A short answer - Madeleine.
A long answer and update, keep reading!
I have been up to my eyeballs lately with processing images and making tutus - I've been feeling like Madeleine's updates have really taken a back burner.
She has been an interesting toddler - hmmm, that is the nice way of saying she has hit her terrible twos way to early. She wants up - you pick her up, she starts screaming (we're thinking she's saying, "why the heck did you pick me up?" you put her down, the cycle continues! We were really spoiled with such an easy baby so I'm sure she may seem perfectly common in comparison - luckily the one thing we still have going for us is her ability to be an excellent sleeper. She still naps twice a day for about 2 hours each and sleeps from 8-8 at night. On the opposite scale, she is a TERRIBLE eater. Any ideas from you creative moms? I am all ears - I would stand on my head at dinner time if it would get her to eat more. I don't know why she's had such a dropoff interest in food. As a baby she ate EVERYTHING! There really was nothing I would give her as a baby that she wouldn't eat. We went to the doctor for her 15 month checkup (this was the followup after we had that nice kidney scare), she was weighed and again she is not even on the growth chart for weight. She is 17 lbs 12 oz and 29 1/2 inches long (at least the 25% for height!). I was really hoping it would be now tagged as genetics - nope! Now they want to do allergy testing. Okay, back to the foods she will eat. She loves just about any fruit and could really eat that all day, vegetables are another story - it's difficult to get her to eat any of them. She will do some chicken (depends on her mood) and some bacon, but meats in general aren't what she would go for. She does okay with breads - obviously loves crackers, cakes and cookies, and does okay with beans. I've been giving her two packets of instant oatmeal with the complex carbohydrate supplement the doctor gave me to give her and she loves that because she is learning to feed herself, but it makes a royal MESS! She's just started doing better drinking milk - the doctor reccomended giving her Pediasure or Carnation Instant Breakfast so we do the latter (it tastes like a milkshake so she downs those!) which reminds me - she LOVES ice cream and milkshakes. She is hit or miss with cheese, and I used to give her the Yo Baby yogurts, but recently stopped because I think it is causing her to have more than the normal diaper changes (if you catch my drift). I dread mealtime because it is such a battle (even though I don't want it to appear as such for her - I don't want her to have any negative connotations with meal/snack time). The parent I thought I would be with giving food is totally a lost thought. I thought I would be a tough love parent when it came to food - I did not want to raise a picky eater, now I think whatever will work to give her nutrition, I am game for. I try to give her a variety of foods each mealtime, but most end up on the floor with her screaming holy terror - leaving me a good 30 minutes of cleanup. I've really tried to limit her fruits to give her an opportunity to try other foods - it doesn't work, she just won't eat until she has something she will, and as soon as she gets down, she immediately runs to where the snacks are kept begging for those. Can you sense my frustration? The doctor said to continue to give her variety (I do) and when I asked about her pickiness he told me to be firm until dinner time and if she hasn't eaten anything all day then be more lenient. Could someone please tell me where I can pick up the instruction manual for being a parent?!?
Okay - off my eating rant :)
She is absolutely the joy of our lives, and we couldn't imagine what life would be without her in it. We keep working with her on her language development, so far she can say: uh-oh, momma, dadda, hot, hi, all gone, tickle, and bye. At the moment she thinks all animals sound like a dog - and she could find a dog in the most remote places. She used to say boo for the cow, but lately it's still a oo oo for a dog. We ran into a little girl at the park that was born the day after Madeleine, and she knew the duck said quack quack (this personally had me in disgust because I have been working on that one for MONTHS!!!) the other day she said kack kack for the duck, but it has made an appearance since.
She is a dancer - if you know me, you know how near and dear this is to my heart! I love it and I can't wait until she's old enough to get in dance. If she's not running, doing her frankenstein walk (both arms outstretched in front of her) then she's doing her moves. If she hears the Sesame Street theme song, she starts bouncing to the beat. Or she'll do her dancing walk where she moves her elbow back and forth while twisting her wrist - I love her rythm :).
She's such a big girl and can climb and scoot down the stairs, and can get down from mommy and daddy's big bed all by herself. Luckily she's not tall enough so we don't have problems with her climbing on the furniture or tables (yet!).
