Failure to Thrive

These words are scary for any parent, but for a preemie parent they are terrifying. Avigayil has been through so much. She has fought for every day of her life . She is a tiny baby with a diagnosis bigger than she is, in more ways than one. Today, the doctors added one more - failure to thrive.  

I am heartbroken. Although, diagnostically what this means is that she is not gaining weight (and that is a big enough problem), the diagnosis brings on so many more connotations after everything we have been through. We have worked so hard to get to this point, we have begged her to live and breathe and prayed for her to do well. What parent does not want their child to thrive? While we are very concerned about her weight gain, these words also deal a psychological blow to the preemie parent that is hard to explain.

In terms of the medical condition, Avigayil is gaining weight at only 1/4 the rate she should be. Even though she is eating just as much as a regular baby, she is expending too many calories on breathing (she breathes 2-3 times faster and works harder to breathe than a normal baby). Avigayil's problem, is that due to her digestion issues and allergies there are not too many options available to her. We are going to see a pediatric dietician today to see if they can find an additive that she will not be allergic to and that she will be able to digest.

If she does not start picking up weight soon she may need to have her NG tube put back in and go on a feeding pump. We are trying hard to avoid re-hospitalization. In the meantime, it is back to pumping exclusively and feeding her through bottles so that she will burn fewer calories eating.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.