Yesterday, Sophia had her 1-year check-up. She's happy and healthy and developing fine, I guess. But, I have to say I was really worried when she hadn't even gained a pound since her last check-up 3 months ago. Supposedly they should gain about 3-4 ounces a week. Well, she's gained about 3 ounces each month. However, she made up for the lack of weight-gain by growing yet another 1.5 inches. So, she's somewhere in the 80th percentile or whatever for length, and has steadily been dropping in the weight-department (I think now she's somewhere in the 20th percentile).
Yeahyeahyeah, I know I shouldn't worry if she's healthy and growing fine. But seriously, how can I not be concerned when she's so skinny? And then I see her not wanting to eat any thing or much of the foods I offer. I mean, seriously is my only choice to just start offering crap to get her to eat? Urgh. And that may not even work. I've offered her juice several times now in moments of frustration when I couldn't get any fruit into her and she'd start getting a bit constipated again. She won't even drink juice, or eat any of the other usual sugary crap kids like - like cookies. I hate this.
I think I'm depressed.
Our little Family
A gal from Germany, a guy from California, another BYU love story, 1 bunny named Killer, 2 little girls, 3 degrees, 4 bikes, books in every corner, drawings on the wall, music and dancing, vegetable garden on the balcony, chocolate and prosciutto, pitched tents in the living rooms, cloth diapers in the bathroom, laundry piles in the bedroom, unvaccumed stair way, unironed clothes, lots of hugs, a bunch of tears, some heart ache, some fights, some disappointments, much joy, lots of traveling, nightmares and night cuddles, trips to the ER - swearing included, diarrhea disasters in public bathrooms, marathons, bike rides, prayers, faith, hope and hopefully some charity. Happiness.
My Blog List
-
-
11 years ago
-
-
14 years ago
-
15 years ago
Training Widget
Subscribe To Fran´s Blog
Posts
Comments
9 comments:
Something I've been making for my own breakfasts lately that Thaddeus has really liked are green smoothies. I know it sounds gross but its a good way to increase vegetable intake and some have actually turned out really tasty. You can start with a small amount of greens and a lot of fruit and gradually shift to more greens. So, when I make mine I put an entire bundle of spinach or lettuce in the blender with liquid of choice (juice, milk, water, nut milk--soak the nuts/seeds in water in the blender the night before and they blend up really smoothly--etc.) and blend it in really well. Sometimes I'll even put some alfalfa sprouts and some cucumber and you can put avocado/coconut oil to beef up the calories for Sophia. You can put healthy extras like coconut or some flax meal and then add enough fruit to sweeten it up and fill the blender. Adding some vanilla and some lemon or lime juice really brightens the flavor. For sweetener, I'll just add sometimes a few drops of liquid stevia. If you do a search for green smoothies you'll find all kinds of people talking about them. This doesn't directly relate to Sophia's weight but I'd been meaning to tell you about it. I've really enjoyed them for breakfast and I'll add some whole milk yogurt and its very filling and energizing. I give Thaddeus about 4 oz. every morning in a bottle (I used a knife to make the hole large enough for the thick smoothie to pass through) Its a good way to feed him fresh greens and seeds that he really can't eat fresh yet.
I'm sure she's fine and will eventually gain but the worry never goes away. I've been looking at my 3 older boys and they are soo skinny! I try really hard not to have junk around but sometimes it seems like they don't eat anything. So, I'm still trying to figure it out, though I guess I'd take the too skinny problem over the too fat one. I think that would be even harder to deal with.
ich weiss nicht ob das irgendwie Trost ist, aber denk dran, dass weder Tori noch Kaylee kräftige Esser sind und beide recht dünn sind. Liegt vielleicht in der Familie (nicht unbedingt bei den Erwachsenen :))
Hey Franzi,
I'm familiar with this struggle. Alia, as you know, has always been TINY. She was pretty much at 5th percentile (or below) for weight during her last year. She was only 17 lbs. at a year. That girl has never had an ounce of fat on her. Somehow our culture tell us that healthy babies are the ones that are big fat marshmallows rolling around and it can be really hard to feel like something isn't wrong when your child isn't that way. After having 3 of my own, I have learned that my babies just aren't this way. My babies are lean and healthy as can be. I also found that things start to balance out a lot more after the first year. Alia's skinny little self is now quite average in weight (finally :-)
Anyway, I'm sorry the eating issue has been a challenge. I know that is extremely frustrating when you only want the best for your child. I wish I had some great answers for you, but I don't. I do know that your little girl is very lucky to have such a great mom!!
I think Franny is a great mom too. Sophia looks as healthy and happy as can be just not the weight to go with it.
Henry
Reni, I've heard about Green Smoothies. I'm not too big into smoothies, so I have to say they don't sound that appealing to me. I think I try to get my veggies with huge salads. ;) But, I'll probably try to make one one day, just to see, and to see if by any chance Sophia likes them.
Meike and Deanna, I guess you're right. Maybe some kids are just not 'big' and that's just how things are for their bodies. Obviously, all the standards are just averages that don't apply across the board. So, I probably should relax. I think the weight wouldn't bother me as much if I felt that she eats plenty. But some days she barely eats anything. It's a little disconcerting, but...in the end I guess I can't do anything but just live with it. I do feel like I've tried pretty much everything except getting out the truly unhealthy foods. :)
At least she ate well today. Maybe I should focus on the days where she eats, and try to forget all the ones where she just nibbles a few bites.
My mom always said her kids looked like refugees. She fed them and fed them and fed them. I was the only one with "nice baby thighs". Now look at them. No, don't. My siblings were really healthy and hearty and very active, very athletic when they were older. I think you are doing a great job. Try not to worry. Maybe listen if your doc starts freaking out.
Love (and admiration). Ruth
I totally understand how you feel about growth and weight. I've shared these concerns. The growing is a great sign and at least she's "charting" high there. A couple of things kind of help me when I worry about my on the thin side, low height and weight percentile boys. The growth charts are only so useful in terms of percentiles. It's more important how your own child compares with herself. Often when a child gets taller, they will sometimes get thinner. I also have some quibbles with the whole percentile thing anyway because it is still based on studies done in the 70s and based on primarily formula fed babies (and so many things are genetics despite what any mother feeds or any child eats). On the average, formula fed babies are "fatter." So the percentiles aren't the best for breastfed infants, but charting where a baby is can show a general trend for your own baby. And you want the curve to be trending upwards not downwards.
Sometimes I've found the whole growth chart thing not at all reassuring, but fortunately I've also had care providers that have provided good perspective and pointed out things like does my child look proportionate--does the height and weight relate and asked about the level of activity and overall disposition of my child instead of just the digits.
Something I've also been told is that children will get their calories and nutrition over a couple of days--not just in one day. We tend to think of eating in terms of a day at a time. Children have days when they eat a lot and others where they don't. You're doing exactly the right things by making sure she has variety and options.
OK. That last comment was actually from Renee J. Chambers. Just so you know it wasn't totally random!
PS Glad you're enjoying Ohio fall for me. When our boys found out the the leaves would not change color in Tahiti, they cried. Yeah for fall.
Keep in mind that her percentiles are comparing her to a bunch of American kids, so congratulations your child weighs less than the average child her age in one of the most obese countries in the world!
My half Germans have been measuring consistantly tall for their age (which I sure didn't once I was weaned - so pretty much most of my life), but they don't all measure as high for weight, so based on my incredibly unscientifically sound test group of four half-Germans your tall, light daughter is completely normal when placed in her proper peer group! :)
Post a Comment