Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood

***Paige's NG tube placement has been rescheduled to Friday June 12th***

Tuesday June 9th will be the big day Paige gets her NG tube & pump. We'll have the tube placed in the morning at the clinic and the pump and formula will be delivered by Pediatric Home Services.

To clarify a few things that people have asked about:

Yes, Paige is small, but that isn't really the issue. 18 lbs at 18 months puts her below the third percentile, but she's in good company there with other "little" kids. The concern is a combination of her small size and her lack of weight gain. She was 18 lbs 6 months ago as well. A line at the bottom of the growth chart is one thing....but a line that goes straight across the paper is another.

The Feeding tube is going in for a couple of reasons. First, she's at full capacity for the volume of food she can eat in her waking hours. Seriously, she eats ADULT portions of some of her favorite foods and snacks all day. This last month we've replaced her regular soy milk with a soy pediatric drink to squeeze in a few more calories. In spite of her appetite, she just can't put on weight. SO, if she gets 100% of the nutrition and calories that she needs overnight while she sleeps, that leaves her waking hours to get "bonus" calories! Second, she's got some catching up to do. We want her to be fat & happy!

Her surgery on the 19th is an upper endoscopy. Paige will be under full anesthesia for this...I'm pretty nervous about it. Mike or I have never had surgery, never been under anesthesia...don't even like to put the dogs under to get their teeth cleaned let alone our baby. The doctor will biopsy part of her esophagus, stomach, and small intestine. This test will help us determine if Paige's issue is simply that she needs more calories or if there is a problem with her digestive system (too much or too little of certain enzymes, inflammation etc). Its possible that Paige is unable to absorb the nutrients she needs from the food she eats. If that's the case, than no amount of formula in a feeding tube or heaping plates of spaghetti (with milk free sauce of course) is going to help her....hence the urgency in getting to the bottom of the problem and bulking her up as much as we can while we are waiting for a diagnosis.

Two other items of note:

Paige weighed in at 20lbs on our scale tonight....naked and everything! True we had (literally) just finished feeding her 2 hot dogs, 8 oz of milk, a fruit cup, baggie of cheerios, some graham crackers with frosting, and (ahem) 3 packs of fruit snacks...but STILL....20 lbs!

Also, it was teacher appreciation night at Applebees ! I had a fantastic oriental chicken salad for the bargain price of $.99! I will NOT be getting on the scale however :)