DD constant illness is getting me down

[Algarythmnmadness]

DD3 has been a worry ever since she was born. She is a twin and arrived at 33 weeks weighing 3lbs. She had IUGR which is why they came so early. Everyone told me she would catch up but so far she's still tiny. She is on the 0.4th centile for weight and height. She still wears 9-12 month clothes at 3 years old.

She has always suffered from constant illness. She is currently on an urgent waiting list to have her tonsils & adenoids removed and to have grommets fitted. She has been hospitalized several times with sepsis, dehydration from gastroenteritis, low blood sugars from sickness bugs. It's just non stop.

She is seeing an endocrinologist in 2 weeks to discuss her height, weight and development issues.

I realise that things could be far worse, she doesn't have any serious illnesses which I'm so so grateful for. She's poorly at the moment, no obvious signs of illness but has lost her appetite, has no energy and all she wants to do is cuddle.

The constant bouts of illness is really getting me down, I cried all last night, partly at how tired I was as when she is poorly she doesn't sleep well and partly just the sheer amount of worry.

I'm desperately hoping that this operation will be a turning point for us. I've never felt like I've been depressed before but I'm just feeling now like will it ever get better?

That sounds really tough OP.

For many parents, the surgery has been life changing and I hope it’s the same for you. In the meantime it sounds like some self care would really help you. Focus on eating well and trying to get some more sleep. If you find yourself non stop crying, a call to the samaritans might help you. Wishing you well

My 2nd DD was like this. She was around 6 or 7 when she finally started to look the right age among her peers. She was ridiculously small, and caught every virus going - she had bronchiolitis at 10 days old and I think in hindsight it left her immune system very weak for a long time. She got chickenpox from her older sister at 7 months and ended up in hospital she was so ill. She had croup constantly during winter; coughs/colds, tonsillitis, ear infections, you name it. They were talking about removing her adenoids at one point too. She was also a very poor eater (fussy wasn't the word) and I don't think that helped. I don't think I've got a photo of her under age 5 without snot coming out of her nose

It does get better, honestly. But it can be a long slow haul getting there with some kids.

OMG the snot is epic!!! I honestly don't know where it all comes from. We go through a ridiculous amount of tissues. Glad to hear your DD finally got there. It's just so hard isn't it. At 1 day old my DD suspected sepsis (she had full blown sepsis at 10 months old) and I honestly think the antibiotics stripped her of a lot of her immunity. Her twin sister is totally different, she totally thrived and continues to do. Her speech is amazing for 3 whereas my other DD struggles but I think that's a lot to do with her moderate hearing loss due to the fluid on her ears.

This.

When DS got his tonsils and adenoids out at 4 our lives became so much less stressfull. I am convinced the constant illness was what gave me postnatal depression and postnatal contamination OCD after his sister was born (which was at the peak of it all).

DS has also always been on the small and sickly side but he changed so much after that and while he still takes bugs worse than other kids (has a sick bug just now which is awful) he is no longer constantly ill.

Go easy on yourself OP it really is so, so tough.