At night night she sleeps with a blanket (no particular one), her baby doll (Daddy wants her to call it Dolly, Mommy just calls it baby), and her stinkin' pacifier. Oh the things I swore I wouldn't do as a parent - call me a complete hypocrite - the paci is here to stay for the immediate future.
She can find her belly button, head, hair, teeth, toungue, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
She loves to be outdoors and likes to pick up leaves. She can go down big slides and has a big smile when she comes down at the bottom.
We love our little girl and our so grateful that she is able to be a part of our family.
6 comments:
Sounds like you guys are doing a great job and she is perfectly normal. Kids can be picky about food at different points in their lives. For us, Chloe began losing weight as soon as I stopped nursing her(1 year old) and would eat absolutely nothing except crackers, etc. They diagnosed her as a "failure to thrive" child. I felt I had done something wrong and had failed somehow as a mother. They told me not to stress and put her on Pediasure and when she got tired of just that, she would come around to trying things. It was at least a 6 month struggle (and Pediasure isn't cheap) and then something just clicked for her and she is now the BEST eater! She eats pretty much all veggies, meats and fruits and has a great appetite. For Chloe, I sometimes wonder if it had to do with me weaning her when she just didn't want to be. I think it's different with every child. Just don't stress over mealtimes, and definitely give her supplements in the meantime. She will come around! Your doing a good job, little mommy. Just wanted to share that with ya! One more thing, try varieties of cheese, most kids will love cheese in some form or another and it's good protein! Good luck girl.
I'm happy Maddy's back on the chart again! I say just give her time with the eating thing. It's probably a phase the she'll be growing out of soon. I take comfort in knowing that toddlers really don't need a whole lot of food (although I know you are extra worried because she is so little).
Unfortunately she's not on the chart for weight - just height (which she has kept hanging on). Thanks Kayleen and Cecily for your comments - they do help me feel better!
Ruthanne lost a lot of weight after she turned 1, she never got below 22 lbs or so I think though, but she was allergic to milk and all the fatty stuff that goes along with it.
I'd keep giving variety and then how about dips? My kids love to dip, ketchup, ranch, bbq sauce, honey mustard, whatever! When they were that young I would let them even dip things in that I thought were disgusting! Have you tried avocados, they have lots of good fats. Is there anything you can slip food into, like pumpkin puree in spaghetti (I had a friend who would do that) or maybe even into the oatmeal? Kids will eat the craziest things sometimes! Also, keep trying things. Last night my kids gobbled up ravioli and normally they are not that big on it!
Other things my kids like: cheese tortillas, hot dogs cut small, corn dogs, chef boyardi things, mac & cheese, grilled cheese, John likes veggie burgers, pinto & other beans (John really loves these too!). Maybe something will grab her attention. I have a friend who's daughter, now 2, does not really eat anything! She will lick salt off of chips and pretzels, eat chocolate and ice cream treats, yogurt, but still not a lot of real food.
She seems small all over to me but he weight doesn't seem crazy out of proportion to her height to me. I'm sure she'll outgrow it!
Ever heard the quote - "When I got married I had 4 theories on raising children, now I have 4 kids and no theories"?! It's so true.
I had a niece one time who at 4 would only eat cheerios and the cheese dip and cracker packets! Even at Thanksgiving!! She's a happy healthy pregnant girl now.
I think they need to adjust those charts, because I know a ton of people with little ones who eat plenty, are happy and healthy, and the doctors still aren't happy.
You're doing great!
Kerrie
My nephew was 17 lbs at 18 months and would not eat. He crawled late and had trouble speaking. My sister's pediatrician wasn't much help but she was referred by a friend to a program that offers free feeding therapy. Try Googling Developmental Pathways and/or Child Find. It turns out he has some sensory issues (Google Sensory Processing Disorder). Not uncommon--like when people don't like to walk on grass barefoot. Anyway, he didn't like touching foods or how they felt in his mouth, though even he wasn't conscious of why.
His feeding therapist would focus on certain foods for a few weeks at a time, introducing them over and over. She worked on colors (ie all reddish foods one week), textures, sizes (working on using back teeth), etc. She would also play with the food a lot (drive cars in pudding on the table) and let him help in preparation (stirring, using food chopper with help, etc.) He's still not a very good eater, but he's getting better. He's three now and at least on the charts, even if it is at the bottom! I can tell you more about it if you want to email or call me. My sister might have some ideas, too.
Good luck! And don't be so hard on yourself. :)
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