You all know that my daughters are both little. I have always had to give Micki nutritional supplements in her milk or she loses weight and she is almost 3 and only weighs 22 lbs. I know 6 month old kids who weigh more. So when I went to the emergency room today for her fever and ear problem, which by the way they could do nothing about, the doctor gave me samples of this new nutritional supplement. 600 calories to an 8 oz. glass of milk (others provide just under 300 calories per glass). There is also a tasteless thing you can add to the food 35 calories per tbsp. The company is called Scandipharm, but I can't find a single place out here that sells it, I can't find out where to buy it other than on-line and we don't have or use credit cards so no on-line shopping for us. Anyone heard of this company or have any ideas on how I can get ahold of some more?

why not do as my grandma used to do for me....good ole malted milkshake? they always ragged me for being a bean pole. find the company online. call. order. COD.

Good old fashioned malted milkshake only has 280 calories per 8 oz. glass. Much the same as Pediasure or Carnation Instant Breakfast, which is what we have been doing. Nesqick and malted milkshakes have about 10-30 calories less. I have looked them up online, but they only sell to businesses and not individuals. They don't COD. It sux. I wish I could just go to GNC or something and buy it. Their web address is www.scandipharm.com. The closest phone number for someone involved in retail is in frickin alabama. Ugh. I tasted it tonite. I was delicious. If I wasn't worried about getting back into my size 1 jeans, I might try it myself. After trying on my little japanese sundress and having it be too tight in the hips I am not up for any more weight, even though my hip measures the same as it did after I had my first daughter. I am probably just being paranoid again. Anyways, I am rambling so I will stop.

are you sure she's not allergic to milk? a kid down the street where i grew up had all sorts of ear issues that were supposed to be related to allegies

She isn't allergic to milk, her older sister was but outgrew it and I am. It is just that for some reason she won't gain weight. She drinks milk just fine, but needs more calories than it can provide. Has been this way since birth. I couldn't breastfeed her and we had to give her a special preemie formula with extra calories and then mix it a special way for even more calories. Otherwise she doesn't gain weight and often can lose weight. She doesn't appear to have allergies to any kind of food, and is fine with animals as well. It's like she hasn't outgrown the intrauterine growth retardation almost 3 years later. She is skinny as a stick and just not gaining weight or getting taller. She needs more calories than normal drink or food can provide.

check out some of the EAS brand supplements, I think they are pretty close to the caloric requirements you are looking for and also taste good and have lots of vitamins. The meal replacement drinks are the way to go to get lots of calories quick. They make some premade stuff that comes in little cartons that are good, but I think you have to go to a GNC to find the ones with more calories the ones you can find at supermarkets. You may have to break down and get the credit card, or use a debit card, and order online.

My Mom used to feed my a shit load of peanut butter all the time to try to add some pounds to me when I was a child. I was such a scrawny little thing and she said eating lots of peanut butter would fatten me up. She used to make me all kinds of shit with peanut butter on it. Celery and peanut butter...ritz crackers and peanut butter...peanut butter cookies constantly...toast and peanut butter...peanut butter pie..apples dipped in peanut butter...etc...etc.. It didnt work and I wont touch peanut butter now. She'd also buy me ring dings and ho ho's and yodels and suzie Q's and funny bones and everything else you can think of. Didnt work either. Some kids are just meant to be skinny. As long as she's getting enough vitamins and proteins she'll be fine.

I would like to agree, if it weren't for the fact that in the past four months she has lost weight and hasn't grown any taller at all. I read calorie labels like a mad woman, and probably look like a freak at the grocery store. All of the ring dings and suzie q's and things like that are actually pretty low in caloric content even though high in fats and sugars. Even those disgusting cheese crackers with peanut butter in the middle are low in calories. She eats a fair amount of peanut butter, she likes it on toast and sandwiches. I know in my case, I was just meant to be skinny, and I think that is what it is with Hayley, just meant to be short and skinny. With Micki I can still fit her into 3-6 month clothes when she is almost 3. I think that shows that I really need to do what I can to help her to grow. The nutritional supplements I have been getting at the grocery store are full of vitamins as well. Overall she is healthy, but she doesn't grow physically. Her uncle is very tall but very skinny and for a while I thought she would end up like him, she looks so much like him. Her height isn't going anywhere either. She looks gaunt. She doesn't look like a toddler at all, she has a much older looking face because of her lack of weight. It's weird. I just want to make sure that I am meeting all of her needs. That she is getting all of the help she needs to grow properly. I am afraid of GNC's EAS line. It is made for adults and has different kinds of fats in them which can cause severe diarhhea in a child so small. She really likes these Scandipharm shakes. SHe drinks them without a fight. She is starting to get over this virus (I hope) and will be eating more again soon. I just want her to grow like she should. I don't expect her to be "normal" and I never expect her to make it to the 0% on the doctors growth charts. I just want her to grow and gain weight and be as normal as she possibly can, rather than frail and fragile with little to no immune system.

