This morning, I was talking with Tzviel, our nearly 5 year old and I asked him if he was happy that Tehilla and I were back home. He said, "I'm so happy that 'Telulu' is back and you! I missed you. Please don't take her back to the hospital! Please? Okay, Ima?"
I told him that Tehilla had a surgery that really helped her heart and that she will only need one more surgery, but that won't be for awhile. "We are not planning on going back to the hospital. But as long as she stays healthy, she shouldn't need to go back to the hospital."
He said, "Hmmm. So, no getting sick. I'm going to make sure she doesn't get sick, Ima. I will kiss her everyday, and when I'm sick, stay far away and blow kisses everyday."
I told him, "That really might work."
I told him that Tehilla had a surgery that really helped her heart and that she will only need one more surgery, but that won't be for awhile. "We are not planning on going back to the hospital. But as long as she stays healthy, she shouldn't need to go back to the hospital."
He said, "Hmmm. So, no getting sick. I'm going to make sure she doesn't get sick, Ima. I will kiss her everyday, and when I'm sick, stay far away and blow kisses everyday."
I told him, "That really might work."
Tehilla's pain has gone down incredibly. I am still giving her Optalgin and sometimes Tylenol, but infrequently.
We went to see our family doctor today. He was thrilled to see Tehilla and hear about her miraculous surgery and recovery. I went over the medical papers with him.
Then we discussed Tehilla's weight. She weighs 7.690 kg. She is below the 3rd percentile. She had dropped weight before the surgery. It is expected to lose weight after such a serious surgery. But now, we need her to gain weight- and a lot of it. She is a very picky eater (she loves pasta and bread!) and even though, before the surgery, she was constantly eating and constantly hungry, she was not putting on any weight.
Our doctor said, "Think of the most fattening foods and give it to her. You said that she likes deli, give it to her often. And if she would like a side of ice cream with it, do that. Feed her butter and very high fat foods. She must put on weight."
I asked him, "But shouldn't we be worried about her eating heart healthy foods?"
He said, "G-d willing, when she is over a hundred years old, we can worry about cholesterol. Right now, she needs a very calorie dense diet."
I asked him, "I understand, but what about in a bit of time, when she has caught up on the weight, doing all this will give her terrible eating habits."
He said, "You're right. But her gaining weight is a huge priority now. Let's worry about that later. Right now, we need her to gain a lot of weight."
So, I will be working hard on fattening this little one up. I will by figuring out ways to hide foods in the foods she loves and buying her all the fattiest foods that I can find. We will have to weigh her regularly.
Once again, please send extra fat thoughts her way.
Then we discussed Tehilla's weight. She weighs 7.690 kg. She is below the 3rd percentile. She had dropped weight before the surgery. It is expected to lose weight after such a serious surgery. But now, we need her to gain weight- and a lot of it. She is a very picky eater (she loves pasta and bread!) and even though, before the surgery, she was constantly eating and constantly hungry, she was not putting on any weight.
Our doctor said, "Think of the most fattening foods and give it to her. You said that she likes deli, give it to her often. And if she would like a side of ice cream with it, do that. Feed her butter and very high fat foods. She must put on weight."
I asked him, "But shouldn't we be worried about her eating heart healthy foods?"
He said, "G-d willing, when she is over a hundred years old, we can worry about cholesterol. Right now, she needs a very calorie dense diet."
I asked him, "I understand, but what about in a bit of time, when she has caught up on the weight, doing all this will give her terrible eating habits."
He said, "You're right. But her gaining weight is a huge priority now. Let's worry about that later. Right now, we need her to gain a lot of weight."
So, I will be working hard on fattening this little one up. I will by figuring out ways to hide foods in the foods she loves and buying her all the fattiest foods that I can find. We will have to weigh her regularly.
Once again, please send extra fat thoughts her way.
Shoshana, my three (otherwise healthy) children were also below the third percentile and we had them on a super high fat diet for a while. Try 10% cream instead of milk in her bottle. Buy the highest fat yogurt you can find (here it Toronto the highest I've seen is 9%) and serve it to her plain or in a smoothie. Better yet, buy 35% sour cream and add some sugar and melted butter. When shopping for ground beef, stay away from anything that says "lean" or "extra lean". The best is to get a really fatty cut of meat and have the butcher grind it up and make mini meatballs.
ReplyDeleteIt goes without saying.... DO NOT! let her fill up on any fruit or vegetables. At one point I cut out veggies entirely. Vegetables have a lot of fiber (make you feel full so you don't eat more) and low calories. Very bad for low weight kids. Avocadoes are good.
Well, there are always latkes and sufganiot...Chanukah should help!
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