fatten her up!

sharinfaith

at dd's doctor's appointment the other day, her pedi seemed concerned with her weight. she's always been 80%+, but this appointment she dropped to the lower 25th%. She's lost weight since her 9mo check up, but has also started walking/climbing. 

anyway, he told me to "give her food that you and i shouldn't eat". i want to keep her meals healthy and nutritious, but i'm guessing they also need to be high calorie. 

which leads me to my biggest roadblock. we're currently weaning, and in saying that, she only wants foods she can feed to herself, no purees to make up the difference. but she rarely gets anything in her mouth, AND she's a really picky eater. if she had it her way, she would eat whole grain mac n cheese and pickles all day!

she wants nothing to do with shredded cheese, toast, sweets (like graham crackers), she does like yogurts if i allow her to feed it to herself, same with m&c, pickles, and ice cream.

so, am i in for a big messy mess with a teeny tiny tot?  

rlyttle

Happy Birthday! Is she on WCM? That will give her lots of calories. I've never had a problem with DS's weight, but he eats all day! He is always asking for snacks. Have you tried to give the pur?e pouches? DS loves them & it's an easy way to get to eat some veggies.

septmom11

Mac and Cheese is good just use whole milk and whole fat cheese when you make it for the higher calorie count.  My DD also loves to feed herself.  She eats alot of turkey meatloaf/meatballs/chicken cut into bite size peices.  Grilled cheese and quesadillas can also be bite size for self feeding.  Also if you want to get rid of your veggie purees you can mix them into pasta as a sauce.

For snacks my DD loves hummus and crackers ( can get messy) and homemade banana blueberry muffins

I bought a few  baby forks that DD has been using to feed herself some of her foods instead of her hands

sharinfaith

Thank you!

I had been EBF, and just switched to WCM in the past week or so (she only drinks maybe 6oz a day, and still BFs for naps and nighttime). She does enjoy a pouch every now and again, but only if she gets to hold and squeeze it herself. I bought a variety of them, so i guess we'll try more until she gets ahold of one she likes

My dad suggested adding syrup to her WCM for calories, but I don't really want to get that habit started...thoughts? 

 

Ecy

My DD is tiny & was only 17 lbs. at her 12 mo. check up. My pedi has never been worried about it. It is normal for them to lose weight when they become more active. I would not stop feeding her nutritious meals. You can make sure she gets fat from things like peanut butter, avocado, using real butter on things like toast, oatmeal, you can toss veggies in olive oil and then roast them in the oven (taste great!), but I wouldn't start giving her a bunch of fried stuff or other things we as adults shouldn't have.

Maybe he's concerned because of the drop but as long as she's on the scale, I wouldn't think it would be a big deal.

gatchison

My DS is in the middle of a purees only regression so I'm not having this issue but I am trying to fatten him up a bit. Like PP's said wcm products are great - besides the milk, you can do cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, etc.  and you can add it to whatever she's eating. Some other good fats are avocados and peanut. butter.

sharinfaith

septmom11:

Mac and Cheese is good just use whole milk and whole fat cheese when you make it for the higher calorie count.  My DD also loves to feed herself.  She eats alot of turkey meatloaf/meatballs/chicken cut into bite size peices.  Grilled cheese and quesadillas can also be bite size for self feeding.  Also if you want to get rid of your veggie purees you can mix them into pasta as a sauce.

For snacks my DD loves hummus and crackers ( can get messy) and homemade banana blueberry muffins

I bought a few  baby forks that DD has been using to feed herself some of her foods instead of her hands

great idea! i sometimes do the "loaded spoon" for her yogurt, but i never thought about introducing a fork...

she's big on texture, so things that are too slimy/crusty/puffy/chewy/hard she won't even glance at.

i love the veggie puree on pasta idea! ....and we have lunch!  

sharinfaith

side note:

 

that was weird....her birthday was friday, and the ticker was showing today. huh. 

cyprissa

Avocado is great for it's calorie density. DS will only eat it in guacamole form. I give him a small bowl of it and some tortilla chips to use as a scoop. Hummus on whole wheat bread or pita is good. DS also loves black beans. Will she eat eggs? If so, you could make an omelet and give her stips of it. What about meatballs (turkey or beef) or cheese ravioli (a particular favorite here). 

Also, they typically slow way down on weight gain once they start moving like crazy and eventually rebound. I wouldn't worry too much. DS went from 60th for weight to 25th and is now back at 50th.  

 

blueandgray

sharinfaith:

My dad suggested adding syrup to her WCM for calories, but I don't really want to get that habit started...thoughts? 

I absolutely would NOT do this!  All you are doing is adding sugar - that is not what the dr meant.  He meant healthy high-fat foods.  Full fat dairy products, eggs, avocado, meat.  Ground beef and little pieces of cheese might be finger-food friendly for your LO.  I'd keep trying to spoon feed her too - they go through so many phases that she might be cool with it again.  My DD loves plain full fat greek yogurt that I fill with diced up pieces of her favorite fruits (strawberries & blueberries).  She also is more willing to be spoon fed if I give her another spoon of her own to hold.

dor79

If she is eating mac  n cheese, can you hide a few things in there?  We often put some ground beef and veggies in ours.  You could probably add a purreed avacado to the sauce as well made with WCM.

 Our son also loves the squeezie fruits and veggies, I just make sure to have a change of clothes with me, as they often cause a mess....

We also let him have his own utensils (a spoon and a fork) while he is self feeding, but we will sneak in a bite or two with our own utensils when he is occupied..

AlexKate45

This sounds like exactly what we went though with my son around 12 mos.  Could you try giving her a spoon and you also feed her at the same time with your own spoon? The whole only feeding herself my just be a phase as well.

My son loved yogurt so we gave him 3% mixed with 10% extra smooth ricotta.  Also we mixed olive oil with whatever we could for extra calories.  We ended up having to give pediasure though.

Anyway, now he eats like a champ and his weight has been steady around 50 percentile.

 Good luck!

etude de la vie

We had issues with DD and she lost a lot of weight. She had serious eating issues which involved going to occupational therapy and went on a milk strike. 

I didn't want to feed her unhealthy food or allow her to be picky (only wanting cookies). I offered her healthy choices and then gave her 50/50 milk and pediasure or just pediasure. She is now back in the 50%

Pediasure has 300 calories, 7g of fat, DHA, all kinds of vitamins and it tastes good (I drank some...it isn't gross like formula). I get about a months worth on amazon for about $39 and Costco has it too. 

 

mesmom2011

My LO is dairy intollerant, so we are more limited.  She loves avocado.  She also eats a lot of meat.  I sneak pureed veggies (spinach and such) into her pasta sauces.  Fig newtons are a great snack that have a good bit of fat.  If your LO can have dairy, you could do whole milk yogurt as well (I wouldn't add syrup as you don't want to start that habit if it's not needed).  Also breastmilk is a great source of fat and calories for a picky toddler, so you may want to continue that a bit longer. 

sharinfaith

etude de la vie:

Pediasure has 300 calories, 7g of fat, DHA, all kinds of vitamins and it tastes good (I drank some...it isn't gross like formula). I get about a months worth on amazon for about $39 and Costco has it too. 

 

definitely trying this!

thankyou, thankyou, thank you!!!!