3rd Year Check-up

Kasen's "On-Demand Smile"

Wish I could have said that our 3 year check up last Monday went without a hitch. While height and weight are all along his growth curve (37 inches and 29.2 lbs) for the start of his 3rd year we found that Kasen's iron is low again. Ugh. Not this again. I had a huge pit in my stomach because the finger prick to test the blood for hemoglobin levels and lead ended up resulting in an additional trip to squeeze out more blood because they worried the machine was "messed up." I had said listen, I know he's had iron issues in the past, is his iron low again? The hemoglobin levels came out to about 8.2 - which is a stark contrast to his 12.7 reading at 2 years. 

Kasen's been eating normally at home, and we eat a variety of fruits and veggies (he loves them, remember?) and will eat whatever protein we put in front of him - any kind of beef, chicken, pork, fish. He especially loves salmon and Atlantic mackerel. Milk is still limited to 16 oz (2 cups a day). We made some drastic changes and I thought we were in the clear. 

But I guess not, and his doctor ordered more blood to be taken intravenously to make sure.

I got the call back later last week and was told it was actually even lower than we thought at 6.5! How could that be??? I was so upset. I rarely get upset. I felt inadequate as a mom, like I had somehow messed up. I felt out of control. It was not a good feeling. Then I got angry.

Since iron in blood is not something that changes daily (say, if you didn't have your lunch that day) but develops over time and not at once sitting I've concluded that it's likely that he is not eating nutritious meals (breakfast and lunch) at my inlaws. When I saw them a few days ago to explain this to them they indicated that Kasen would refuse to eat what I packed for him and would not eat any meat and veggies. WHAT?! I had said how could that be? He eats them happily at home. Then my MIL would insist that he would cry if you didn't give him milk. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They were letting a 3 year old CONTROL them? I flatly said that you cannot let him control you. He is a clever 3 year old and he knows how to manipulate people. I said if he doesn't eat wait until he gets hungry and he will eat anything. He won't starve himself. And if he cries for milk let him cry. I was seething. How about have a backbone and develop some discipline? I'm lucky and grateful for family to watch over our toddler, but the problems with this have been exponential in nature. It's a double edged sword. In addition to feeding problems (that I did not know the extent of) not to mention the fact that my MIL hasn't stopped complaining that my nephew learned how to potty train earlier/faster than Kasen. How about the fact that I am a full-time working mom that only can do so much, and your daughter is a stay at home mom? How about the fact that if YOU wanted him to learn to use the potty, since YOU are at home with him 10 hours a day 5 days a week YOU are perfectly free to teach him? So. Mad. All kids are different. Not everyone has the time of day to get everything done on that predetermined timeline. Everyone has consistently told me that boys are harder to train and that they "get it" at 3. So, I put him in undies and since then he's been consistently asking us to go pee - in his small baby bjorn or the big toilet. I'm so sick of the comparisons and the constant complaining. I digress. This is clearly a ranting post. Sorry, not sorry.

Anyway, that evening on the car ride home I gave Kasen a serious lecture. I think, or I hope he got it. He cares so much about how I think and wants to please me so badly that I'm hoping he understands how dire the consequences are - that if he doesn't do what's simply asked of him that the "doctor is going to pinch him again." 

I also dreaded using Enfamil's Fer-in-Sol. His pediatrician recommends it 3X a day. I think we were able to do 2X at most. But let me tell you, if i didn't express this clearly before, it's effing disgusting. It tastes like you're chewing on pennies. I can't give that to Kasen again. So I frantically searched for another alternative and stumbled upon NovaFerrum. It has great reviews, so hope that it's better than that nasty rusty penny-tasting solution!

Damn you iron levels. You're going to be the death of me! 

Spinosaurus on the Scale