Weigh-In

Yesterday was Audrey's one-month weigh-in (one month from her well-baby exam, where it was found that she dropped down in to the 5th percentile for her weight). She was 17lb, 10oz at her last well-baby exam, which was a whole 6oz more than what she weighed at her 9 month well-baby exam. The pediatrician acted like it was nothing; she said we should keep feeding her like we were feeding her, and make sure she got lots of whole milk, and she'd see us in a month to make sure Audrey was gaining, not loosing or remaining static.

Yesterday was that month weigh-in. Alas, she has only gained 2 more ounces, bringing her grand total to 17lbs 12oz. The pediatrician was a little more concerned this time, though not completely worried. She said we needed to make sure she was eating nutritious foods, not fillers like crackers and sugar (well, duh). She also said to watch her behavior and make sure she wasn't becoming lethargic, over-fussy, or emaciated (another duh). As long as she continues to be active, curious, and her hair doesn't start falling out, she's OK.

It was basically explained like this: one of two things usually happen at Audrey's age/stage- kids either start showing how genetics will influence their body types (which is what's probably happening to Audrey), or, if kids are going to have a problem absorbing nutrients from what they eat, their bodies will start showing it right about now. Since Audrey isn't showing signs of malnutrition, and also since I was always the smallest kid on the block, our doc is leaning towards genetics.

Anyho, her next appointment is in January, and apparently Audrey owes the doc some significant growth, or we have to start giving her Pediasure. Booo. My gut instinct says she's fine, but stuff like this makes it real easy to start questioning everything. Yesterday was kinda a bad mom-day for me. Audrey, however, seemed to have a great time after dinner, chasing the cat around and around the house, and after a playful bath, went straight to sleep and slept straight through the night, as usual. This morning, she had an entire sweet potato pancake, laced with buckwheat, oatmeal, and soy protein powder... not to mention half of her sippy-cup of whole milk. If this kid has an eating problem, she sure has fooled me. I guess we'll find out in January.