Ellie has been doing baby signs for several months now, which I've been extremely thankful for. It has solved many a question about what she actually wants ("more", "done", "play") and it has (I think) decreased the amount of whining we may have experienced. The problem is, the signs only say so much. So now we know she wants to "eat" but WHAT does she want to eat!?! More importantly, should she have an opinion about what she wants to eat!?! Ellie has begun to reject certain foods one minute that she will proudly eat the next. Sometimes she wants cheerios, sometimes she wants chicken, sometimes she wants peanut butter and jelly and sometimes (though she's saying "eat") she wants a drink! ARGH! It can be quite aggravating! Many of times it is solved with giving her a simple choice, cheese or chicken. Though today for example, she finished her cheese and all she had left was chicken. She began whining for "more" when the cheese ran out. So she ate nothing until she realized, "oh yes, I like chicken!" and then finally finished her chicken!
This has brought about many conversations about how much we should expect out of our 1 year old! Should she be able to chose at this young, tender age(mom's opinion= YES)? Or should we make her finish what's in front of her no matter how much she cries(dad's opinion=YES--bias making it seem worse)!? She is getting her protein, she loves chicken when in the mood and eats plenty of peanut butter (not to mention the cheddar cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt). She's getting her carbs, no questions (cheerios and wheat puffs for breakfast). She's getting her vegetables, steamed chopped mixed veggies--Loves the green veggies best! And she's getting her fruit-lots of natural apple sauce and bananas! So do we let her scream and make her eat what's in front of her? Or do we give her a choice between two heathly, equally "good-for-you" meals?
A side note, this increased fussiness about food has come at the same time we've begun to only nurse once a day--bedtime. She refuses whole milk which has been the supplement! Has the weaning made her emotionally unstable? Has the option to refuse whole milk led her to refusing other things as well? And that's another problem, she won't drink milk (though mixed 50/50 with breastmilk she will chug-which will soon not be an option as I'm running out of milk)! How does one fatten up a picky, weaning one year old!?!
2 comments:
Ah yes, the dreaded appearance of THE WILL! What?!? You, little baby twerp, have an opinion??? Everyone seems to come up with their own particular solution ... the way we've done it at that point is transition away from baby's own personal foods and just have them eat what we're eating. If they don't like it, well they probably won't starve, and that way everyone doesn't end up getting their own separate meal! :) But, its a tough new set of issues: in my opinion the most important thing is for the parents to make a decision about what you're going to do and not just let a pattern "happen" that a year later you realize you all hate. Good luck, and know we miss you all very much.
I don't think you need to fatten her up, Kim. She is the perfect weight for her height percentile. If you fatten her up, then she will be heavy for her height. So, I suggest not worrying too much about that. The purpose of percentiles is not to get your child into the 100%.
You could try goat milk. It is easier to digest for little tummies and many kids prefer the taste. You just have to get one with a Vit D supplement or smthg. Dr. Sears gives good info on it (askdrsears.com)
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