First, the bad news... Gus took Nikos for his 15-month well-baby appointment today, and it turns out that our wiggle-worm has not gained a single ounce since his 12-month appointment. He has, however, grown taller. I attribute the lack of weight gain to his newly discovered mobility, but the doctor still thinks there is some cause for concern (or vigilance, at the least). She wants Nikos to be on a high-calorie diet for the next month, and then come in for a follow-up visit. She used the words that sounded so terrible: "failure to thrive." Essentially, it means that he has temporarily fallen off of his normal growth curve. While his weight is generally at about the 50th percentile, he has dropped to the 10th-25th percentile. I find it so frustrating, since he is a great eater and eats many of the foods that are on the high-calorie, high-nutritional-value list she provided. Her one suggestion was to put Nikos in his highchair for snacks, so that he focuses on eating the snacks rather than playing. She also suggested adding powdered milk or Carnation Instant Breakfast to his milk at breakfast time to boost his calories. Still, I feel like I have somehow failed at one of the most basic aspects of parenting. And it's really upsetting! I am certainly not starving my little guy... Maybe he just takes after his daddy and is meant to be skinny??
The good news, however, is that Nikos likes his toddler bed! He thinks it is great fun to climb around on during the day, but has conked out right away two nights in a row. In fact, he even slept until 6:40 this morning (which was okay because he had his doctor's appointment, and didn't have to get ready for daycare). He was so excited to play in his room today, too! He loves his beanbag chairs, and was so excited to have his books moved to a different area with easier access. We still have to wait until this weekend to see how things go during naptime (when he's much more likely to attempt to climb out and play), but I am cautiously optimistic. I can't believe how quickly he adapted to this big change-- I am impressed!
1 comment:
Yay for the toddler bed transition!! This gives me hope for when we attempt it with our little guy.
On the weight thing - a similar thing happened to us, as you know. M plummeted from somewhere above the 50th percentile to below the 10th, which is where he has stayed. Luckily, our doctor is incredibly hard to worry and didn't seem overly concerned about the drop in percentiles. Nonetheless, we spent awhile obsessing about everything he ate and that just made us crazy. We finally read this great book called Child of Mine, about feeding your kid, that helped us chill out. The author made the point that your child is going to get the nutrition they need and it's really just your job to offer appropriate foods at appropriate times, which it sounds like you're doing.
Anyway, I guess I just wanted to say that I think you guys are doing a great job with Nikos!! You most definitely have NOT failed at the most basic part of parenting - quite the opposite!
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