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Baby Zog and the Calories - a Nutrition Update

Baby Zog consumed 1,478 calories yesterday. Most would wonder why I'm counting a two-year-old's calories or why this matters. The reason is because, in Zogland, 1,478 made yesterday an exceptionally good day.

You see, Baby Zog has developed an aversion to eating. Ten months ago it just meant he was becoming a picky eater. Six months ago it meant he wasn't gaining weight so the doctor suggested adding some high-calorie nutritional drinks to his daily intake to help him out. One month ago it became an active problem because he lost nearly 3 lbs over the holidays. Now, most of us would rejoice at seeing the scale slide down in the month of December, but for a growing two-year-old who was only in the 50th weight percentile, losing nearly 10% of that weight is something to discuss.

"So, he just doesn't eat at all?" This is what concerned friends often ask. This is also what the nutritionist our pediatrician referred us to asked. According to the nutritionist, it is pretty common for toddlers to be picky eaters. However, "picky" usually means the child will only eat a handful of foods - but they will eat LOTS OF those foods. The parents of these kids go crazy feeding them chicken fingers and mac n'cheese meal after meal, wishing they'd eat a green bean and wondering how to get vitamins into that pasta. But their kids continue to gain weight.

Baby Zog is a little different. Although he refuses to eat most "kid" foods like pasta, mashed potatoes, pizza, quesadillas, hot dogs, sandwiches, etc, he will eat a variety of foods. For the most part, he enjoys crunchy/grainy foods, fruit, dairy, and bacon. I mention bacon as its own category because it holds the distinction of being the only meat product he will eat. (We're thinking of letting him just go vegetarian.)

Food variety is not our challenge. Our challenge is delivered to us in two forms:

1. Baby Zog eats a variety of foods, but he eats very small amounts of those foods.

Not whole servings, but one slice of apple, 3 nibbles of a cookie, 2 chex, 1/2 french fry, etc.

2. On any day, Baby Zog will refuse to eat any food that he has previously enjoyed. This one is tough because it means we have to keep a giant variety available at all times and try to guess what's going to "hit the food jackpot" that day.

If you are wondering if we throw away pounds of uneaten or barely-nibbled-on food, the answer is yes. I try not to convert the wasted food into dollars in my mind.

The nutritionist visit was good and we'll return soon. She helped us devise a "plan." Here it is:

1. While we were previously throwing all our effort into getting 1,000 calories per day into the boy, for his age and height, he needs even more - around 1,300 per day. Try harder.

2. Most of the foods she usually suggests to bulk up calorie counts for kids are foods Baby Zog won't eat, so she told us to search for foods that are high calorie & high fat that we think he'll try. If those food have protein and fiber, all the better. So far our best new finds have been Organic Pop Tarts and Cheetos.

3. Stick with whole milk (she prefers organic) and stop cutting his juice with water. He needs the calories in 100% juice. This goes against everything we've been doing, but we'll return to low-sugar someday when he's gaining weight again.

4. Give him liquid nutrition drinks daily. (Of course, this gets tricky because he gets tired of them and then refuses them.)

5. Let him eat whenever he requests to - if that should happen.

6. Continue to give him daily vitamins.

In addition to offering reassurance and guidance, so also mentioned something that made both Daddy Zog and I relax a bit. She said if Baby Zog was actually "malnourished" he would stop growing taller. He is growing up like a weed - pants that fit a week ago are often too short today. So, we liked hearing that.

The unexpected side-effect of visiting a nutritionist was that we made it our mission to fatten the boy up. Our house is full of fattening foods and we work to the point of physical exhaustion trying to get Baby Zog to consume them. After a few days of charting progress (how do you calculate the calories in 3 bites of rice?) we realized that our extreme anxiety was affecting Baby Zog and he was eating less than ever. Tuesday, 603 calories. Wednesday, 756 calories. Ugh.

This brings me back to yesterday's 1,478 calories and why it's such a big deal. We decided to take a different approach for the weekend. Relaxation. We'll give Baby Zog the food and then back off. No bargaining with him. No comments like, "Baby, take another bite," "Baby, don't you want to eat this?" "Baby, show Grover how big boys drink their milk." No comments at all.