get with your doctor, and a dietician to deal with your concerns. Call Scandipharm and tell them you situation. Most manufacturers will go out of their way to see to it customers get their products even if they cant sell them direct. If you have a checking account, you can get a debit card (most banks actually give them out) which allow you to purchase via the net or over the phone.

Scandipharm sent me an email saying that my pharmacy can buy them and then sell them, so I need a pharmacy to sell them to me. Don't have a checking account. Do everything in cash and money orders. Like it that way. Checking accounts give me headaches. I have met with doctors and nutritionists and have been told there isn't any need to see them about this any more because I am doing all I can. Seems lame if you ask me. Sometimes I feel like all I can do isn't enough. On the up side, I checked her temperature and it isn't nearly as high as it was yesterday. Here's hoping it stays down. As soon as her fever is gone we are in the clear for this virus. Sad thing is it only took me about 30 hours to get over it. She has had it since Monday and is just now showing a little sign of a possible improvement. This is what I mean when I talk about her immune system not being up to par, which the doctor said yesterday is directly related to her lack of weight.

"Don't have a checking account. Do everything in cash and money orders. Like it that way. Checking accounts give me headaches" why? especially if you get a program like Quicken, its absolutely easy as pie. Keeping your cash in a mattress is kinda of...not a good idea. What if your robbed? Or the house burns? Those money order fees add up too? Considering I pay $2/month in checking account fees and about $15 every 6 months for a new order of checks...so thats $27/6 months in fees to manage a checking account. Well you pay $.99/money order. Lets say you send out 6 bills/money (maybe you send out more) orders per month, thats $6/month...making it $36 every 6 months just to pay your bills. Combine that with the risk factor and the ultra convenience of having a debit card...i can't imagine how you would not have an account.

You don't even need a credit rating to get a debit card with a Mastercard logo on it, if its hooked to your checking. This way, you can buy anything you want when you want. If you are afraid of it getting abused, you can leave every red cent in your savings account, and transfer the money to the checking account when you need it. Its really safe!! With all that you are going through right now, I would recommend doing it!

Our money orders are free. We only pay $3 per mo. for our account if our average balance is below $200 so most of the time it is free. Our money isn't under a matress, it is in a bank, but easier for us to manage this way. I just hate balancing a check book. With this set up if we don't have it we can't spend it. It is either there or it isn't and there isn't a risk of accidentally overdrawing the account or anything like that. Most bills are paid by wire transfer (the major ones) and that is free too. So in actuality we spend max $3 every 6 months. We just prefer things this way. It is easier for us to manage. Other ways work fine for others. I did the whole checking account and credit card and debit card thing before. My ex got me into some trouble. I am still paying for it. I don't feel like messing with it any more. That is what I get for letting my ex have access to accounts that were only in my name, but I still have to pay the price. I wasn't taught good money management skills as a kid or young adult and had my parents as an example (trust me not a good thing). I have learned a lot more, but don't care to mess with it.

Eri, please know I'm not trying to badger you, or say that you are wrong. You really need to be careful of the path that you are choosing with your finances right now. You will be effectively limiting your ability to establish or improve your credit rating. If you think that this isn't important, like maybe you think you will never own a home, please be aware that it goes much further than this. Some employers will actually check your credit rating, not only to see if you have lousy credit, but to see if you are really who you say you are. If you have no history of credit activity for a long time, it can raise some questions. Even if you just stick $500 in an account and never do anything with it, it will still help keep you connected. I have friends who made this mistake, and all it did for them was cause them problems later on in life. Did you know that most communities offer some form of free education in this area?? Check out to see if there are any consumer credit counseling services, or even night school classes through the local school system. You shouldn't let the damage that this schmuck did to you continue further. I really mean this stuff in the best possible way, so please don't take offense!

just pay the entire bill when you get it and don't spend more than you can pay it sounds easy. it's been relatively easy for me, but i know quite a few people who owe at least $15,000 to credit cards and are not in a place where it's easy for them to pay back.

