Right now, I'm pricing laptops.

You too? How's that working out for you?

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Are there people who would risk their daughters getting CANCER because they might have teh sex?

Yes.

Although actually I suspect most of them never think of their own daughters having teh sex.

I frelled my right shoulder. I probably overloaded it doing military presses, and then rather than it getting to recover, I've been carrying 30 pounds of boychild around. Now I can't lift my arm.

And said boychild has decided that 7:30 am is the time to practice his outdoor voice indoors...which is not so good, as the DH didn't get to bed until 2:30 am.

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I've been carrying 30 pounds of boychild around. Now I can't lift my arm.

30... pounds?

::stares at 17lb, 6oz (as of Tuesday) daughter who fell off the growth charts and seems to dislike eating::

So, err... how DO you get your toddler to eat enough food, because I'm at my wit's end here.

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I...well...I don't do anything. He loves to eat. He loves spinach and broccoli and pasta and most especially Chinese food and beef stew. Even if he's got a distended frog belly from eating so much, if he sees an adult eating, he zips over to mooch (and he has a very high success rate at that).

This means that my day is spent in large part shovelling food into him, but he's still really thin. I think most of the weight is his head.

I don't know...I was concerned when he dropped from the 75% for height and weight to the 75% and 65%, respectively, but the doctor said that toddlers this age do tend to slow up their weight gain. Didn't Em go through the same phase? Maybe girls are less in favor of food than boys at this age? I know the folks Mallory stayed with in Moldova were agog at his eating power - they said their two toddler girls are very picky and slow eaters.

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I don't honestly think Mom has had a real exam since she dealt with the uterine cancer... Something over 20 years ago. And it's not that she's "sex is bad and evil" either... I don't get it.

I don't know how long it's been since my mom has seen a gyno. Granted, she had a massive hysterectomy 33 years ago (along with chemo and radiation for uterine cancer)--but I know she's been having some comfort issues related to sex and I told her she needed to go see a freakin' doctor if she wanted to do anything about it. *sigh*

Next year I hope to stay a couple months now that I have solved the internet and phone issues. Tonight they say it may get to 38F!!!!

Laura, it sounds as if you have the best of both worlds with Otter Lake!

You too? How's that working out for you?

Surprisingly well. It's amazing how I'm not letting the big lack of money stop the process. Most places I'm looking at have six months same as cash and if I go for a mid-priced model with my minimum requirements, I may just be able to pull it off.

::stares at 17lb, 6oz (as of Tuesday) daughter who fell off the growth charts and seems to dislike eating::

::boggle:: Liv was 16 lbs at her six month appointment last week. Owen's at the toddler eating stage--meaning he'll only eat some fruit, maybe some cheese and triscuits, if I'm lucky. He tosses everything else off the plate to the dogs and then yells, "MMMMMmmmmmm's!" *shrug* I try not to beat my head up against a wall because it's pretty normal. All you can do is offer them lots of stuff and hope they eventually take to it. I saw a nutritionist on Yummy Mummy who said toddlers don't need a big variety. Even a few good items in rotation should give them what they need.

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Enjoy, sj! Maybe now we'll be able to convince you to come visit more of us far flung Buffistas. Hint.

Teacup Guy doesn't get any vacation time for 6 months, so if I do any travelling between now and then it will have to be by myself, which is fine. I think I will likely be going alone to see T sometime this Autumn.

I'm going for afternoon tea with Teacup Guy's stepmother today as a belated birthday gift. Now I just have to wake up.

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So, err... how DO you get your toddler to eat enough food, because I'm at my wit's end here.

She was sick a few times recently. That may affect her weight for a while. Chris is finally back to what he was before Christmas, as of this month. He lost a few lbs with the first post-Christmas illness, and the next ones came soon enough after that they screwed with his appetite. He now has no ass, whatsoever. Neither Scott nor I are assless. None of our kids (including Chris) have ever been assless before. You can imagine my alarm! My father, who Chris resembles, was so assless, I think he owed the ass fairy money.

Most kids seem like they're going to waste away at Lillian's age. But they don't. See if your mom remembers how big you were at Lillian's age. I know you were wee. I bet she's about the same size you were.

You mostly can't make her eat. Most of the things you can "try" end up in a struggle of the wills, and Lillian will win, because she is a toddler who doesn't have to work and raise a toddler, and therefore has had less will killed off by the world. She'll also win, because she owns the mouth and digestive tract. There are a few things you can do, silently, so as not to arose Super!Willian.

• No milk with/before meals

(Breast-milk or cow's milk) Toddlers will almost always drink their milk, but milk stays in the stomach for hours (I want to say 4, but I disremember), and for a kid with a flimsy appetite, who is much more interested in wreaking havoc in your home, a few ounces of milk is enough to make meals a boring, unappealing chore.

If she always eats breakfast well, or always eats lunch well, you can give her milk with the well-eaten meal(s), but give water with the ignored meals, and milk after. My kids always had room for milk after a meal, but seldom had room for a meal after milk.

• Ask Daycare what she eats in a given day, and when.

If you have to, insist they track it, since you don't think she's gaining enough. If you see any problems there, that might be screwing up her appetite, ask them to make some adjustments.

• Remember most toddlers seem to eat the sum total of two okayish meals, at most, a day
  

This was true of my own children, and over the years, most mothers I've talked to (including my own, and my m-i-l [a mother of 9]) have confirmed the equivalent of two meals is pretty much a normal state of affairs for a toddler.

• To assess her nutritional intake, don't look at what she eats in a given meal or a given day. Instead, consider a week at a time.
  

In a given day, she's probably not getting enough nutrients, and you'll freak if you think too much about it. Over a week's time, she's probably getting what she needs. Consider vitamin drops if you're not opposed, and if your pedi thinks it's okay for Lillian. This won't help with weight/height, but it might help address other deficiencies.

• Of the foods she likes best (or hates the least), offer the ones that are highest in calories and/or whatever else you want her to have: Cheese! Yogurt! Macaroni (add an extra pat of butter, and xtra cheese).

Most of these things aren't things you can do to Lillian, because she's going to win. She's also going to be okay. She's just a peanut. What did her doctor say?

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Cindy's got a lot of great ideas there, the most important is the milk. Even up til the time my brothers and I were 6 or 7 we couldn't have milk before a meal, only with. Mom said flat out, "it will spoil your appetite." Although, there were times we'd be very picky breakfast eaters and she'd make us egg nogs (sans the booze, of course) because they had a little bit more than just the milk to keep us going until lunch.

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Am more impressed everyday with buffista parents.

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