The Skinny

On Friday, we went to Toys R Us. Of course the only toy that Alex even looked twice at was - you guessed it - a maniacal, dimple-headed, dancing Boohbah. The thought of it has finally stopped giving me the chills. Almost. We did bring home an adorable little wagon that holds alphabet shapes. And, as he quickly figured out, a 20 pound boy who now constantly insists on being dragged around for a ride. This weekend was a big one for spoiling - we also bought him a steam roller toy (boy's first truck!) and a giant rubber ball.

While drinking our coffee and channel surfing on Saturday, we came across "Soul Train" and had to stop to make sure all the dancers were wearing clean panties. And even though Alex wasn't the least bit interested in earning his Panty Patrol badge yet, we had the misfortune of witnessing his love of P-Diddy. As soon as the "music" started, he was up at the TV shaking his booty with the rest of 'em. His father and I are still in shock. Even though it was hilarious, we'd be less offended to find him dancing along to David Hasselhoff.

Other new stuff from Mr. Pants: He squats now. It used to make him tumble over, but now it's his favorite position. It's like sitting for the attention deficient - he can get up and move on to the next thing that much quicker.

Also new: everything is a phone. Uncle Tommy's laptop mouse, the hairbrush, the tube of Aveeno lotion on the changing table, the remote control, mom's wallet, the empty roll of toilet paper - nothing in the house is safe from being held up to the back of his head while he repeats "da, da, da?" in a futile attempt to contact his father, whose lap he may actually be sitting on at the time. You should've seen his face when I gave in and handed him his dad's actual cellphone, which is on the blink anyhow, so why not? He played with it long enough to realize that it was broken and then promptly walked over, got on his tippy toes and threw it in the trash.

So what is the point of this post? Oh! Skinniness. We met another couple and their cute 8 month old at the park on Saturday. Their kid was almost twice Alex's size. He made Mr. Pants look like some sort of walking infant freak. Which is FINE by me. I'm totally okay that our kid isn't the biggest on the block. But it's driving Dave INSANE. He's SO SO SO worried that our boy is not growing fast enough. Or that I'm not feeding him enough. Dave constantly pesters me about what he's being fed. I'll happily answer "oatmeal, bananas, blueberries, a hunk of cheese, yogurt" etc. All Dave cares about is "Where's the meat?@!?!?" "Did he get any sausage?!?!"

So my question is, how much meat should a meathead eat if a meathead should eat meat? Seriously, if you have a toddler, what do you feed it?

Comments

[David]

I think you left out the part about him going from 8-3/4 lbs to 18 pounds in the first six months of his life and only gaining 3 pounds during the entire second six months of his life.

Yes, I am a wee bit concerned.

Boy's Overly Concerned Daddy

[Jamie]

Joe rarely gets meat, except for those foul "meat sticks" that are in a jar. He occasionally gets bits of chicken and eats them, and my MIL will feed him bits of ground beef or lamb, but really, he's not a big meat-eater.
I worry about his protein intake, so I try giving him a lot of eggs (easy to make in so many different ways!) and yogurt. I'm also a terrible mom because I cut up cubes of toast for him in the morning with a light peanut butter smear. So far, no allergic reaction. Oh yes, and the prerequisite cheese cubes.
But as for actual MEAT, yeah, not so much.

Missed seeing you guys this weekend. Hopefully soon, though!! :)

[Amanda]

Unfortunately Alex is allergic to eggs - he breaks out with a tiny rash within 30 minutes. Who knew eggs were in EVERYTHING?

I'm going to see what the pediatrician says about nutrition at this age. I want a list - it's the old dieter in me - how many grams of protein, how many calories, etc. I'll let you know what it says. His appointment is in a few weeks.

[rachel]

I'm sure he is growing exactly the way he's supposed to be growing, and I doubt there's anything to worry about. Kids are supposed to have spurts and slowdowns. And look at it this way: my boy is very tall with a big head, and he was walking much later than yours as a result because it was hard for him to balance. So being small-ish has its advantages.

In re: meat, I feed it to him as often as we eat it. Meaning, usually (but not always) for dinner. Cheese, yogurt or 'fu for lunch. Cereal for breakfast. The closer his diet is to ours, the easier my life is, and that's what it's all about! ;D

[Laura]

Dear Boy's Concerned Father:

While it seems like it would be better for him to grow at that same rate all the time, he sounds totally normal. My son is about the same age, and about the same size. Born at 5 pounds, 14 ounces (he's a twin) and at age one, weighs 22 pounds. He's in size 18 month clothing. If they kept doubling their weight every six months, well. That'd probably not be so good. LOL! Has your little man been to the pediatrician for his 12-month checkup? I'll bet the doctor will tell you he's healthy and growing just great!

P.S. Our babies eat meat about as often as yours. I try to emphasize a protein and a carb at every meal. Sometimes it's chicken and noodles. Sometimes it's cottage cheese and yogurt.