Home › Forums › Infant Reflux Support › Boo-Hoo! I need YOU! › WIC appointment brings up new issues
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April 7, 2006 at 1:06 pm #5623
Anonymous
InactiveWell we finally are eligible for WIC! Third try was a charm! SO i am really happy about that but then they told me other stuff. Isaac is borderline anemic! How is this possible when he gets rice cereal in all 3 bottles? They said he is at a nutritional risk right now b/c of that and the fact that he will not eat solids hardly at all! They said that i need to be more agressive with my ped and demand testing and a feeding team! I thought that as long as he was not losing weight then i shouldn’t worry. I am really at a loss as to what to do.
Also at 12 months old they will not cover rice or soy milk at all even though that is what my ped wants to switch to at 12 months old. She said we can try lactaid. I felt like crying……..I just thought everything was going well (then again i knew the hunger strike was not good but ped said not to worry). I am really down about this whole thing and don’t know what to do!
April 7, 2006 at 1:47 pm #5626InactiveI think some babies are just more prone to anemia. Plus, the whole PPI
issue of inhibiting some mineral absorption (like iron) – but as we’ve
all discussed, the benefits of the PPI outweigh that mineral issue.Who said that about the testing and feeding team? Your GI doctor? What
kind of testing do they want to do? What about goats milk at 12 months?Please don’t cry – the iron issue can be addressed with vitamins,
right? And maybe the testing and feeding team will turn out to be great
for him.Good news though with WIC!
April 7, 2006 at 2:02 pm #5632InactiveThe nurse at wic said that i need to push for more testing (for allergies and to see why he won’t eat solids) and for a feeding team. We dropped the ped gi b/c his nurse would not help us out at all and he was always booked for months ahead of time. The lady at wic said that they will cover goats milk only if alot of allergy testing is done and we do a trial on lactaid which is stupid.
Interesting on the ppi thing as i had forgotten about that. I wonder how i would counteract that!
Thank you Karen! You always know what to say!
April 7, 2006 at 2:19 pm #5634InactiveCan I be very nosey? Where do you live how did you finally get WIC… I can’t seem to get any help and I am a single mother with a son on Neocate and it is really getting bad.
April 7, 2006 at 2:23 pm #5635InactiveCan you get a referral for allergy testing? Now that he’s close to a
year it might be pretty accurate – and might be helpful going forward.The lactaid trial doesn’t make much sense to me as it’s still cow’s milk…
Will Isaac eat beef? I’ve heard the jarred is pretty gross but Thais
posted once here how she makes it for Matthew and it sounded yummy and
full of fat and calories (and iron of course).April 7, 2006 at 3:45 pm #5642InactiveSorry about that Sarah. I was wondering what is WIC and how did they find out he was anemic? Regarding the low intake, wouldn’t that likely be because his stomach still hasn’t turned? I also wanted to assure you that my doc insists that as long as they remain on a decent intake of formula they are not at nutritional risks because this is supposed to be their complete source of nutrition really, and the eating solids is just for practice and learning. I would bring up your concerns with your doc. He probably knows more about this, and about Isaac’s specific case, then the WIC nurse. Also, if he still isn’t eating well at a year, I might talk to your ped about keeping him on a formula or introducing a more well rounded substitute just to make sure he is getting the vitamins he needs. As Karen said, there are also vitamin supplements. In fact, our children’s hospital here came up with a really neat vitamin supplement for kids (don’t know the age specs though) but it’s tasteless sprinkles that can be added to food. What about pediasure at a year- it is lactose free, and I noticed when I checked it out yesterday that it is covered by “WIC in 50 states” whatever that means. My ped wants to do pediasure at a year. Please try not to worry. I’m sure if you speak to your ped, he’ll put your mind at ease. He would not have told you that not to worry if Isaac was nutritionally at risk. s&h’s mum2006-4-7 15:56:1
April 7, 2006 at 3:49 pm #5643InactiveSorry… I shouldnt have ask that question.
April 7, 2006 at 4:25 pm #5654InactiveI just thought I would let you know that my little sister was anemic as an infant and she had absolutely no eating problems. My mom had to giver her drops each day but she turned out just great. Just wanted to let you know that it can occur even in well eating babies.
