Monday, January 22, 2007

Deal or No Deal?

Sometimes when I feed Noah I feel like I'm playing a tv game show. Do I play one more round? Do I risk the 4 ounces he's already taken to try for ounce #5? Do I try for the ultimate goal of 6? Today the bet paid off. Noah took five ounces of Pediasure and went right to sleep. No vomiting, no crying. But I don't always win. Sometimes I'm that person that you watch on tv and shake your head. "She should've stopped at 4, you say.". But tv game shows are different, because they don't really matter. If you lose all of your prize money on Deal or No Deal you go home just the same as you were - no richer, but also no poorer. But food is life and death. If Noah doesn't eat, then he doesn't gain weight. If he doesn't gain weight then we have to start having conversations that we'd rather avoid. Conversations about "failure to thrive" and "g-tubes" and "in-patient feeding therapy". So maybe it's not so much like a game show after all.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It is difficult when they don't gain weight. Not that it is on the same scale, but my first daughter was that way and we talked about sticking tubes down her throat for testing and the "failure to thrive". She spit up ALL the time (I lived with a burp cloth on my shoulder at ALL times) and so much. Every mealtime was a anxious mess; worrying she wasn't eating enough. But although still small; she is now a healthy petite 2 year old (23.5 lbs).