weight

Weight is such an interesting term. When choosing cantaloupe, you search for the heaviest weight for the money. But when it comes to your weight, you want the scale to read the lowest weight possible, especially after baby. Mommies, you know what I am talking about. I still have not reached my pre-baby weight so it is a number that is beyond my reach at this point. And when it comes to childhood obesity, you don't want your children to watch television and play video games all day while eating junk food. But what if your child is UNDER weight. That is the case for Elijah.

Elijah was born 7 pounds 1 ounce. I believe that weight is on the lower side of normal. He lost the usual number of ounces when we left the hospital, but unfortunately took a while to gain it back. And ever since then, putting on weight was something of an elusive dream. He was never one of those babies that cried out of hunger. He did not eat cereal until after he was 6 months old. Table food is STILL an issue with him. To say he is a picky eater is an understatement. If he was more like me, he would eat anything and everything, but alas, he is more like his Daddy. Not only is he a spitting image of his Daddy, he also possesses many personality traits that Daddy has so gracefully passed on to him.

Many Mommy friends have, in my presence fed their willing eaters apples, cantaloupe, grapes, strawberries, lots of healthy food. Eli will not go near any of it, even though I know once it hits his lips, he will love it. When presented with the food, he does not even want to touch it. In fact, it is almost like he fears it and will not eat anything else off of his plate unless you take the alien food out of his sight immediately.

Needless to say Eli's weight has ALWAYS been a worry of mine. He has always hovered between the 4th and 8th percentiles in weight. For those who do not have children yet, that means that of all of the kids Eli's age, there are between 4 and 8 percent of them that are Eli's weight and 92 to 96 percent are heavier than him. He has always had to visit the doctor just to check his weight, aside from his regular check ups. It is scary when your child runs around with no shirt on and you feel like people may think you are starving him because his ribs are showing. It really is heartbreaking for me to not be able to provide for my child in this way. It makes me so sad to have to prepare the same dinner for him every night (chicken nuggets) because that is all he will eat. It makes me so sad to have to add Carnation instant breakfast into his milk in order for him to have the extra calories. It concerns me so much that I give him any kind of food he wants, which is mostly junk food, in the high hopes it will make him gain weight. Elijah is my son and I will do everything in my power to make sure he gains weight, however and whatever it takes.

We went to the doctor Monday for a weight check for Eli. He was pleasant, chanting 'doctor' over and over again as we walked back to the room in which we wait for the doctor. The nurse had me strip him down to his diaper and all the while I am nervous about what that scale would tell us. As each piece of clothing was removed, it added to my nervousness. I picked up my light as a feather son and placed him in the sitting position on the scale. The nurse told me he was 21.5 pounds at his last visit. My friend's 11 month old daughter is heavier than that, to give you some perspective. Eli is almost 2. So as the scale is measuring, I see the numbers that I will never forget: 24. My son gained 2 and a half pounds in 3 months!!!! This is completely and utterly unprecedented!!!!! He went from the 4th percentile to the 13th percentile! I was so excited I cried. When the doctor came in, she was ecstatic too! In my mind, we were all jumping up and down in a circle and cheering loudly!!

Here is to hoping and praying that the weight goes up from here.....and maybe I can give him some of mine in the process. :) The worrying is not over for us, but God has answered many prayers. And we are thankful.