So...I mentioned in Miller's 4 month post that she had lost a little weight at her last doctor's appointment. After an ultrasound to make sure she didn't have pyloric stenosis and blood work to make sure she wasn't dehydrated, they told us to add rice to her bottles to help with the reflux and also add formula for extra calories. We have since been referring to this combo as the Fat Girl Bottle.
Well, we tried the Fat Girl Bottle for about a week, and when we went back to the doctor, she said that she still didn't feel like Miller had gained enough weight. She said she was very concerned and that she wanted Miller to have an Upper GI. Fred and I said okay, even though we thought this was overkill and did not want to put Miller through ANOTHER traumatic hospital experience. When we found out that the Upper GI couldn't be scheduled until 2 days before Miller's next weigh-in, I called the doctor and asked if we could just wait until after the weight check and do the Upper GI then IF Miller still hadn't gained weight. Well, the doctor completely freaked out, said that she was VERY concerned about Miller and that when she had consulted another doctor in the practice he had asked why Miller hadn't already been admitted to the hospital and said that if it wasn't Christmas she would have already admitted her. She said that if Miller did not have a "miraculous" weight gain before her next check that she would want to admit her....WHAT?
Ya'll, the kid has grown in height, she is happier than she has ever been, she is meeting all of her developmental milestones, and she is eating, sleeping and pooping. I knew that there was nothing wrong with her. Now, those of y'all that know me well know that I can be a pretty big hypochondriac. If I say nothing is wrong, nothing is wrong! However, the doctor had me freaking out at that point so we agreed to do the stupid test, which was scheduled for 2 days after Christmas.
On the day of the test, Miller had to go without eating for 4 hours, which I thought would be awful. However, I think that the Fat Girl Bottle must be really filling, because she didn't seem to mind at all. When we went in for the Upper GI, we found out that the doctor also wanted her to have x-rays of her small bowel, which meant that we would have to stay at the hospital for 2 more hours. Ummm....I am still a little concerned as to why NOBODY told me this beforehand. Luckily, I came prepared with a granola bar or I could have possibly starved to death in the time that we were there which turned out to be about 3 stupid hours.
Anyway, Miller did not cry a tear throughout the whole ordeal, and she drank her barium bottle like a champ, and OF COURSE everything came back normal just like we knew it would. The x-ray tech actually said, "Y'all have seen everything from her neck to her toes, so I don't think ANYTHING could be wrong with her!"
So, this morning we went back for another weight check. We were sure that the doctor would come up with some other thing that must be wrong with her or that she would still decree "not enough" weight gain and say she had to go into the hospital. We were fully prepared to grab Miller and run out of there before we let that happen.
Well, I guess it was a Few-Days-After-Christmas Miracle, because the doctor said she had gained plenty of weight and that she must be fine. She also said that there had been a baby patient there at some point who had DIED, because he had an intestinal malrotation that was causing him to spit up a lot, and they just thought it was a virus. This was why she was acting so paranoid about Miller. Seriously, Dr. I-Won't-Say-Your-Name-On-Here-So-I-Don't-Get-Sued?!?! That would have been nice to know ahead of time!
I am secretly a little disappointed that we didn't get to get in a fight with the doctor today, because I had so many awesome comebacks prepared. Want to hear my favorite? It goes like this..."Well, Dr. So and So, babies grow at different rates and are genetically predisposed to be different sizes. OBVIOUSLY my baby would weigh less than yours, for example." Ha ha. Zing!
Bottom line: While we really enjoyed Miller's first Christmas, there was a bit of a dark cloud over it due to all of this ridiculous medical drama. Obviously, Miller is just going to be skinny like her mom. Duh. I will leave you with an image that proves Boo Boo is not wasting away. Look at those cheekies!
