More weighty issues

So, Mia's weight. Yes, it's once again a topic of discussion around our house. Back in September, Mia weighed 40 pounds and was about 48 inches. In January, thanks to her physical recovery, mirtazapine, and some different techniques, she weighed 47 pounds and was still about 48 inches. Her gastroenterologist was happy, as she was finally on the curve of body mass index, having been far below it for some time. All was well!

But, as we have learned by now, nothing with Mia is easy. She has been drinking Kid Essentials for a while now, because it's packed with fiber and has 355 calories per small box. She has never had a problem with it, but about the time she got weighed at the beginning of January, she started slacking off in her drinking. Very quickly she stopped drinking it at all, preferring no-calorie water as her beverage of choice. Good move, Mia! She's eating a bit more than she used to, but that's still not a lot and doesn't make up the calories she loses from the 3-4 boxes of Kid Essentials she was drinking. So that's a problem.

A few weeks ago I got her weighed again (the doctor likes her to get checked regularly). In January she weighed 47.2 pounds with no clothes on (well, a hospital robe, but nothing else). In February she weighed 47.7 pounds fully clothed, which means she has lost a little bit of weight. We've been trying other caloric drinks, which work with varying degrees of success. We think she just sick of the taste of Kid Essentials, which is fine, but she needs to drink something else to pick up the slack. So far, we haven't found it.

Today we went to the child psychologist who prescribed the mirtazapine, and she said that going to a behavorial specialist wouldn't really work, because we're doing all the things those specialist already do. Mia doesn't really respond to motivation, because she's so stubborn that anything we either withhold or promise means very little to her. It's frustrating. But we're working at it!

I'm going to take her to the doctor's office in a few weeks to get her weighed again. If she's okay, she doesn't need to see the doctor until April, but if she's lost more weight, I suppose we'll have to go to the doctor a bit earlier. It's annoying because she's doing very well in other aspects of her life - she's working very well in physical therapy, she's speaking a lot more, she's doing pretty well in school - and I know that getting healthier with regard to her weight has a lot to do with it, because she's not weak all the time. So we'll keep working. It's always something new and fun with Mia!

Norah's brain

No, this isn't a post about Mia's brain, which remains in its present state. It isn't a post about something happening to Norah's brain, which would probably kill me, frankly. It's about what Norah said about her brain this morning.

As we were driving to Mia's school, Norah said she needed to ask me a question. She may have said that twice but I didn't hear her the first time. I make that point because I didn't answer her right away. From the first time she spoke to when I actually answered was maybe 20 seconds - she said something, I said I couldn't hear her and turned the music off, she said she had a question and I asked her what it was. So, about 20 seconds.

Then she couldn't remember the question. She said, very seriously:

"My brain is too fast. I have to come back to the question."

She never did come back to the question. She tried one more time but her brain was too fast again, and then she gave up. Such is life.

I point this out just because I found it fascinating that a 5-year-old, a child of the 21st century, would so succinctly sum up what many people think is happening to our young people as the world gets faster and faster. Is Norah's brain moving so fast that she can't grab hold of any information but must move past it so quickly that if the person to whom she's speaking is a bit slow (like her father), she can't retrieve it? It's a conundrum, say I!

Or she could just be a bit goofy. But still - her brain is too fast!!!!

Yay, videos!

Yes, I'm finally getting around to posting holiday videos. I mean, it's only February, right?

First of all, a tale. Krys overheard Norah telling her dolls the story of the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs the other day. Norah was being the wolf, and she said, according to the lovely wife, "I don't like pigs, and I don't like houses." So there you have it! Norah, cutting to the core of what that story is all about!

So the first video is Norah singing with her kindergarten class at their Christmas concert. Yes, I should say "Holiday concert," but let's be honest with each other, shall we? I know at this age it's all about how cute they are, and of course, Norah excels in that department!



The next two are of her dancing at Little Gym. I always post these videos, but they're still fun. I should do a compilation of every dance recital she's done, but I don't think I'm that technically proficient.





Finally, let's check out the latest effort of Mia walking. While this is pretty good, she's gotten much better in January. She's past the point where she was two years ago, right before her hip surgery. Now we just have to make sure she keeps improving!



So those are some recent videos of the kids. I know I should have more of Mia, but Norah does do more stuff, so there's that. I also have some things about Mia that I should probably post, so that should be up soon! Enjoy looking at someone else's kids!