Where's Mia going?

Apparently, our daughter is wasting away to nothing, so it's time to get aggressive! We visited the gastroenterologist last Friday, and the news was grim. She was weighed, and she tipped the scales at ... 35 pounds. To give you an idea about how distressing this is, she's 6 years 7 months old. Norah, at 3 years 9 months old, weighs 30 pounds. So Mia is rapidly fading away, and the doctor said it's time to take action!

We've been worried that there's something physically wrong with her, but the doctor didn't think that was the case. She said that bone surgery is extremely traumatic, and it's only been two months since she had it, so she's definitely not recovered completely yet. Anyone coming out of surgery loses weight, but Mia, unfortunately, doesn't have a lot of weight to lose, so it's worse with her. The doctor decided to stuff some calories into her and also try to get her regular (which we've been struggling with for years). She gave us some good laxative and some liquid suppositories (so she couldn't squeeze them out) so Mia could start pooping. Well, she had some good bowel movements on Friday and Saturday, but since then - nothing! Of course, when you're not eating a lot of solid foods, it's kind of hard to excrete it. She also hooked us up with a powder that's chock full o' calories to mix into her food as well as some high-calorie drinks to fatten her up a bit. I feel like the wicked witch living in the gingerbread house, trying to get Hansel and Gretel to pork up! So she's been drinking that, eating some stuff with the powder in it, and trying to get some solid foods into her too. Plus, the doctor suggested she drink more Gatorade or some sort of hydrating liquid (although I suppose we should call it "G" these days). She needs to be more hydrated, but it's hard enough getting her to finish her high-calorie drink and a drink with the laxative in it, plus she's not too fond of juice and water and such. Man, it's a pain having a kid who won't eat. Norah's appetite isn't that great these days, either, but at least she eats stuff (she's eating beef jerky right now, because she's awesome).

As I mentioned, Mia's appetite is a little better than it has been, so we're hoping that helps too. She's supposed to get weighed in a month and she has a follow-up appointment in two months. The doctor is trying to bulk her up, so the fact that she's being a pain about not eating solid foods is currently secondary. The doctor also said that if she's still not gaining weight in two months we have to start worrying about some sort of disease or other physical problem with her. I really think it's more psychological than anything, especially considering her surgery. But we'll see about that in a few months. Right now, it's all about packing on the pounds!