So...I have a few questions, hoping that some of the experienced moms who have kids with DS might be able to answer.
Obviously Georgie is really small for his age. He weighs about 27 lbs and he looks and acts like a one year old instead of almost 5 (he will be five in December!) Cute as he is, I am worried about his size and what might be causing this. He is active and happy and likes to eat, so I am confused about why he is so tiny. They said he had a systolic heart sound but upon investigation, no heart defect was found. Any thoughts?
Also, although Georgie eats pretty well ( he can eat cookies, and bread, and crackers, and oatmeal like foods..), he has a very hard time with liquids. He sticks his tongue out completely whenever you try giving him something to drink. We tried a sippy cup...with the little plug in it he could not suck. Without it, it poured all over him and almost nothing got swallowed. We tried a bottle nipple. Much tongue thrusting, not much sucking. We tried a regular cup. He laps like a kitten and gets most
of it all over him. HELP!!!! I asked the caregivers what kind of cup he uses and they said a sippy cup. Hmmm...does not seem to be working at all for us and I am running out of ideas on how to get liquids into him when he leaves the orphanage. I am open to any and all ideas!!
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9 comments:
As for water, try dropping it into his mouth with a straw like you would a nine month old. He probably won't be able to figure out how to drink from it himself for a while but don't worry, he will learn. His size could be due to an unbalanced diet. He eats a lot you say but it sounds like he is eating mostly carbs. He needs protien for growth. Once you get him home he will probably grow very rapidly. At the very least you can ask your pediatrician when you get home. We adopted Katya from Kazakhstan when she was 2 1/2. She gained 12 pounds in 6 months. After that she grew taller and stronger. She also had to learn to suck from a straw, drink from a sippy cup, and chew her food. She drank from a coffee mug but it was messy and she couldn't do it herself. She learned all that and more. G will learn. It will just take time. Keep trying. We are from California too.
Tracey
www.delrosarioadoptionsaga.spaces.live.com You can read about our journey in May-July 2007.
Our five year old son with DS is also only 27 lbs. He is Asian, on a g-tube. G is doing well with foods. Our daughter with DS is also just learning to use a sippy cup, we had a terrible time finding one she could use. Finally she is doing great with a hard one from Wal-Mart, sold singly, with Clifford the big red dog on it. I'll try to get a photo of it for my blog. I don;t know why this one works for her and not the others, but it does.
Dolores
from RR
I don't have any experience but I just wrote a request on the RR google board so someone should answer.
Praying for you!
Alison
(Tate's mommy)
Have you asked to see the cup in person, and to see him drinking out of it? Sorry if i missed that somewhere if you addressed it already.... See if they will show you his routine while eating and drinking before you leave. If there is a special cup they have, maybe they will let you buy one from them....
All my girls have eaten and drank great from the beginning,,, so im not much help there!!
Rita RR
I'm with Tracy..I started using a straw with my Eli...slowly I would let the liquid into his mouth and it didn't take long before he realized he could suck on the straw. I would give a little pressure at the end so he had to work a little and now he's a wiz at it....but if he gets to much in his mouth he's sure to spit it back out. A shorter straw to start with works great cause of the less work he has to do sucking, and the quicker his reward of his juice or whatever it is he's drinking. Good luck and keep at it! By the way~Just want to say thanks for the updates>it's neat to follow your guys journey and day dream about the day our time will come with our little one: Keepin' you in my prayers!
The small size could be due to institutionalization- both the lack of 1:1 social stiumlation and a subpar diet and lead to "failure to thrive". Many kids experience rapid growth post adoption.
Our boys (ages 4 and 5 when we brought them home from Ukraine last December) both weighed 30 lbs--and they're NOT DS. It's simply due to malnourishment. They've been gaining weight slowly but they're so active it's hard to keep the weight on. We're up 5 lbs apiece after 9 months home. Slowly but surely.
I would have his thyroid tested just to be sure that is not a problem.
Kayla
almost all children in Ukraine have stomach parasites, get him tested for giardia and H plorie once home....its in the water.
Also, he probably get way less food when he doesn't have vistors then you see now.
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