advice about my little sister please :'(

[sarah1726]

need advic on my sister for my mam,she is at her wits ends with a "lazy baby"... my little sis tara was born 3 weeks premature. she has been to docs and hospitals and had tests and xrays done (she was always in pain when she ate or drank, and mam thought maybe she had a blockage or something)and everyone keeps saying she is fine, she is very light and you can see her rib cage and has no fat on her. she never had rolls of fat on her, you could always see her ribs etc doctors said there was nothing wrong with her and she is just a lazy baby...she has been off her bottles at 9 months and is still not eating her solids just baby jars etc when she was born she weighed 4lb11 now i think she weighs just over 10lbs

anyway im sorry this is long but my mam is at her wits ends and doesnt know what to do with her

she has a cold/flu since xmas day and is also getting her back teeth but tara hasnt eatin since xmas eve!! now she isnt even drinking, she hasnt even had a wet nappy since yesterday morning, and i was just wondering in general, do any of you experienced ladies have some advice i could pass onto my mam, she is constantly crying because she doesnt know what to do and the docs keep saying tara is fine when my mam knows she clearly isnt please help xxxxx

here is some pics of her, the last one was her on her birthday in august dont let the clothes fool you though, they bulk her out a little...please give some advice xxx

basically everyfood she eats or anything she drinks she dislikes mam cant get her to eat many solids (the odd slice of bread and egg , bites of sambos etc, but never anything to fill her) my mam has tried everything but nothing is working and my mam is blue in the face with docs and hospitals telling her tara is fine, just lazy xxxx

 

[sarah1726]

anybody???

 

[aliss]

These doctors - are they specialist pediatricians that are telling her that she's fine? Percentile ranges exist on a normal spectrum, she may just be at a very low percentile but still normal. Has she tried introducing solids with high calories, such as avocado??

 

[sarah1726]

i dont think so, she seen a specialist in the childrens hospital where she has to bring what she eats for breakfast, then dinner etc but at the dinner app they were more busy blowing bubbles into her face and letting her play with dough rather than seeing how she is with eating her dinner xxxx

 

[AP]

If shes not even tolerating fluids she needs to get to a hospital Hun, specially at her weight. She 100per cent needs to see a dietician now too. Is Tara still under an care of neonatal?

We are being reffered to a dietician and we don't even have half the feeding issues that you say now. You need a second opinion, there has to be a reason.

Really knacks me off when medics don't take things serious and shrug it off. 10lbs for a baby with no issues is not normal, nor can it be 'lazy'

 

[Agiboma]

Umm if she has not had a wet diaper in almost 24 hour she can be suffering from dehydration you need to take her to the hospital ASAP

 

[aliss]

Gosh I'm sorry I totally missed the nappy thing. Yes, she needs to go to an emergency room.

 

[kelzyboo]

Hi sorry for gatecrashing, my daughter wasn't premature she was born at 38 weeks but has always been a very fussy eater! Until recently when she started to find her appetite (shes 5 years old!), she has always been very slim, they always told me not to worry and that as long as she eats something then she will be fine, maybe it will just take time for her appetite to pick up!

She is still very limited with her diet, has to have her toast black-ish, will not eat a sandwich unless bread and filling is seperate things like that, starting to eat a little more now and putting weight on finally but shes still slim for her height!

Its always driven me crazy that she hardly eats and will only eat certain foods but i was always told to let her eat as much as she wants and the foods that she likes, obviously i encouraged her to try other foods but usually with no effect at all.

As long as she eats something and isn't losing weight its ok that shes not putting it on yet, chances are she will when shes older and gets an appetite like my LO. If shes losing weight then thats a problem and something should be done about it.

