G-Tube Update [and Gait Training]

Today I’d taken off [sitter took day off] and Hannah had PT at 8am. We tried a second gait trainer that Hannah could touch the floor, but Hannah has no instinct to move her legs. The PT had to basically “walk” her feet for her to understand. She seemed a little weirded out by the whole thing - I’m only posting the one smiling photo I took. 

Hannah is wearing Nora’s first pair of walking shoes - which means they fit Nora around 12/13 months. Hannah is 19 months and the shoes kept falling off : )

We also had a weight check on Monday [hauling two kids around in the pouring rain is awesome!]. Hannah gained weight over the past six weeks, but not as much as they wanted. The Nutritionist wants her to gain 4-8g a day. Hannah averaged 2.55g/day. Mind you, this was the time period of the stomach bug - a week of Hannah not wanting to eat. 

“Are you adding sour cream, salad dressing, butter, cheese, oils, whole milk to all her foods?” Yes, for real. It feels like a false way to gain weight for a short term goal. Like a fad diet in reverse. Yeah, she can gain weight with terrible eating habits - anyone could! But this isn’t the long-term nutrition I want my child or anyone in my family following. Additionally, people with Down syndrome typically fight obesity due to the low muscle tone. I want our family’s eating habits to nix that.

The Nutritionalist agreed with all my points, but the plan won’t change. It just feels strange to me. Hannah’s not underweight. And once that g-tube comes out, I’ll need to adjust her diet to get all the added butter out. Gross. 

So as it stands, she still gets two tube-feedings a day and we’ll have another weight check in two months. I don’t forsee the tube coming out by age two, but maybe by the end of the year? THAT would be the best Xmas gift a Mother could receive!