Not as Bad as I Thought...

Our pediatrician appointment - that is.

My dad brought us all the way home Thursday afternoon (the girls were great!), and we geared up for our appointment on Friday. It went better than I expected. Natalie weighed in at 16#2oz and was 28.25 inches tall. Abby was 16#10oz and was 28.5inches tall. Their weight gain was poor, as expected. Our last check-up was May 19. Natalie has only gained 2 pounds since then. Abby has only gained one pound, 10 ounces. On the plus side, they have each grown about 2 inches and actually made a chart!

Overall, our dr. was very pleased with them. She said we were doing a great job and developmentally, they were incredible. Of course, she said they need to gain more weight. She gave me more handouts on how to increase calories, but did not mention the dreaded g-tube. She suggested we add protein powder to their food to make sure they get enough, since they need that to grow.

I am becoming less concerned about their weight gain, and more focused on their calorie intake. If they were eating what they should and not gaining lots of weight, it would be okay, since we would know they were getting what their bodies need. But, since they are only getting about 60% of the calories they need, it concerns me. We actually have a nutritionist coming soon to help us figure out the best way to get them exactly what they need. The problem is, even if they were eating 1000 calories a day, if it's all in sugar or carbs, it's still not good. They need a certain amount of fat and protein. So, the food saga continues. We still have an appointment with SICC Oct 7th, but maybe we will make up some ground by then.