moreover....learning the ins and outs of this could help your children in the future. establish college funds, savings accounts etc. Think of it this way.....your parents passed bad habits on to you...you could very well pass it on to them. Don't rely on the public educaation system to teach this crap....clearly they don't. Learn. Teach them. Be better than your parents were. Like Christopher says, not trying to badger just really advising for your best interest. On the note of credit. We learned a month ago someone had taken my wife's name and address, opened a sprint pcs account, ran up a bunch of charges, which we not ours. It turned out ok, we got them off our credit report. Yesterday we get a bill in the mail for $400 dollars worth of National rental car fees. We've never done business with National. We call. Seems some some asshole is using my wife's name and address (and other undetermined info) and causing trouble. Apparently the car was wrecked and left in a Denver airport garage. We're not worries about the charges. We can prove with our license and credit cards that it wasnt us. But moreover, what is troublesome, is the unknown. What will we find next? They say credit fraud/identity theft is one of the biggest crimes being committed these days.

my sister is paranoid of it [identity theft] they shred everything i bet it's worse in larger cities

Some banks have checking accounts that accrue interest. Mine does. So it makes me (a small amount) of money. plus, credit history. Having a credit card that's paid off every month is a GOOD thing. It opens many doors.

I am not saying that we don't have any credit. We have a student loan and a car loan. We have some credit and are learning more daily. We just take it one step at a time and do what is comfortable. We don't do things the ways our parents did or do things. We try to teach the kids about living within your means and being responsible with what money you have without amassing major debt. We know how to do the checkbooks and the credit cards and the debit cards and the other things, we just don't do them. We are on the books. I understand about the identity theft. Someone stole my purse about 5 years ago and are still out there trying shit on my closed account. I still have stuff on my credit report because they keep saying that they didn't get the 100th copy of the fraud affadavit I sent them. I know who it is but can't prove anything. The police have closed the case. So someone (named Keisha) is out there writing bad checks in my name, and doing god knows what else. I understand what you guys are trying to say, and I don't take offense. I have learned all of the available alternatives, and have chosen this one, but I am not completely off of the map without any credit or anything like that. Don't worry, I am playing it safe while I work things out and then it will probably change, we'll get a house, blah, blah, blah. Right now I am enjoying this simple unassuming lifestyle we have going and want to keep it this way.

Online banking's the only way to travel. I've written maybe 6 checks in the last year.

Oh, and Dani, you should give peanut butter another try. I live on the stuff, and exactly the things you mentioned -- celery & pb, apples & pb, grilled pb & j with extra butter (MMM), pb & horseradish sandwiches (I know, sounds nasty, but is actually very good). Scandipharm -- they must not've spent too much time or effort or hired high-priced consultants on that name huh?

you know though heather....it doesnt matter what they shred if you think about what is out that is not in their possesion. All it takes is a crooked bank employee, postal worker...someone at your landlords office etc. Really the possibilities are endless who can get access to potentially sensitive information.

or just a decent hacker yeah, that's why i'm not so frantic about it i guess if it happens i'll have to deal with it and in the mean time not be totally stupid- like give that info to telemarketers

or a waiter. duh.

the waiter doesn't have ssn to open new accounts but do they even check? could you make up a ssn?

credit card #, expiry and name. i can get a copy of your birth certificate easily enough. with that you can get an SSN, if not the SSN. and a driver's license.

I would bet that Scandipharm is a Scandinavian pharmaceutical company, which would also explain why Eri is having such a hard time finding it. Perhaps a friend could order it for you? Or you could write to the company?

On the website there is a place where you can call and order it. They said to have my pharmacy call and order it for me. Then I could buy it from the pharmacy. I just think it would be a pain in the ass. The company is global, but I guess not to common here in the U.S. yet. I wish I could find the guy who gave the free samples to the hospital and just buy it from him. Sux to be me. They did answer my email in less than 24 hours, though, so that is a nice thing.

Being forced to eat so much peanut butter as a child Dougie has made me stay far away from it as an adult. Growing up in NJ till I was 15, my Grandfather hunted alot and made us eat all kinds of crazy shit..rabbit stew..rattlesnake..venison ( YUCK)..etc...so naturally I stay far away from that shit as well. The smell of peanut butter makes me sick. I wont even eat peanuts. But I do LOVE horseradish. The bagel shop down the street from me makes the best cream cheese with horseradish and bacon and onion ( HBO). mmmmmmmm. I also like to fry some sliced radishes and cabbage and onion and garlic and throw a little horseradish in it. I pour it on top of egg noodles. It's the greatest.