A Worrying Day

Today I took Simon to the doctor for his 6 month checkup. Michael and I were eagerly awaiting (and dreading) the weigh-in. Simon's been so close to the edge in terms of weight. He started off in the 5th percentile, then dropped to the 2nd. For the last month I've been extra-obsessive about feeding Simon. I breastfeed about every two hours or so during the day, sometimes more frequently. I've chosen the solid foods with the highest calorie counts (thank you, bananas, for being there for us), and I always feed Simon as much as he wants, which is a lot. He wakes up once or twice in the night, and I feed him then. I feel like I've been trying to cram as much food as possible down his throat. So, on to the weigh-in.

Simon has dropped off the chart. He has fallen below the weights listed. He weighs 12 pounds, 14 ounces. He has gained only 7 ounces in six weeks. He's 25 1/2" long, which places him in between the 10th and 25th percentiles. That's also a drop for him. He hasn't grown in height since his last appointment six weeks ago.

His doctor ordered blood tests and wants to see him in a month. I'm to keep breastfeeding him and to increase solids to 3 times a day. She also okayed avocado, for the calories and fat.

Simon did not have a great time today. He needed his left ear irrigated to remove ear wax so the doctor could check his ear drum (it's great, by the way). He screamed throughout. Then he got 3 shots. More screaming. Then we went to the pediatrics lab where they took 3 vials of Simon's blood. He really screamed. By that time he was sore and cranky and overdue for a nap.

I really hope Simon doesn't have anything seriously wrong with him. They're checking his thyroid, kidneys, and other unspecified things. If there is a problem the doctor will call by the end of next week. If there's no problem, we'll wait until his appointment next month and see if he's gained enough weight. If not, there will be more blood tests. Yikes!

In preparation for this doctor's visit, I went through Simon's sleep log and added up his total sleep hours for each day since the beginning of the month. The results are not great. He averages about 11 hours of sleep per day. This includes nighttime sleep and naps. He got 12 hours or more on only 5 occasions. The most he slept in one day was 12 1/2 hours. This is so far below average. I don't know what to do. I can't make him sleep more. He won't. He sleeps okay at night these days, but his naps are terrible. He wakes up after 30-35 minutes. He gets around an hour and a half of sleep during the day, and that seems to be his limit. He won't listen to reason.

Maybe that's why he's so damn thin. He's awake and active so much. I don't know. I'm just worried.