A few weeks ago we had an appointment with a WONDERFUL doctor at Children's National hospital in Washington, D.C. to try to determine why Gibson was failing to put on weight. The appointment was in the Genetics and Metabolic Clinic and I was pleased that they were so thorough and answered all of our questions. We never felt rushed... in fact a genetic counselor was with us for about 30 minutes and the doctor was with us for almost an hour talking about everything and giving Gibson a good once over. As of now we still do not have concrete answers but we do have a good guess as to what is going on. It seems likely that Gibson has an increased metabolic rate and will require DOUBLE the amount of calories until he is 18-20 (when he stops growing). Once he gets to 22 Pounds we will be able to officially test his metabolic rate
The test will look like this ... but with a different Mommy and Baby :-)
Additionally, It was recommended that we hold back back on filling solids until 8 months as we do not want to fill up his belly with foods that are not high in calories... At 8 months we will start to see a nutritionist through Children's to make sure that his diet continues to meet his need for increased calories.
We also made an appointment with cardiology for an echocardiogram to rule out a heart defect. To date they have not heard a murmur but his older sister, Emma, does have a functional bicuspid Aortic Valve... so better to check and rule things out at this point... The appointment for that will be next week
On top of all of our "failure to thrive" issues it was also discovered that Gibson has a few other physical abnormalities in his arms and hips. We do not know to what degree yet but we are in the process of finding a good physical therapist in the area... This explains why he has not been able to sit-up without assistance.
LOTS of doctor appointments! I did put my foot down recently and said that I emotionally cannot handle an every week trip to our pediatrician for a weight check (which I refer to as our weekly play date)... Just to see the scale stay the same or go down is like a kick in my stomach every time and really the doctor cannot truly do anything except refer us around to other specialists at this point. It is nice to have a check-in but we are going to do so every 3 weeks to a month... even with cutting that back though we have managed to have at least one appointment each week this month (with various specialists) and with the addition of physical therapy... well bye bye free time... and all of my leave!
So that is our update. I know that lately I have been a horrible friend/daughter-in-law and I have not kept up my communication as well as I should. Between work, the kids and Gibson's medical stuff I've often felt like I'm just treading water. It is a victory to make Hunter's lunch daily and manage to do the laundry (even if it is only once every two weeks). So again, a blanket I'M SORRY if we haven't talked lately!!!!
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