Sothea's Too Skinny

At Sothea's 12-month check-up, she had apparently lost weight from her 9-month check-up. Because of that, the doctor wanted her to come back in 6 weeks. I brought her back and she had gained weight, which was good, but the doctor wants to see her put on some more pounds. She has another weight check next week. The doctor simply wants to make sure it's not anything medical cuz if that were the case, they'd have to run a series of tests, which won't be fun.

I'm almost sure it's not anything medical. It's simply that Sothea's not getting enough to eat. Some of it's my fault. I wasn't exactly pruned and preened for domestication! Another part of it is that Sothea is quite particular. Either she doesn't want a certain food, or she wants to feed herself. I try to feed her, first, to eliminate the mess, and second, because she's not yet skilled in the art of self-feeding. So, more often than not, the feed gets on her, rather than in her mouth, as you can see by the picture. Most times, I end up letting her feed herself since she won't let me do it, and I give her a lot of finger foods that really don't constitute a well-balanced diet, but hey - I'd rather her eat something instead of nothing.

I also give her multivitamin drops and whole milk to help with some of her nutritional needs. The pediatrician said if anything, juice should only be given after she's eater her meals since it doesn't really give her much of anything else nutrition-wise. And Pediasure should only be given if I can't get her to eat enough. So, Pediasure it is.