I read in lunachick's blog about trying to get her daughter to eat, after she'd been sick, and following her around with juice. I so get that. Little-Sir-3-Year-Old has always been a peanut, and we discovered a wheat, etc. allergy early on, that restricted all kinds of foods. (We became regulars at the ER, and faced anaphalactic shock, and learned to carry an EpiPen.) I've learned to sneak in nutrition-dense calories wherever I can with him, and often find myself following him around popping something in his mouth. He finally started to balance out, with his weight beginning to enter the bottom of the percentiles (he's been below the chart for ages), when seasonal allergies hit hard, and he stopped eating again. Only someone raising a child with some sort of health issues can truly appreciate the victory I felt today when I realized he'd eaten well since I came home from work around 1 pm. (He wouldn't eat breakfast or lunch for DH.) When I got him into p.j.s, I noticed those dark circles that've been under his eyes are finally lightening, and he's not so fragile-looking.


They do turn out ok, though. Dear Daughter (DD) was also underweight and waif-like for many years, until she hit puberty. I thought she'd never break 29 lbs! Even "slims" hung on her...used to dress her in leggings and tights a lot with warm dresses/jumpers, because pants would fall off. She was hospitalized with pneumonia at 7 wks., and had persistent lung ailments...the terrible coughing would make her throw up, so whatever little nutrition I did get into her would come right back again. Now, she's in college, and manages to keep a brutal schedule and eat more-or-less healthily...and she's taller than me! So, there is hope for Peanut # 2.


It reminds me of the stories my mom used to tell. She and her brother, a year apart, were skinny little things, and their mother was always trying to fatten them up. They lived in Brooklyn and walked everywhere. She would regularly pack them up, with the baby in the carriage, and walk to the drug store where she'd buy them malteds. (You can't buy them at drug stores any more, and now lots of ice cream shops don't know what malt is.) Both Mom and my uncle had to diet as adults, and I wonder if all that pushing on Grandma's part didn't contribute to weight problems later.

I never forced DD to eat, and try not to with Little-Sir-3-Year-Old...but when he goes for days with less than a bird would need to survive, I find myself following in Grandma's footsteps. We don't do the malt shop, but I do buy organic whole milk for him, and let him eat Nutella with a spoon and pb & j for any meal he wants. And I've been known to buy Haagen Dazs just for him...ever read that label? Lots of nutritious stuff, nothing artificial, and lots of extra calories.

Now...what happened to me? The skinny gene must've just skipped over me entirely. Whenever I'd take my little ones to the pediatrician, enduring the "tsk tsk tsk" as they were being weighed, and the questioning about the child's daily caloric intake, I always got the distinct impression I was being surveyed out of the corner of Mr./Ms. Medical Professional's eye, and that they were thinking, "Sure...she eats all the food herself, and doesn't let the children have any."

sigh...