8. Food Problems and Fixes (Jan/Feb 2014)
Problem/Fix
#1:
When
Kate took Teddy in for his 4-month check-up (it was really closer to
5 months by the time she got around to it) she didn't think there was
anything to worry about. It's true, he hadn't been eating or sleeping
very well...but honestly, wasn't that par for the course as far as
babies were concerned? Besides, he was getting teeth in, which could
explain a lot; and he was clearly developing well in strength and
dexterity and awareness.
They
did all the usual things, checking his weight and height and
temperature. And then the assistant left Kate and Teddy to study the
I-Spy boards in the room while they waited for the doctor. But when
the doctor came in, instead of sitting down to talk, she took them
back to the scale for another weigh-in...just to double check that it
had been done properly. Kate had thought it was a little low, but
when she saw the 11.1 pounds on the growth chart, her heart sank. It
was well below the lowest percentile. No
baby
was that small at that age!
The
doctor asked about how Teddy was eating, and Kate explained that it
wasn't very good and that she had also just found out that she was
pregnant again. Seeing Kate's panicky expression, the doctor hastened
to sooth and reassure her, "It's probably just the pregnancy
hormones changing your milk supply. We'll send you to a cardiologist
just to make absolutely sure that there is nothing wrong with his
heart, but I expect that if you try to supplement every feeding with
formula, you'll see him gain a lot very quickly. Do that for this
week, and then bring him back and we'll make sure that's doing the
trick."
The
cardiologist assessed Teddy's heart and found it to be completely
normal. And through the rest of the week, Teddy ate so
much
that he gained a pound and a quarter! (And roughly another pound for
each of the next two weeks!) Teddy was the happiest little boy,
cooing and gurgling and starting to laugh and giggle when Mister
swung him through the air. He slept for long stretches at night, up
to 8 or even 9 hours at times. It's
a traumatic thing to suddenly realize that you've been starving your
child...Kate
thought many times through those weeks, but
I'm so glad there's such an easy fix to the problem!
Problem/Fix
#2:
After
being gone for a month, it was understandable, but disconcerting all
the same. Whenever Kate opened the fridge, it was a blank white
expanse, mitigated only by a pickle jar, a container of yeast, and a
few other odds and ends. It didn't exactly speak welcoming words to
one's rumbling tummy...especially a pregnant one.
But
the task of grocery shopping...not just the task, even thinking
about
felt overwhelming. The questions were unending: If she got this much
meat, how many meals would she make with it, and if she wanted to
make this,
then she would have to also get that,
that, and that.
And if she got that...she
could also make such and such. But to make such and such she would
need to make sure she got blittery blat. And so on. Then Kate would
shake her head firmly and go back to the age old question, “What do
we usually have in the fridge?” Which would again and again morph
into “What do I want
to have in the fridge?”...which invariably depended on some kind of
meal plan.
After
hours, (it would have taken days, but there wasn't enough food to
sustain that kind of deliberation) Kate had a list in hand. And with
all the contingencies of which stores to go to if others didn't have
what she wanted, Kate set off on her equivalent of an expedition up
Mt. McKinley. At the H-mart, she found special deals on lots of
fruits and veggies, and instantly her brain set to work revising her
much-edited list. She made it out with lots
of food, about half her list crossed off, and a blazing headache.
Again she revised her plan. She would skip all the other stores and
just stop at Target to get their essential bread, milk, eggs, and
then make a beeline for her bed.
Of
course that didn't happen. Oh, she did made it through Target and she
did go home. But her efforts to collapse in bed were stymied once
again by responsibility. There were all the cold things to get in the
fridge, the bags to put away, the meat to package, the pantry to
fill, and then after all that, a very necessary snack. And all this
effort was made possible by Mister being home and watching over Teddy
as he napped...and woke up.
I
don't know how single-mothers
even
survive, Kate
thought, as she finally climbed into bed to rest. God
must just give them an extra measure of grace and strength. But
Kate, though she felt rather helpless and weak, did realize with some
depth of emotion that her accomplishment that day was not only
significant in that they would all have food to eat that night, but
it was meaningful (as only a pregnant woman can feel emotion) in a
larger and deeper and ultimately transcendent way. Her family would
eat. One more family would survive one more day. And she,
Kate Miller, was a cog that had (albeit imperfectly) faithfully
executed her role in this cosmic scheme that would continue until all
things were fulfilled and brought to their final rest.
Problem/Fix
#3
For
all fortunate and expectant fathers, here's a tip from Mister: When
your pregnant wife craves Subway, go be a shining hero. Spend the six
dollars. Get a footlong.
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