Two and a Half Stats

I checked the girls' current stats at home, and plotted them on their growth charts. It's so weird for me that we had their last physical when they turned two, and don't have another one until they are three. How am I supposed to go a whole year without weight checks to make sure they are growing okay? I think I will send the pediatrician an email to see if he thinks we should come in earlier, or if he thinks I am just being neurotic.

Anyway, Holland's weight at 30 months (unadjusted) is 21 pounds 3 ounces. She is 33 inches tall, and her head circumference is 46.75cm. This puts her at the <0 percentile in weight, the 3rd percentile in height, and the 10-25th percentile for head circumference. Her length to weight ratio is at the <0 percentile.
Eden's weight is 19 pounds 2 ounces. She is 32 inches tall, with a head circumference of 48.5cm. Her weight is even further from the curve than Holland. Her length is hovering close to the 3rd percentile (maybe at the first), and her head is at the 50th percentile. Obviously, her length to weight ratio is also at the <0 percentile.

In other words, we don't seem to be getting anywhere fast. On the bright side, they are bigger than they were at two, and they ARE growing. On the not-so-bright side, they are impossible to feed, and although there are some good days, it isn't getting much better. Meal times take SOOOO long, and I feel like my life revolves around trying to get them to eat. It's excruciating. It really is.

The truth is that I start feeling like this (depressed and stressed out) every time I plot them on the stupid chart. At least when we are at the doctor's office he can talk some sense into me. He always stresses that he thinks they are fine, and he doesn't feel like their small size is something we should worry too much about right now.
In some ways I feel like I should get a second opinion. At the same time I am fairly certain if I go looking for someone to say Eden needs the g-tube, I will find them. But does she need it or not?

I think the pro of a g-tube would be that we wouldn't have to worry so much about how many calories we are getting into her. We could make up for anything she did not eat during the day at night while she is sleeping. We could load her up on calories and she might grow. The cons would be another surgery, the possibility that her reflux would worsen and cause problems with her wanting to eat, and her losing the ability to regulate when and what she wants to eat. I wonder if she felt full all the time if she would EVER eat.

I really don't know. I guess at this time, I still feel like the cons outweigh the pros, so I don't think I will go looking for someone to say she needs it just yet.

Other considerations I have to take into account...I looked at John and myself on the adult weight charts. For our heights, John is at the 5th percentile for weight, and I am at the 2-3rd. It just isn't very likely that we would have big kids under any circumstances. Also, Eden's PT pointed us to a growth chart for kids with CP. Eden is between the 10th and 50th percentiles on that chart (around the 30th). So, she has small parents, was born 16 weeks early weighing less than 1.5 pounds, and has CP. G-tube or no g-tube, she is always going to be little.

Maybe I should focus on the advantages to having tiny kids. They aren't as heavy...period. This alone makes it easier to care for Eden. It makes getting her in and out of the tub easier, carrying her, lifting her, moving her around, all of those things. The smaller she stays, the easier it will be to take care of her. And she won't have to worry about her weight when she gets older.

Of course, I'll still continue trying to force all the food and calories into skinny little Eden that I possibly can, in hopes that she will one day grow to a normal adult height and weight.