Finger lickin’ good

Once Piper started eating solid foods, and started taking more and more at each meal, I started wondering what the appropriate serving sizes should be for her.  I couldn’t expect her to eat the full meal plan for a 12 month old because she’s not the size of a 12 month old.

So, because of that, I asked our EI if we could talk to a nutritionist to get some more information.  It took some time to get it scheduled, and after a little while, I noticed that Piper was falling off her curve that she had been on before.  So, to prevent any hounding I figured I was doomed to get at her 12 month checkup, I decided it was even more imperative to get the nutritional support started.

The nutritionist was able to come out the day before Piper’s checkup, which worked out perfectly.  As suspected, she was concerned with Piper’s (lack of) size.  Her solution, of course, is to add “as much bang per bite” as possible.  In other words, adding calories and fats to the food she’s already eating to give her enough to grow “better”.

The problem we have, however, is that Piper’s gallbladder was removed in February.  That means that fats are harder for her to digest.  If she gets too much in a day, her stomach bothers her (to the point she whimpers in her sleep and is almost inconsolable) and it messes with her insides.  So adding fats are not going to work (which, to the sadness of the nutritionist, includes Pediasure). 

Long story short, the doctors aren’t worried about her weight gain, so we just get to try things out and see how it goes.

We’re already off whole milk to 2%, and that seems to be helping a lot.  If I put her on 2% instead, she can handle some extra yogurt and cheese throughout the day, too.  We’re trying to get high protein, low(er) fat food in her instead.

So, I’ve finally gotten brave enough to let Piper eat some meaty things.  I haven’t been confident enough in her chewing and swallowing abilities to do much yet, but she really does hold her own quite well. 

We let her have a Chick-fil-a nugget the other day.  She looked at us in disdain, like she was saying “WHERE has this been all my life???”

She loves the chicken.  LOVES it.

So we’ve let her have lunch meat, turkey, and other kinds of chicken (ham she does NOT like).  She gets super excited when she figures out that’s what it is.  The only problem we have is making sure that she swallows BEFORE she gets the next handful in.  Sometimes she gets a little too excited, and forgets about that all-important step.

The absolute BEST part about this?

Piper has, for the past few days, eaten ALL of her lunch and dinner.  By herself.  We haven’t used any of the purees we have in he freezer.  She still gets her breakfast by spoon (cereal and yogurt are a little… advanced…), but I can’t tell you how nice it is to be able to actually eat at the same time as she is. 

Even if she can’t quite see on to the table…

Note to self: always make sure we have the porta-chair in the right care before you go to the restaurant.  Fine motor skills are much more difficult to perfect when you’re working above your shoulders…