Forty Would Be Fine

We have a goal.
Forty pounds. 
When that happens there will be a paaaaar-teeeeee around here!

On September 3, 2011, Joshua came home at age eight weighing about 35 pounds.

His small size comes in handy. He fits in all sorts of spaces.

But what we are really looking for is a little muscle and FAT! We want Joshua to be able to grow and get a little taller. Right now, his heart is using up a lot of calories which doesn't leave much energy for anything else.

We were hoping to hit forty pounds after a year but that didn't happen. When we increased his diuretic, another pound slipped off.  We are having a hard time keeping Joshua at a stable weight never mind gaining. He has grown in height a bit and is following his own little curve. In order to keep that going, we decided to get a little more serious about calorie counting.

He is not a particularly picky eater. However, the typical fatty foods we serve in America don't fly with Joshua who had eight years on Chinese fare to fine tune his taste buds. He also does not like dairy or potatoes other than an occasional french fry.

Monday, we went to see a nutritionist after a referral from the gastroenterologist. What I realized is the better we make Joshua feel, the more active he is. The more active he is, the more calories he burns. See the problem? I thought his weight would go up over the winter being inside more but after boosting the diuretic, his energy level went through the roof.

Currently, Joshua weighs in around 38 pounds give or take a half pound on any given day. The nutritionist gave us some great ideas to get Joshua eating more nutrient dense and adding an extra 300 calories per day. She involved him in the discussion and gave us some tips on how to give him choices that he would be happy with.

Joshua has an amazing amount of energy considering his cyanotic heart condition.

Kloey said that if he could make forty pounds by her birthday in May, she would let him help cut her cake. How sweet is that? 

So here's to forty, the magic number which will result in a big celebration around here.

May it come sooner than later!!!