Hunger

Ellie's hunger has already started. I don't need a doctor to tell me what is so plainly evident. At least I don't have to wait, wondering when it's going to happen.

A while back, Ellie started fussing after feeds, so the doctor increased the caloric concentration of her formula. The theory was, increased calories means she gets more in less volume, and she will stop when she is full. Ellie never stopped when full. One awful afternoon, and eager nurse who knew nothing of PWS kept feeding her. "You wouldn't believe how hungry she was! She ate twice her normal feed!! Isn't that amazing?". No. NO, it definitely is not amazing.

Ellie went from 10lbs to 12lbs in the blink of an eye. It seemed like she stalled for so long at 10lbs, and then all of a sudden she was at 12lbs and gaining. That would be fine, if she were gaining in height to compensate, but her height is slow to follow.

Ellie is getting chunky.

About a week ago, we re-introduced solids. Our doctor said "start with cereal", I am not giving her empty calories. No cereal. We started with veggies. I started off giving her a bottle, then offering solids, just like I did with Jakob. It didn't take me long to realize the girl would overeat. She would eat a few bites, and while I paused to try to teach her the sign for "more", she would freak out. Tears, screaming, a full tantrum. The second you offered another bite, she would calm right down. After what I determined was enough food, she would cry. Hard, for several minutes, until we could distract her with something else.

I've since learned to skip the formula on solid meals. She will get her allotted amount of calories from fruits and veggies at that meal. When meal time is over, we put all the food away, and we distract. We cannot eat in front of her, if she isn't eating, because she complains, loudly.

They told us the hunger wouldn't come until she was 2 years old, or older. She's 8 months adjusted. I guess by the same token, they told us she wouldn't sit until she was over a year adjusted, and she sits just fine. There is no real textbook for PWS, and how could I forget? We live in the grey-zone.