Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Milk. A battle.

So, last week when we went to our beloved pediatrician for the wee one's well baby visit, we discovered that he is ... umm ... well ... wee.

He's a bit, shall we say, underweight. He has fallen from his robust 5th percentile for weight into a range where they don't even provide percentiles, but instead provide advice on feeding and nutrition for babies.

"So," says beloved pediatrician, "did the nurse show you the growth curve?"
"Ahh, no." I say, suddenly realizing that perhaps the wee one isn't as perfectly fine and healthy as I had assumed.
She turns around the chart to show me the graph.
"Oh." I say. And a sinking feeling presents itself in my stomach. Suddenly, my professional self, the registered nurse takes over, and we are discussing his complete refusal to drink milk, and ways to convince him otherwise. A plan is devised, and I am making mental notes and planning to stop at the grocery store on the way home.
"We'll watch it." she says, "Come back in 6 weeks for a weight check and his second dose of the flu vaccine."
My nurse self drives the boat for awhile. Shopping, brainstorming and devising sneaky ways to get some full fat dairy into my baby.  It isn't until I am in bed at night that the mama inside me raises her head and begins to voice her opinions.

I failed him.
I should have known. 
How could I have let it get to this point?
Bad mother.

Since then, we've embarked on a complete full-frontal-dairy-assault for the wee one.

Here's everything I bought:


Two trips to the grocery store.

Well gang, despite my best efforts, it's still not going all that well.
He hates carnation instant breakfast - all three flavors.
He hates drinkable yogurt. Even if I dilute it.
Here's what he did when I gave him some cheerios with milk.


Please note the splatter pattern extends to the computer monitor.

One day, when I adamantly refused to give him a cup with anything other than a milk product in it - he stood in front of the sink, pointing at the faucet, crying and saying "Cuppa!" in the most pitiful fashion. I caved.

We have had one minute success. He will eat graham crackers with some yobaby yogurt for dipping. Not much, mind you, but it's a start.



You just know he made a horrible mess.

For now I am quieting the horrible self-recrimination and judgement with vigilant action. Feeding him has become my obsession, my mission.

Anyone ever has a similar situation? Got any advice?

We'll see where we're at in 6 weeks. 

6 comments:

  1. what about ice cream ..soft service is my favorite..i would not worry this obsession with weight ends up making all us americans obese ..he will undergo a spurt before you know it..think coby will always be a "problem" for you ..he is a fiesty one just like his mom he he..

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  2. I'm wondering if he'll drink an actual toddler formula. Maybe milk straight up upsets his tummy? Have you tried coconut milk, yogurt or a soy or rice milk with some flax seed in it to boost up protein? I also know the hardship of putting things back into bottles, but will he take a diluted yogurt or milk with a bottle? Frozen yogurt? Slightly better than ice cream. Another strategy, for us to get T solid food we with hold his milk. Will he get desperate enough to drink milk of you suffer with holding some food?
    You are not a bad mom, you just have a difficult child ;) These types of problems are hardest for mom!

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  3. A friend of mine had the same problem, and just smothered her daughter's food in butter. Good luck!!

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  4. Sharron expressed what I was thinking to. Perhaps his little body knows that milk doesn't agree with him? Are there other ways/foods to get the nutrition the doctor recommended? Perhaps up fruits, veggies, and grains or try other 'milk types' like soy or rice? One last thought... is it the temperature of the milk? Maybe he likes warm milk? Don't beat yourself up over this.

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  5. Thank you guys - all great ideas, I'm going to go with the cows milk for a week or so and see if I can get him to take it, if not I'll move on and try some other "milks" :) Also yes I'll try to get super food into him, too. Butter, check!

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  6. I agree with the first comment. If he's healthy in all other respects, try not to worry (I know - easier said than done!) All my kids are on the small side and are very healthy. Could be just in the genes - you're petite. Cam and Liv have always been in the 5 percentile range (until Cam bulked out this past year) and my doc told me that he'd rather see that than an overweight kid! If you're worried about calcium, you can buy OJ with it or some breads have it too. Good luck!

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