My daughter hates eating.  She always has.  Well, she was a big fan of nursing I have to be honest about that.  When it was just breast milk she was a great little eater but as soon as we introduced her to the world of solid food she clamped those plump little lips and has barely cracked them since.  Rice cereal was a bust.  She ate it voraciously one sitting and was then constipated for twelve straight days.  She would never eat it voluntarily again.  I say ‘voluntarily’ because we worked for months on making her laugh or smile so we could slip that little spoon in her open mouth.  Pureed pears worked for a couple of weeks and we were so excited because Chris’ mom had told us that pears were HIS favorite food as a baby; we thought liking them was in her genes. But she turned her back on those as well.  Peaches were a huge failure as were meats, veggies and pretty much everything that is packaged and marketed for babies.  Eventually we found out that she liked soup, but only ‘adult’ soups, nothing that was actually meant for her.  

At thirteen months when we stopped nursing and I started worrying…if she wasn’t getting her nutrition from me and she would barely eat, how was she going to grow?!  We asked our pediatrician at every check up and every time she told us that Addie was growing just fine and that she was just petite.  “What did you look like as a baby, Katie?”  It turns out that my expectations of having a plump little butterball baby just weren’t going to happen — I have been long and lean since the day I popped out.  My baby girl was just taking after her mama.  But even with that realization my worries persisted.  And still do!  Just the other day I googled “Toddler Nutrition” hoping for some guidance in how much she should be eating in one sitting and when it’s appropriate to give her a supplement drink.  I found some comfort after reading that a portion size for a child her age is a quarter of my portion size and that when she does decide she wants to eat, she eats more than enough for her little belly. 

But she is still a bitty little thing.  She is long and skinny and only 23 pounds.  As her mother I will always be concerned about her nutrition…I’m 28 and my mom still thinks I need to eat more.  I guess I just have to be sure of myself that I am providing her with the best options possible and that I’m doing the best that I can.  I’m doing the best that I can.

UPDATE:  I found a GREAT dinner that is so easy and Addison LOVES it…crescent roll pizza.  Just get the tube of crescent dough at your local grocery store, some pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella and some pre-cooked chicken strips.  Unroll the crescent rolls into the pre-cut triangles, spread some pizza sauce, top with cheese and chicken. Bake per instructions on the dough tube, but keep a close eye on them the entire time…they tend to burn easily.  Not only does Addie eat these like crazy, but Chris and I love them too. They taste like gourmet pizza, seriously.