"Failure to Thrive"

I took Lexi in for her six month appointment today. I thought she was doing so well, and then I heard those words, "failure to thrive." I had heard them before when Mitchell was 2 months old and never wanted to hear them again.  I knew we were having some food problems with rice cereal and avocado, and that she didn't love solid food, but she was a great nurser. That's what I thought was important.

Lexi weighs 12 lbs 3 oz and is 24 inches long.  That put her in the <5% for her weight and <10% for her height. She only gained 1.1oz in two months and went from 23 3/8 inches to 24. It just wasn't enough to keep her on her own growth curve. She had dropped off and thus was considered failure to thrive. It was ok. I was ok with it. Dr. Ally just suggested we five her 8 oz of formula a day. In my mind that broke down to 2 oz before each nursing session. Easy enough. I went to the store and bought bottles. I had all kinds of formula in my garage, so I was set. I went home and made her a bottle. What? Not taking the bottle? Ok, we'll work on it.

We have to go back for a weight check in a month. Hopefully we'll be able to get her to gain some weight. She only needs to be 13 lbs to be on her own curve, so it should pack on fast if she'll eat the formula. Time will tell.