April 7, 2006 at 6:33 pm #5674InactiveWIC is great yet WIC is awful… I’ve been dealing with them for 2 1/2 years now and they say Kayleigh is anemic or at great risk for poor nutrition almost everytime we go. However she has sailed through every formal testing that her Ped has had done for anemia and she has been seen by a certified dietician and was told nothing was wrong with what she was eating/not eating. As far as rice/soy milk I thought that they did allow soy milk for a cow milk supplement? If your Ped has suggested it then ask him for a prescription for it to give to WIC that’s what I did for Allimentum till she was 18 months old! They won’t tell you this but they will provide formula for an additional 3-6 months if it is the only source of nutrition for that child as long as you have a doctor prescribe it for them. Stay with WIC though it is a great thing when you need it! Good Luck
April 8, 2006 at 9:25 am #5704InactiveWe are on WIC here in Florida and you can find it by googling Women Infants Children. You have to meet some income guidelines, for like a family of four you can’t make more than around $700 per week. It helps cover formula (most if you have a doctors prescription indicating that a particular kind is necessary). We are using alimentum. The day that Christian turns one they indicated that if we have a doctor’s note indicating that he needs to remain on the formula they will cover it for an estimated 6 more months or they will cover the pediasure that he needs. Our diagnosis that is approved says “intact protien intolerance”. Christian is also failure to thrive and has a peg tube – but they had said the FTT would work as a companion diagnosis to the intact protien for the age change.
WIC can be a pain, you have to have proper diagnosis codes – but it is a great help when you are paying for the really expensive stuff.
About the allergy testing – I heard that it isn’t extremely efficient at such young ages. Why undergo so much if it is not accurate. Perhaps my information is incorrect.
Good luck.
April 8, 2006 at 10:45 am #5710InactiveGraysonsmom wrote:
Can I be very nosey? Where do you live how did you finally get WIC… I can’t seem to get any help and I am a single mother with a son on Neocate and it is really getting bad.
I don’t mind that you asked at all! We finally were in the income guidelines. My dh’s work is so slow that we got low enough for it. hopefully in 6 months we will be giving him regular cow’s milk (though i feel this is just a silly dream).Here is the link and hopefully this will help you out: http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/
isaacsmom6182009-01-20 20:37:21
April 8, 2006 at 11:11 am #5712InactiveKaren-My ped doesn’t think the testing is accurate this young so i may question him on this again just to be sure. Isaac is just not eating much at all anymore. Anytime the spoon comes near him he cries. If I lay finger food in front of him he cries. I am just not sure what to do at this point.
Lori-WIC is a supplemental program for families 185% or lower above the federal poverty level. They will provide food until 5 yrs of age at no charge. You get coupons and go to the store and pick stuff out that is on their list. Through the program I get 8 cans of nutramigen, 2 boxes of infants cereal, and 2 things of infant juice until he is 1 year old.
They picked his toe and tested it for anemia. They have never done this at his ped’s office so i had no clear that there was any problem there. I do wonder also if his stomach being the way it is may be causing these issues too! My ped also said the 15-18oz of formula a day is not enough if he is not eating any solids either so at this point I am aware that this is not normal intake for a 9 month old. My ped just said to wait a couple of weeks and see if he get an apetite back. We have 1 more week to go and I am hoping for a big turnaround soon. My ped said that he wanted us to go to soy milk at 12 months old and if Isaac is still having issues with soy then to rice milk. I asked the lady at WIC and she told me that it is too expensive for them to cover….then why would pediasure be ok? It is just one of those government things that we may never understand.
Cory-You are completely right! There are healthy babies with anemia-I was one of them! I guess i was just shocked b/c he gets so much cereal in every bottle.
Lynn- They told me that they will cover formula up to 18 months old but only with testing….it seems kind of silly since the lady said if you get formula past a year then you cannot have anything else with the formula so wouldn’t it end up as the same price?
Laura-WIC has been such a god send for us at this point. I replied on your post earlier but i will say it here too that Early intervention is great! We have talked to the ped about a second evaluation for food issues but he wanted to hold off for a couple of weeks. I am really glad that you have that program with Christian-hopefully it will make a huge difference for him!April 8, 2006 at 3:20 pm #5735InactiveSarah, I’m sure this doesn’t help any, but Hailey is a couple of weeks older than Isaac, and she is now only taking 12-15 ounces of formula, and also no solids. How much rice cereal are you adding per bottle? What concentration is the formula? He may be getting more calories than you think. As far as Hailey goes, no one here is concerned, though they do say that this is low intake for her age (10 months). I always like to remind myself that if she was still breastfeeding, i would have no idea what her intake was. So as long as they are content when taking bottles and exhibiting normal feeding behaviour, I try to accept it as best I can (though it’s certainly hard). Hopefully Isaac (and Hailey) start to eat soon!
April 12, 2006 at 9:07 pm #6050InactiveTwo quick points (okay, quick for me!!):
1. Talk to your doc about the anemia. Borderline anemia is usually no biggie…if his numbers are very low, then your doc will put him on Iron drops. (Not just a daily vitamin, IRON DROPS) This will help that problem. He should be tested twice though, because sometimes a number may be off just one day b/c of illness, etc.
2. If he is in fact anemic, I would keep him on formula. Rice milk offers very little nutritional value, & soy isn’t that much better–especially for a child NOT taking in many solids. Each child is different, some kids wean off of formula at 11 months, some much later. Keep him on formula, WIC should cover it, & you’ll rest easy knowing he’s getting ALL of the nutrition he needs.
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