Did anyone watch 20/20 tonight?

August 14, 2000

Hi Cheryl,

I know it's easy to say.. but try to relax a little bit with the calorie

counting and worrying at meals.

Very soon Jake will take advantage of your behaviour and literally play with

your emotions and end-up refusing to eat just to test his power on you. This

is what Leo did to me. We were ready to do whatever entertainment during

meal-time, just to try to make him eat, and very soon, he would just refuse

to eat without us making fools of ourselves :-( ...

I have to admit that it is still far from being ideal, now, Leo is a picky

eater and doesn't drink a lot, so I can't even boost his weight with high

calorie drinks, as sometimes he only drinks 5 ounces A DAY :-(((((((((

BUT I try to have a positive attitude during meals and it is my rule (and

all pediatricians's advice) never to force him to eat or cajoling him into

eating. He MUST NOT KNOW that I am upset about the little he eats. Meals

should be fun, not a battle.

Never comment on how poorly he ate. I have to admit that it's very hard and

frustrating, and no longer than Saturday, I cried after Leo's dinner (not in

front of him, of course) : He had not drunk anything, had refused everything

but half a yoghourt.... and this is no exception....

But frankly, there's nothing I can do about it.. and I just think that there

are better days.

As per your venting about people's comments on how small your baby is.. of

course I've experienced this over and over, but frankly, it never upset me.

I thought that anyway big fat babies were ugly ;-)

Sometimes I would explain, that my baby had a digestive problem and did not

assimilate fat well, that's it.

I was just a bit embarrassed to tell my son's age when asked and I would

downgrade it a bit !!

But now, at 21 monthsI know Leo is small (5th percentile) but he looks more

or less his age. I have girlfriends who have kids 3 months younger than Leo,

and they're slightly smaller !! (but heavier)

I think the best is to stop comparing your child with his siblings or

friends or he will start noticing he's different as well.

For the sleeping hours, I would suggest the same as Bridget.

As for the crying... arghhh let him cry a bit.... you say you want your

child to have a life as normal as possible...

so treat him accordingly. Crying burns maybe some calories, but it is a

wonderful breathing therapy as well !!

, mom to Leo, 21 months wcf

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