your paed every few months to chart height/weight. I think more important is the development of the child. If she is following her milestones, that's a good sign.
Check with your parents if either of you were small babies. It can run in the family.
A good milk brand to try is Paediasure where all the nutrients are in there even if the child is picky. I feel plain yoghurt is ok after 1 year old. Fresh milk is ok after 2 years old.
Not meaning to confuse you with so much advice. Just my 2 cents.
Post a Comment