Monday, March 16, 2009

Intervention.

I have always been aware that Boston is a skinny little guy. I have also been aware that I have to make sure that I do my best to make sure he is getting everything he needs nutritionally not only because he is so skinny, but because he is a very picky eater as well.
I got a bit of a wake up call about 4 months ago when I took Tayden in for his wellness check up. Of course I had Boston with me but he wasn't being seen for anything. During the appointment my Dr. made a point to tell me that because Boston is so skinny that I need to have him on whole milk still, and make sure that he is getting lots of healthy fatty foods. Ok...so since then I have been giving him whole milk, loading his toast with lots of butter, and things like that. The last couple weeks I have noticed that Boston has not been acting quite normal. He has been really lethargic (for him at least) and falling asleep several times a day. The boy never even takes naps and yesterday alone he fell asleep at both sacrament meetings we attended and in the car later that day. It finally hit me yesterday when I put Boston in the shower with Jared to get ready. As I pulled him out of the shower and took the towel off him to get dressed I suddenly noticed that Boston looked really thin to me....like more than normal....like he was verging on unhealthy. I looked over to Jared and said, "man Boston looks like he has lost weight to me..." Jared was like, "I was just thinking that in the shower...he looks like his ribs and shoulder blades are totally sticking out." Ok....so I took him into the bathroom and put him on our scale. What normally reads 39 pounds with my little man on there had changed to a mear 34 pounds. What?! Boston has lost 5 pounds. That might not seem like much for an adult, but for a little boy that is supposed to be growing and developing that is a big deal. So it's time for an intervention. I am going to start mixing whole milk with ensure for him every time he wants chocolate milk, and if I have to sit with him for an hour to get him to eat enough I will. I am going to buy a multivitamin for him as well...one that he will actually take. I know that he is a picky eater, but it's not just that anymore. He gets easily distracted or he will say he is done after two bites. Not anymore Boston. He needs as much as he can get...he is a growing boy...we are going to fatten this boy up. Wish us luck.

7 comments:

Kim said...

Oh, Myca, I need you to channel some of that good luck my way as well. It sounds like Elsie and Boston are two peas in a pod. I just don't understand why she wouldn't want to eat...it's like my favorite thing to do!

Jason Earl said...

Carnation instant breakfast tastes better than Ensure (at least to me), and they are essentially the same thing if you are concerned about calories and macronutrients. If you can get Boston to take a vitamin then Ensure might well be overkill.

As a bonus, if I remember correctly, Carnation instant breakfast is quite a bit less expensive than Ensure. For a while Eliza practically lived Carnation Instant Breakfast.

You might want to consider getting some blood work done. If Boston is anemic, for example, more milk products are likely to make things worse.

Good luck.

::lindsay said...

Good luck with that! I hope Boston can put back on those pounds easily.

Anna Beal said...

Wow Mycah. Good observation. Dejah does the exact same thing with eating meals. She is SO picky, and I guess I don't pay much attention to her weight. Let me know how it goes. The sleeping thing though...thats a bit scarry. If you take him to a Dr., I'd be interested to hear what they say.

Anna Beal said...

OOps :) Spelled your name wrong...habit.

Samantha said...

Keep us updated Myca. Hopefully everything is okay!

Elizabeth Cranmer said...

Poor skinny kids! That must worry you! I hope he chunks up good in the next while. Good luck with the focusing his eating. We all battle it at some point!