Its great that your looking out for your little sister, hope she grows an appetite and shocks you all, good luck xx

 

[kelzyboo]

Deffianately needs a doctor if she cant take fluids at the moment, i missed that part, hope she is well and eating and drinking soon xx

 

[scaredmum2be]

I think u should ask for a second opinion if youve been seen by the same people an there sayin the same shit, i just hope u get to someone soon if struggling this much x

 

[sarah1726]

its just hard cos i speak to my mam everyday and she is just at wits end, she doesnt know what to be doing with her and for doctors to keep fobbing her off saying she is lazy i mean when mam gives her even a packet of buttons she doesnt have a problem eating those or some egg yolk dipped in bread. and she usually loves her ready brek and beaker of tea for breakfast but she isnt interested in it. she has also developed a cold and it doesnt help that she is getting her back teeth too ... sigh ... its just hard listening to my mam everyday and we are all concerned for her thanks for the replies, im waiting on my mam to ring me in a bit to wish me a happy new year, will see what she says about tara since i havent spoke with her since this morning hopefully she will have some good news for me to share with you all xxxx

 

[scaredmum2be]

I would see a different doctor.
You know when we thought something was wrong with me boy we had 2 opinions an im glad i stuck to one of the opinions i would rather see someone else an see what they think by what you know an tell them. good luck x

 

[sarah1726]

well she said tara perked up a little today and had a little something to eat but if no improvement by tomorrow she will be ringing the emergency doctor xxxxx

 

[Srrme]

Has she peed at all since yesterday morning? If she hasn't she needs to see a Doctor immediately. Dehydration is not something to ignore!

 

[AP]

^wss.
I don't know if you meant Tara was a 37 weeker or a 35 weeker? But none of this is right Hun. Our LO was 3 months prem, half Taras birth weight and a poor eater and HVs commented on her weight gain but it was more than this.
Please get your mum to fight for more help because this is not right?
Xxxx

 

[Lianne1986]

i say u shud get her checked asap as well.

my sisters LO wasnt prem or anything, was a good weigh at birth 7lb+

when she started on solids she was constantly sick etc and was losing weight not gaining, her HV just kept sayin we will keep an eye on her, she was always have diarreah as well, but my sister couldnt work out y.

she weighed about 17lbs at about 17months old. she eventually got reffered to a pead & dietician and it turns out she is lactose intolerant,

im not saying ur little sister is, but it could be something like this.

edit: shes now on a special diet and is piling on the weight and has chubby cheeks

 

[momofmister]

Has she been check to see if she is tongue tied? My niece was and it took over 5 mths for the doctors to realize this. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep would only cry for months on end. My sister kept taking her to the doctor and saying something is wrong and the doctors shrugged her off.

 

[angelstardust]

What age is she now?

So she was 4lb11oz at 37 weeks gestation? While that is a bit on the small side, it's not abnormally small, especially as your Mum is over 35 (thats a guess)? Were your Mums dates correct?

What did she have the drip for? Did she have any treatments for anything at birth?

Looking at her she looks healthy as a baby, she doesn't have much fat but she is not abnormally skinny.

What is she like on a 'normal day'? Does she play, is she alert, meeting milestones?

You said she will eat buttons and eggy bread. Will she always eat these if offered? Does she seem to prefer foods that she doesn't have to work at (chewing basically)? Or sweet foods? Does she still take milk or does she now refuse it?

Can she drink from a cup? Does she babble?


Sorry, lots of questions!

Regarding general health, if a child has not drank in over 24 hours then it is vital that you start rehydration therapy. This involves the sachets of dioralyte, which is a mixture of glucose and salts (your intestine needs some sodium to absorb glucose). This should be syringe fed, 5mls every 5mins for the first sachet and 30mls per hour from then on.

Do not ever ignore a dry nappy. If a child has not urinated for 24 hours then there is a problem. Not just dehydration, but possibly a problem with the kidneys, or the liver (my daughter almost died in November from liver failure which showed up as her not urinating, eating or drinking, I was fobbed off with 'shes fine' till she started to vomit blood).

 

[Lianne1986]

how is ur sister now?

 

[Foogirl]

Go to the doctors and demand to see someone who will take her seriously. Often children go through periods of not eating very much, but they should be drinking when they aren't eating. But for it to be over a prolonged period of time, there is clearly a problem.

Abby has lost a great deal of weight since she was born, but it has taken 16 months for her to do it. She is by no means at risk, and eats fairly well, but even then they have given her a calorie supplement.

The more weight she loses, the more likely she is to pick up bugs, so it is vital your mum takes her to be seen as soon as possible.