My baby girl, Princess Bellarina (as we affectionately call her), has never eaten much at any meal. Even when she was bottle-fed, she would drink 3-4 ounces and then just be done. She'd push the bottle away & refuse to eat any more. Now, for the last 6 months, she has been eating table-food, and we've switched her to milk from formula. She's not picky at all...she'll eat anything that is put in front of her. BUT she'll only eat a few bites, then she's done! She'll throw food on the floor or on Jonathan's tray, but she is done eating & there's no changing her mind. SO, I try to give her several different things to eat at each meal... so that MAYBE is she eats a bite or two of everything, it'll get her some calories! I've tried putting a little chocolate syrup in her milk to add calories (I know, probably not the best way to add them). I have added cheese to most of her meals.
So, I say all of this because we went for her WIC follow-up (our last one was 6 months ago). They said in the last 6 months, Bella has only gained 1 pound and grew 1 1/2 inches. The nurse practitioner got "the look," and she said, "Well, I really think we need to have you working with the nutritionist to see what she thinks about getting her to add a little more weight. This "look" was the same one the pediatrician gave us 2 months ago when discussing Bella's weight! All of my friends say, "don't worry...she's healthy...she's just petite." Well, I try not to get too worried about it, but then the Dr. or Nurse Practitioner gets "the look," and it concerns me! We have her 18 month check up next month, then the WIC nutritionist will meet with her a week after her ped appointment... that way she'll know what all the pediatrician thinks about it!
So, I say all of this because we went for her WIC follow-up (our last one was 6 months ago). They said in the last 6 months, Bella has only gained 1 pound and grew 1 1/2 inches. The nurse practitioner got "the look," and she said, "Well, I really think we need to have you working with the nutritionist to see what she thinks about getting her to add a little more weight. This "look" was the same one the pediatrician gave us 2 months ago when discussing Bella's weight! All of my friends say, "don't worry...she's healthy...she's just petite." Well, I try not to get too worried about it, but then the Dr. or Nurse Practitioner gets "the look," and it concerns me! We have her 18 month check up next month, then the WIC nutritionist will meet with her a week after her ped appointment... that way she'll know what all the pediatrician thinks about it!I don't know what to do to help her eat more.... I could give her a bunch of empty BAD calories & fatty foods. My friend's daughter went through the same thing a few months ago & their ped told her to feed her kid bacon every morning & use lard to cook all her meals in! I just can't see feeding my kid something so grossly fattening! I don't know why being small is a bad thing. At least she's not LOSING weight, right? It's not like she's brittle & bony, or sickly & lethargic! She has lots of energy & seems very healthy. I tell myself that if they were REALLY concerned, they'd have me doing something more aggressive now & not waiting until next month, right? But then WHY THE LOOKS? Why do they seem so stressed by her weight and yet tell me not to be stressed? It's not cool!
