Miller Time: Weight Check

Ellison had her weight check yesterday. We had to go in for this extra appointment because she only gained half a pound between her 4 month and 6 month appointments, even though she started eating solid food in between them. We have since upped the amount of solids she takes at a feed (from 2 tbsp to 4 tbsp of cereal and as much fruit or veggie as she will eat) and she looks/feels like she has gained some weight (and according to my "unofficial" weight at home, she was over 15 pounds - she was 13 lbs, 2 oz at her 6 month appointment). Unfortunately, the scale at the doctor's office did not quite agree - she weighed in at 14 lbs, 3 oz. Her pediatrician was not overly impressed with that weight gain - she only gained about 7 ounces since I took her in when she was sick (she was 13 lbs, 12.5 oz, 5 weeks ago). The doctor was hoping she would gain more than that considering how much food we have been giving her!

I'm guessing part of the problem is that it has become more and more of a struggle to get Ellison to drink milk. She stopped nursing, for the most part, right after her six month birthday. Sometimes she still would once or twice a day, but in the past few weeks she has stopped completely. She was getting extremely distracted and we were both very frustrated with the attempts. I don't think she was getting much milk out of it, either. But we have always fed her at least one bottle a day (more when I work), and she was up to 6-7 ounces at a feed, which she would drink down in just a few minutes. Since upping her solids and starting to just feed her pumped milk, she has dropped from five feeds a day to four most days, and she does not always finish her bottles. If she does, it takes way longer than it used to. This has been a very difficult experience, since I spend a lot of time each day pumping and trying to make sure she has the best food we can give her. To be honest, it makes me feel a little rejected that she not only won't nurse, but she won't even drink a whole bottle! She gets an extra few ounces in her oatmeal, but it just doesn't seem like enough.

So, our pediatrician wants us to add a third feeding of solids a day, which means she will be getting 12 tbsp of oatmeal a day and possibly up to another full container of fruit/veggies. I think she will eat it, because she loves her solid food. But I am worried it will cut back her milk intake even more. She got three "meals" yesterday and finished all three. Hopefully this helps her gain weight by her next appointment in 6 weeks. If she isn't gaining enough, the doctor said they will draw labs and try to figure out if there is something else going on, but she doesn't really seem to think that's the case. She said Ellison is healthy, doesn't look scrawny, and she thinks this is just her and how she is going to grow. So that's what I'm going to hope for! She's tall and skinny...a girl's dream!

Other than that, Ellison is moving quicker and quicker, and getting into everything. This week she discovered the stoppers behind our doors and has been constantly flicking them to make them go up and down. She also likes to pull any magnets she can reach off the refrigerator. Basically she wants to play with anything that is not her toys! She has a new favorite face, which is basically a scrunched up sassy face that sometimes comes complete with huffing and puffing sounds. She does it when she is mad but also seems to know we think it's funny, so she does it when she is not mad too. She is starting to get herself up on her hands and knees now so "real" crawling does not seem far off (yikes!). We are also practicing standing. And her second tooth popped through this week. She is growing up WAY too fast. I can't believe it!!!