Sam had his 15month check up this morning. It was actually pretty uneventful. He is 23.5lbs (25th%) and he is 30 7/8" (between 25-50%). I'm amazed he is only in the 25th percentile for weight especially when I see that belly! She said he was right on track in every aspect. Its always nice to get that reassurance from the doctor.
He knew he was getting shots today!
Ben was actually the show stealer. If anyone has ever had a meal with us, you know that Ben doesn't like to eat. He will sit there and talk, play, sing etc etc etc. The only thing he will not do is eat. We literally have to beg him to take every bite. It is annoying and very painful. It has made us dread every meal, especially dinner. Dinner takes twice as long. I think because dad is there and Ben has one more person to talk to and entertain. We've been limiting him to 30minute meals and if he doesn't eat, then too bad. Unfortunately for us, he still doesn't eat and he doesn't care that we don't give him any snacks. Some days I think the boy could go all day with out eating more than a cereal bar and some milk. So we brought that up this morning. She told us, what we already knew--this isn't working for anyone. If we keep going like this (begging and pushing him to eat), it could negatively effect Bens attitude of food when he is a teen. I didn't even think about that one. So here is the new plan. We checked his height and weight. For the next month we are giving in to Bens stomach. We will provide either a meal or a snack every 3 hours. If he eats, great. If he doesn't take a bite, great. No more begging and pleading with him to eat. No more bribes for snacks or candy. No more time limits or sitting there until he's done. He gets 10 or 15minutes and if he isn't eating, he will be excused from the table. No more pressure on anyone. We have to cut down on the juice significantly and increase the (chocolate) milk for calories and some nutrition. In one month, we will take him back for a height/weight check. The doctor is guessing he'll still be within normal limits. If so, we'll have to be a bit more accepting of his appetite. If by some chance he loses weight, worst case is we'll have to take him to an endocrinologist for some tests. It doesn't sound like that will be very likely. We just have to trust that Ben knows his body (even at age 3) and he'll eat when he's hungry. Lets hope this works.
2 comments:
If only us adults could regulate our food intake as well as children. Hoping your mealtimes become much less stressful. The second picture of Sam looks like a stock photo for a poster- priceless.
i keep eating even when i'm full. ben and i should trade eating habits :). there are days when emma barely eats or drinks anything. but a few days of that and then she's ready to scarf down food. i think sam and gibson are almost even in weight now.
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