Just to clarify some things, I'm not worried that Kyra is withering away and on the brink of starvation. Its just kinda scary when a doctor tells you your kid is under weight and they want her back for an unscheduled checkup.
In my overworked imagination I'm wondering, "what it is that I'm doing wrong? Am I too strict on what I limit her foods to? Should I be making her sit at the table and eat every bite on her plate?"
So, here is where you guys and your wonderful advice come in handy. I have listed here an idea of what Kyra will eat, will not eat, and what we choose not to feed her. If you pay attention, she seems to have put her self on a fat free/low fat diet. This is where my problem lies. What can you guys think of or come up with to put some "healthy fats" into her diet. (the pediatrician kept stressing the "healthy fats" to me, thus why we're still not going to make daily runs to McDonald's for chicken nuggets and french fries)
Likes- most any fruit or vegetable I've ever given her, rice cakes, jello, chicken, fish sticks, canned fruit, crayons, shards of paper (yes Lindsey, you were one the right track), soy milk, water, limited amounts of fruit juice, pastas, pork chops, rice, potatoes (occasionally), pancakes, ham, hot dogs, lunch meat (when she's in the mood for it), turkey, cheerios
Dislikes- hamburger, steak, most any other form of meat, eggs, soy cheese, dried fruits, Vienna sausages (she used to like them, now she refuses them)
What we don't/can't give her- milk, candy, french fries, most fried foods (the occasional fast food chicken nugget is one of the few exceptions), cheese, yogurt, any food prepared with cheese or milk (and good gosh that's nearly everything Jer and I used to eat!), junk food
Now, tell me any experiences or advice you have. Ask your Mama, your Granny, your next door neighbor, Google. There has got to be something staring me right in the face that I haven't tried yet, because at this very moment she's eating a thing of blueberries. Healthy, good for the brain, and a whole lot of 0 when it comes to fat grams.
Off you go, tell me what you come up with.
Wow, this is a toughy. I would definitely go with what the doctor said and drizzle some olive oil over her pasta. You can also do that with a potato if she will eat it. And if she likes to "dip" things, you can let her dip chunks of bread in olive oil too.
ReplyDeleteI would just try to get her to eat as much meat as she will tolerate. I know that's probab;y easier said than done, and I'm also sure you're already doing that, but hey! You asked for advice.
That's all I have for now. I'll see if I can find anything else for you.
Wow that's tough. My Kira (I think) has the opposite problem to your little chipmunk. Mine will eat just about anything and everything and I think she's a little too heavy for her age (but all her docs and midwives and clinic nurses say she's completely healthy so who knows) and I have yet to find a way to keep her eating and NOT put on too much weight. Jeez and to think she had lost so much within the first week she was literally all bones.
ReplyDeleteAnyway. Hot dogs aren't terribly "thinning" so if she'll eat those, I would suggest those at lunch times or cut them up and put them with all her pasta dishes. Pasta is a really good (er bad? lol) way to gain weight so if you mix up some things in her pasta, she might surprise you with how much of it she eats.
For example, we use pasta elbows mostly, and cook up chicken chunks (we use a white alfredo sauce which you would most likely need to find a sub for) along with broccoli and some shredded cheese (which you would also have to forgo).
You could also try making the non-sweetened version of pancakes (er.. crepes?) and wrap them around the hotdogs and serve with a side of vege or fruit (like for lunch as an example) with a bit of something for dipping, if she likes to dip.
Will she eat avocado? (My Kira hates it passionately) You could also mix avo and banana and put it on her bread or crackers or something... or have some pieces with just avo and a bit of lemon juice, and some with a bit of banana (avo will help weight gain too).
Honestly, I have no clue if any of these fall into the "healthy fats" category, but you might find Kyra's food groups being severely limited by that anyway (I don't know).
Anyway good luck - I'm very interested to see how Kyra does in her weight-gain regime. And I hope she's feeling MUCH better by now.