Re: Clothes and shoes - Ginger

[Guest guest]

Hi Ginger,

My g-son, , is 27 months old. He is currently wearing size 12 months

clothes, and size 2 shoes. As far as his clothing goes, we buy shirts that

have buttons, or zippers (polos or turtlenecks), so that we can get the

neckline over his head, and it still fits his body appropriately. You can

also run up the side seams of pants, so that it tapers in around the waist,

helping them fit better and stay up.

was wearing a Size 1 in shoes when he began walking. I found that

Hanes high top walkers, with Velcro closure, worked really well. They have a

flexible rubber sole, that protects his foot, preventing slipping and

sliding on smooth surfaces, and they support his ankles really well. I found

them at either Target, or Wal-Mart.

As far as starting GHT goes. The first endo that we saw here at home, wanted

to start on GHT VERY early (about 15 months of age) too. My research

showed that up until the age of two, CALORIC INTAKE is the most important

factor regulating growth, NOT GH. After the age of two, GH takes over. When

we asked Dr H for her opinion, this is the message that we got back.

" It will not make a significant difference in his growth, because he is too

young and has insufficient calories. GH is not the major factor that

regulates growth in infants. The first and for most regulator of infant

growth is calories. It is important not to " spend " its effect at a time that

it cannot or does not help. The doctor who is pushing you to give this GH to

him could not have much experience with this type of child or she would know

this. "

The other thing that was brought to our attention, was that was

having problems gaining weight at that time. He wouldn't have been able to

consume enough calories to sustain any extra growth.

Dr H pushes for her kids to " complete their caloric catch-up BEFORE they

begin GH. For , this occurred shortly before his second birthday when

he continued to gain weight, but flat-lined in his growth over a period of

several months.

GH can increase a child's growth velocity by 1.5-2 times it's current rate.

One of the questions that I would ask yourselves is, can up her

calorie intake to sustain her weight while she is growing faster?

In the end, the decision to use GH, or not, and the decision of when to

start, are very personal, and not something that anyone can dictate. I hope

that this information helps you make the right decision for your family.

Take Care,

Pat (g-ma to , RSS, 27 months, 20# 1oz, 29.9 " , Prevacid, Singulair,

GT)

[Guest guest]

Hi Ginger-

One of the things I have done for Hannah is gone through a program that our

state has. It is designed for anyone that has a child with any kind of

developmental delay without any regard to the families level of income. They

come

and evaluate your child at your home and have all sorts of people that

specialize in different areas to help your child with special needs. We have a

developmental specialist (that monitors Hannah's development to make sure it is

age

appropriate), a nutritionist that gives us some great ideas on how to get extra

calories into her, and a physical therapist that designed some special

inserts to go into Hannah's shoe's. The othotics have been extremely valuable.

Her foot is so skinny that as she has grown, her foot has still stayed

extemely narrow the orthotics helped raise her foot enough out of the shoe that

her

ankle bone finally could clear the top of her shoe while at the same time

filling in for a lot of dead space in the shoe. Before this, we had an issue

with

blisters on her ankles in low tops because her ankle bone wouldn't clear and

most high tops appear to be designed for your average baby that has a

moderately chubby foot. They used to be the full length of the shoe and now we

have

cut them in 1/2 to allow her foot to bend more naturally. She also covered them

with mole skin so Hannah doesn't get blisters. As for clothes she has a

waist of 6 mth old size

but where a 9-12 mth in length. She will be in three in four months and her

6-9 jeans from last year are now capri pants! I have also in the past sewn a

little fold in the sides of the waist that as she grows I just unsnip with

some scissors. (and I might add I am a terrible seamstress! and it works well

for us. I Hope this helps!

[Guest guest]

s has shoes as small as size zero with a hard sole. We have these for

Xavier, (and we still have to tie them on) but they help him flatten his feet

on the floor when learning to stand, as he has " rocker bottom' feet.

hope this helps!

Jen and Lance

Xavier 15months, 16lbs!, 27in RSS, G-tube, Fundoplacation, 27 cal Formula,

Myrilax, ST, OT, PT, FT

Emerald, 5, Non RSS

Wyatt, 4, Non RSS