If there is anything I've learned in my 27 months of parenting it's that This Too Shall Pass. The issue we're tackling will soon be a memory. I want to chronicle our "calorie journey" because it will always be a part of Baby Zog's past. But mostly I want to be able to read back when this is behind us and we've moved on to a new challenge and say, "look, we conquered that one, we can do anything!"

Yesterday, the relaxation plan worked and my boy ate. Here's hoping today follows suit - it's 9 a.m. and we've reached about 200 calories so far. One day at a time...

Weekend With The Cuz'

What a great time we had this weekend. Not only was it a three-day weekend, but we had a nice long visit from Baby Zog's cousin, Baby Jo Jo (oh, and the baby's mommy and daddy, Aunt Katie and Uncle Jim were here too!)

While Baby Zog is certainly a little hesitant to share his favorite toys with a 10-month old who doesn't quite understand "mine" and "yours" it makes me proud to see how sweet and loving he can be with his cousin. Often he'll give her a hug, pat her on the back, tell us how cute and silly the baby is, or take a toy to her.

We had a great weekend. We played, napped, went to the park twice (finally out of the bitter winter cold), enjoyed family meals, ran around campus, devoured TCBY (a first for baby Jo Jo), and generally just relaxed. Oh and the adults even got to enjoy a wonderful Sushi-filled Saturday night out!

Click on the photo above for pics from the weekend.

Here is a video shot early Sunday Morning I like to call "Cousin Love":


And here is one from Monday afternoon. Baby Zog was displaying his beautiful singing voice for us when Baby Jo Jo decided to check out the situation:

Talk To Me

As any parent knows, being able to communicate with your child makes most situations, well, just plain easier - and more enjoyable. We have been fortunate that Baby Zog has been very verbal from a very early age. What started with "Da Da," "ball," and "bat" progressed quickly into "Mommy I dropped Grover on the floor. I need him." (Said yesterday in the car.)

Since his surgery in early December, we seem to be in the middle of a conversational typhoon. He just talks and talks...and talks. And we actually understand most of it. However, since this blog has turned into my personal record of thoughts and stories for Baby Zog to enjoy someday, I have to mention my current favorite words he uses. The few that he can't quite get right. I'm trying to remember how adorable I find this because I know soon he'll move on to something else, having conquered these. During Christmas, it was "Juggle Bells" and "Jofish," Baby Jesus' father. Now, we've got new ones...

Mommy Zog's Favorite Mispronounced Words:

Hell-a-funt - that's Elephant to the rest of us

Tang-a-rang - that would be Orangutan

Pat-a-killer - the Very Hungry one Eric Carle created

Fa-bam-a-ly - you know, Mommy+Daddy+Baby = fabamaly

Current heart-warming expressions:

"That's so cute!" - as in "oh, mommy, that puppy is so cute."

"So good, so good." - usually said in relation to food while chewing

"Bless you Mommy." - not just reserved for sneezes - coughing or blowing your nose will garner a blessing from Baby Zog too. I just got one. :)

"I need to..." - he doesn't use the word "want;" everything is a need. "I need to go play," "I need chex mix," "I need to watch Dora on the tv."

We have entered that phase where we never know what will be uttered by the boy, and much of it just makes us laugh. So fun!

P.S. The above photo was taken during a Christmas parade in December. Baby Zog had never been to a parade, and as you can see he was concentrating to take it all in. This photo really has nothing to do with this post except that it features the post author and subject -- oh and we are all bundled up which is appropriate since it is currently 17 degrees outside!

Piano Man

Whew! Is it really January 2010? Seriously? I guess that means Christmas is over and we are back to reality. We traveled nearly 1,600 miles by car to visit family in GA and MS over the last 10 days of 2009. That is over 25 hours in the car if you're wondering. What's remarkable is that Baby Zog only made a fuss for a total of about 20 minutes in those 25 hours. What a trooper!

One highlight of Baby Zog's visit to Grandma's house was the discovery of her piano. My first piano lesson was around age three so maybe we'll need to look into that for him. Perhaps he'll be a famous pianist - or a famous organizer - someday. You can judge for yourself here.