Weighty Issues

I added these pictures after I wrote this post to remind myself of how cute Ollie is and how much we adore him even though we get frustrated and wiped out by our attempts to feed him. Here he is feeding himself pasta sauce. The last picture is a set-up. Oliver thinks his "nose" is located somewhere far inside his nostrils, so whenever we say, "Ollie, where's your nose??" he sticks a finger way up inside...our laughter probably hasn't done anything to discourage this performance.

I took Oliver in to get him weighed at his 18 month birthday (August 17). Turns out he hasn't gained any weight at all this past month. He seems to be stuck at exactly 17 lbs. 15.5 oz. I've been taking him in to his pediatrician every month around his birthday to be weighed on their scale--so we have an accurate record and so I won't drive myself crazy constantly weighing him more often. He has gained less than a pound and a half since we left Richmond 7 months ago.

Before this weigh-in I consciously tried to steel myself for disappointment in case he didn't gain much weight but in my heart I was sure that he had gained at least a few ounces since he seems to be growing out of his clothes (evidence that at least he's getting taller). But even though I had given myself that little pep talk I still started to cry when the numbers came up exactly the same as they had the month before. It is so bitterly frustrating.

He just won't eat. His doctors can't figure it out since he doesn't seem to have problems with his metabolism or with absorption of nutrients. He just isn't interested in food. We have run out of tricks. The "Pandora's Box" distraction scheme doesn't work anymore. He still likes playing with the stuff in the box, he just doesn't open his mouth for food. He doesn't even eat crackers anymore, he just sucks them and spits them out. It is totally crazy. The only thing he consumes is juice with Duocal (powder that adds extra fat and carbs). He seems to like drinking from a straw. Maybe it's because it's something that he can do himself and has total control over. With that theory in mind we are trying to let him drink more calories but he's stopped drinking kefir and yogurt shakes (both of which are quite nutritious and full of protein and great pro-biotics). We could never get him to drink whole milk or formula or even Pediasure. So, we're kind of at a loss as to how/what we should try next. Ryan's suggestion is thin black bean soup. I think I'll give that a try. We can put it in a cup and let him sip it through a straw. Sounds kind of weird but Ollie doesn't know that the rest of the world doesn't eat black bean soup through a sippy cup. We'll see how that works.