Thursday, April 12, 2007

Give me something good to eat


Isa has started to eat solids at the behest of our pediatrician. She unfortunately ranked in the 10th percentile in her weight but 50th percentile in her height. Eventhough I was feeding her every two hours with breastmilk, she still fell short. She always seemed satisfied after suckling that I did not realize that she still needed more. Her physique does not seem malnourished. Her little thighs are chubby, her cheeks are squeezably large, her tummy is round. It made me feel incompetent as a parent that my kid was not ranking average in the weight department. To us, she looks healthy. Erick and I wondered what kind of babies were the growth chart based off of. Certainly not asian or pacific islander babies with petite frames and small bones. It's funny that before I had Isa, everybody was encouraging breastfeeding. Now that I have her, it seems they are all pushing for formula. I know the textbooks say to breastfeed only for 6 months but I've learned that raising a child is not textbook. I was rigid at first wanting to do everything as recommended by the "American Academy of Pediatrics" trying to maximize all the benefits and grow a healthy, disease free, smart individual. Life doesn't roll that way though. I've had to loosen up and give in. At least I'm at home 5 days a week to still give her a little breastmilk before formula. I can tell, though, that sometimes she grows impatient waiting for the let down because she will tug and tug. OWWW! She does seem to show signs of wanting to eat solids. She watches us intently while we are eating. She has even snatched a small morsel when Erick teases her with it. (We take it out of her hand of course) She even opens her mouth when there is a cup nearby. She hated plain rice cereal but when we introduced banana with it she went to town. She even grabs the spoon to help guide it into her mouth. Another first for Isa so it had to go down into the books.

1 comment:

XOsunnydaysXO said...

don't feel bad...gabriel has always ranked in 5-10%-always! that's in both weight AND height!! yeah, he's little, but he's fine. in fact, his 1 year well-child checkup, his height finally hit 25%. BUT, his weight is still in the 5-10%. oh well, no worries!