Thursday, March 22, 2007

GI Doctor Update



We took Matthew to his G.I. doctor today. He's not gaining as much weight as he should, so we will be feeding him four cans of Nutren with fiber per day. We are going to decrease his night feeds a bit and try to increase the volume per feed (to stretch that tummy). We currently feed him no more than 4 oz a feed. That will be increased 5 oz a feed. If that goes well and he doesn't retch, in a couple months we can increase the volume again. Dr. Baron suggested that we put Matthew in his high chair before each feed and let him play with food. He thinks that since his retching has subsided, he may have a better feeling about eating. For the past 17 months, eating has been quite miserable due to the retching. It will still take time since he has a strong aversion to anything with a taste.

Dr. Baron is also referring us to a wonderful speech/feeding specialist to give Matthew one-on-one interaction. We will most likely start this in April after RSV season has passed.

8 comments:

Grandma Sue said...

Look at that darling face. I plan to come visit real soon. Haven't told your Mommy & Daddy yet. I need work to be last on my list and not first. I miss all of you so much and the time has flown by. I hope in time Matthew will come to enjoy food now that the retching has subsided. He'll have to eat lots to be able to keep up with all his activities. No matter what, he always has that wonderful smile.

I love you all. Grandma Sue

Nancy Jensen said...

Good luck with the increase in volume and having him "play" with his food. I really hope he will start eating now that you have the retching under control. He's such a sweetheart! Sending you (((hugs)))!

yerdoingitwrong said...

Good luck and hugs from me as well. xo!!

Gina said...

I hope everything goes smoothly w/ the specialist!

Grandma W said...

Matthew has lost that "baby" face and grown into his "little boy" face so beautifully.

I am always so impressed when I go with Matthew to the doctor's office. He just goes with the flow of things, and is so cheerful. He doesn't put up a fuss when stripped of his clothing down to his diaper. As long as he has a cell phone to entertain himself, mommy and the doctor can spend uninterrupted time discussing the plan of the month. Matthew set an appointment on my cell this time that I can't seem to remove. ugh!

I am sure Matthew uses up a lot of calories during the day as he is perpetual motion in his waking hours. I know mommy and daddy on right on it. I wish I could give him some of "my calorie" intake. It would certainly help us both out.

I love you sweet, Matthew. You are the light of my life! grandma wright

Wyndi said...

is this the first time he has seen speech for feeding help. have they done swallow studies on him to see if his swallow is ok? Izzy aspirates and is on thick but feeding before that was misery for her because it hurt her lungs she sees speech weekly since 14 weeks to help with feeding and swallow troubles. pulmonary follows swallow issues also because they protect the lungs so maybe ask them about some of the swallowing stuff too? I hope he is feeling better, steroids helped izzy gain lots of weight but she has been on them for hemangiomas since 14 weeks old also she was 10 lbs when she started them and is now almost 21 lbs! at 1year so a huge gain but the increase the appetite and make them puffy

Terri@SteelMagnolia said...

Gosh, we don't know now if the retching is under control ...
he gagged and retched all weekend ... as if he were not on baclofen... so very frustrating.

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry to hear about the gagging and retching. That sounds really, really frustrtaing. It's great that he is getting one on one therapy - it is invaluable. Our daughter has been enrolled in EI since she was born and it has been fantastic for her. She never had eating issues, but she sure does have some speech issues.

So...what a picture!! Matthew is just beautiful and that picture is positively stunning. What a heartbreaker!