It seems we have a new and rather time-consuming project on our hands: Project Fatten Up that Baby. It's a bit frustrating because I feel like our little miniature man is doing so well. He is just past 8 months and has been crawling since 5 months, pulls up on furniture, vocalizes a lot (although no vowel-consonant combo, but I think that's probably just the confusion over being bilingual), sleeps in 3-4 hour blocks (and even part of the evening in his. very. own. crib) and is overall super-happy and very, very active.
Apparently he's also no longer on the growth charts. Which is another little nosedive from our precarious 5th percentile at 6 months.
Of course, he's now done to 5th percentile for height, so he still looks proportional and even has rolls on both of his wrists. And all this from a baby who was 8 lbs 2 oz at birth.
But still.
We had been doing baby lead weaning, with a healthy dose of purees at daycare, but now we are turning up the fat. He had full fat yogurt before his beef stew dinner last night, and grated cheese with his bagel for breakfast. Thoughts/suggestions/ commiseration much appreciated. I really don't want to treat him like a piece of potential foie gras but it would be nice if he could put on a pound or two before our follow-up appointment in a month.
6 comments:
I think, sometimes, that doctors worry too much about those growth charts. Henry's never been ON the charts (though he's on the opposite end of the spectrum) and it seems to me that as long as baby's healthy and happy, the growing (or the stopping growing!) will take care of itself?
But as far as fattening up the dumpling goes, all I can recommend is that Henry STILL loves buttery baby oatmeal as a bit of comfort food when he's had a rough day--it might be something the dumpling would like, too & it's def. stick-to-the-ribs stuff (though obviously not exactly baby-led, unless your little fellow is much better with a spoon than my guy is!)
Here's hoping the dumpling starts beefing up so that everyone can quit worrying--he sure sounds like a healthy little peanut.
Thought 1: Has the doctor considered that he is not gaining much weight because he is so active? Most kids have 8 months or so of sedentary existence, during which they do very little except fatten up, and then they stop gaining for a few months when they become mobile.
Thought 2: Our pediatrician tells us that ALL kids need a ton of fat in their diets, especially during the first three years. We were told to always buy full-fat dairy for babies and toddlers, even those who aren't having issues with growth curves. The yogurt and cheese to go along with his stew and bagel all sounds like normal feeding of a toddler to me, even if you're not trying to fatten somebody up.
Thought 3: LL was born at 8 lb 13 oz. By four months, he was below the 15th percentile, and we freaked out until we saw a specialist who said these words to live by, after noting that I'm 5'4", and my husband is 5'7": "This kid was never going to stay in the upper percentiles. Babies in the womb grow and grow and grow, and then they're born and they look at their parents and they say, 'Oh! That's how big I'm supposed to be!' Babies spend their first two years figuring out who they're genetically supposed to be. He might just be a tiny kid, but he's proportional and he's healthy so let him be. He's fine."
We were also on a fatten-up mission. Avocado. Lots of avocado. It's a nice BLW finger food anyway. Or we would mash it with (I kid you not) olive oil, just to up the fat factor.
Extra dollop of olive oil in pretty much everything. Like, after the yogurt, I would have added a tablespoon of olive oil to that beef stew. Any fruit or veggie purees got mixed with full-fat yogurt or olive oil, depending on what made sense. Shredded cheese is always a good finger food.
Does he eat eggs yet? One egg scrambled in a TABLESPOON of butter (or oil) was a favorite for us but that might have been closer to the 12-month mark.
I don't know how tall your husband or inland are but have you considered seeing where seeing he falls on Chinese growth charts? If you need link:
http://www.fwcc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=301:growth-charts-for-chinese-children&catid=15:health&Itemid=23
When I look up Lil Pumpkin, who is average on American growth charts, she is a giant on the Chinese one. Your dumpling may still be on low end of Chinese, too, but since he is of Chinese ethnicity, too, perhaps worth some consideration?
*inlaws, not inland. Damn auto correct!
I never quite understand this problem since weight comes so easily to me and all my family members.
Are you letting him practice with a cup yet? If you are, put whole milk in it (instead of water). It will be messy, but the calories will be worth it. We went overboard with the milk when Michael started drinking out of a cup (while also BFing a lot still) and he gain so much weight between his 12 and 15 month appts that was the first time I ever really worried about his weight. I'm not much for growth charts either. Michael has always been off them and his ped has been pretty understanding about it. We just grow em big in my family.
And I'd second the egg. Cheesy, buttery eggs. And I think the recommendation is to introduce eggs early, so it's probably a good time for that anyhow. You could just do a regular scramble or mix it up and cook it in an omlet shape and cut it into little bit size squares, great for developing that pincher grip with less mess than scrambled.
Post a Comment