Soo.. what's new in our little section of the world? Not terribly much, thank GOD. ;) Devika is dealing with her broken leg. She still cannot walk with the cast.. but it is SO heavy compared to her body weight, that I will be surprised if she ever is able to do so. I have seen her take 2-3 steps, however, so never say never.
She is staying happy.. but is very cranky by the end of the day and I think it might be bothering/hurting her. Of course, she is also cutting 2 teeth right now. I've noticed that after a little Motrin the past 2 evenings, her disposition has dramatically improved.
A New Year, A New..
Concern. I'm a bit worried about Devi's weight. Ok.. I'm quite worried about her weight. I decided to step on the scales with her today and see what she was up to. I"m thinking.. hm.. this cast is HEAVY.. I bet she's weighing in at 17 lbs with it. She was just under 15 lbs at her last weigh-in, just prior to our xmas travels. So we step on the scale.. then I step off, set her down, and re-weigh myself.. and.. uh oh. Only a 14 lb difference!!!!!! I re-weighed 4x to be sure it wasn't a weighing error.
Holy cow. That means that she is maybe down to 12 lbs?? The cast is heavy.. so I'm guessing 2 lbs. ARGH. I've really been trying to beef her up.. though maybe our traveling messed it up a bit - there were several days when we could not add in some margarine or oil to her meals or find her something super-fatty. We've been consistent with the 4 scoops of formula:6 oz water though.. but she only drinks maybe 10 oz per day. She just won't drink it later in the day.
Obviously I need to be more creative - push the formula into her and ensure super-fatty meals as often as possible thru-out the day. I try to do 6 small meals (b/c she doesn't eat much at each one). Remember she is lactose-intolerant.. so I have to find non-dairy fattening food. This is DIFFICULT. If anyone out there has any thoughts/advice for me, please please share. I've been looking online.. we've talked to a nutritionist.. no one has good ideas. I'm going to take her to an allergist to determine exactly what her food issues are.. maybe that will shed light on things that we can give to her. Scary. She also still fits perfectly in her size 6 month pants that were given to her upon her arrival home. :( She seems to like french fries, so I went to McD's a couple times this week to get her some. She only eats like 4 of them.. but I guess that might be a lot for someone her size. Poor little peanut!
A New Year, A New..Attitude. Maya is doing well lately. She's better with Devika and not so 'treat me like a baby!'. Phew! I think all of the attention given to her over Xmas was very helpful to her. I was afraid she would backslide after returning home, but she has continued to be better-adjusted. She is doing better in school - participates much more than before and is more social.
Unfortunately, she does not EVER want to go to school in the mornings anymore.. so every morning has become a complete nightmare. At least she does well once she arrives and is basically pushed/carried/prodded/bribed into the classroom. This morning she laid down in the entry hall and refused to get up. Luckily a nice teacher came by and teased her about a hole sucking her into the carpet. She was confused and amused.. and got up and walked to her classroom. I guess I need to try to be a bit more 'light' and humorous. I'm getting too stressed by it, I'm sure. I'm just not used to having to do this - she was always great about going to school before Devika came home. Now I have an active baby in one arm (who can't grip me due to the cast), Maya's backpack in the other (she refuses to carry it b/c it's heavy with her boots inside), and have to use the rest of my energy to try to stay calm and upbeat in order to cajole her into school. Argh. Single moms - how DO they do it???
So that is Maya's newest 'thing'. We are pretty well past the hitting-phase.. and now we are in the 'throw our bodies on the ground and curl into a ball' phase. ARRRRRRRRRRRGH. EVERY time I ask her to do something.. even if she was in a nice, happy mode.. she will react this way. I think that the only way to deal with it is with humor. Not let it bother me. {on the outside!} I think I will put up a bunch of post-it notes tomorrow - all around my house: "MAKE A JOKE!" "LAUGH, DON"T GLARE!" "HAHAHAAHAAA!" "IGNORE AND MOVE ON!"
Maybe that will help. Maybe.
I've been taking toys away - the 'ole Love and Logic method. "Uh oh.. so sorry.. looks like Thomas is going away for a few days." She isn't phased by this strategy lately. She responds with "Take Barney too", or "I DON'T CARE! I DON'T WANT TOYS!"
She's going to be a joy when she is a teenager.
In the midst of all this new attitude she is sporting, she is also very entertaining in a good way. :) She loves to sing songs and perform (you've seen the videos!), she loves to drive her plasmacar around the house and make up stories about where she is going and what she is doing. She loves to help in the kitchen, she goes to bed immediately (usually.. though she still gets up pre-sun and kills my will to live), she is super-chatty and just hilarious, she constantly tells me how much she loves me and gives me hugs and kisses.
Tonite she was running around the house singing, 'Is you is or is you is my baaaaay-beeeeeeeee!'. {if you don't know, the words to the song are, "Is you is, or is you ain't my Baby.."}
3-yr olds.. must be the 'manic stage'. {Please don't tell me that it is always the manic-stage.. even if it is.. I don't need to know that yet!}
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5 comments:
I don't know if this works with the lactose intolerant thing, but we mixed mayo into things for extra fatty calories for Devi. It didn't change the taste of things too much and makes scrambled eggs, in particular, very light and delicious!
You sound like you are doing great...don't you just love the throw yourself on the floor in a ball stage...we are there too!
Julie R
Chocolate soy milk is a huge treat -- and has lots of calories and some fat. (We have a son with milk, egg and peanut allergies.) Soy ice cream is also surprisingly tasty. Also, black beans have 110 calories per 1/2 cup . . . and my kids all like them. Peanut butter is another high-fat, high-cal food. The other high-fat tasty thing is bacon, if she likes salty things. Oreos have no dairy in them . . . :o)
Best wishes as you find solutions!
Nancy
Ensure makes a lactose-free high calorie version. Ananya likes the strawberry. I give it to her for the whapping 350 calories in 8 ounces. Its the highest that I've found so far. Ananya has only gained 5 pounds in the last 18 months. Kraft mac and cheese is a staple around here. Also some of the frozen TV dinners like mac and cheese and fettuccine alfredo.
You are all so great! Thx so much for the ideas. Devika is also allergic to eggs, so we can't give her eggs/chz/milk/milk-based cream sauces/etc. We have tried a couple of times, thinking the sauce wasn't too high in lactose-content.. but it resulted in almost immediate blow-outs. I haven't seen the hi-cal Ensure, but I am going to stop by the store today and look - that is awesome! She drinks her formula w/strawberry Quik mixed in, so maybe she would also like the strawberry!
Unfort, she doesn't like the taste of chocolate - in soy milk or otherwise. I bought donut holes yesterday, thinking she might like them to snack on, but no. sigh.
The doc said no peanut butter yet also. Double sigh.
Black beans also great idea!
I'm so excited to try a few of these things - thx again, and if you think of more - plz share!
I am so ready for the 4 year old phase...hoping and praying the crazy 3's are gone for good. I had to giggle when I read "take Barney too..."....Ian has said almost those exact same words...."Take this car too Mommy....I have enough toys."....AAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!
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