Monday, August 27, 2012

Little Miss Stressed-Out Cutie

I have a feeling that the silly things my kids do now is just the tip of the iceberg!

Seriously, how am I supposed to keep a straight face when they disobey in such a cute fashion?

Ellie now has a new little move she likes to pull out when she is in trouble.

We have a rule that the kids can't stand on the couch. We've made a point of teaching them that, "couches are for sitting; not for standing." It's a matter of safety. We have hardwood floors, and although we have blue mats over the majority of the living room area, it still hurts to fall off of the couch! Besides, it's not too early to teach manners as they apply to using furniture. :)

At this point, we have been carefully working on this rule for a couple of months. The kids all know exactly what behavior we expect from them, but like most toddlers, they do like to push the boundaries.

Ellie will stand up and dance around the couch while giggling...often directly in front of us. We can tell that she knows she's not supposed to do that, but she does it anyway. When we catch her standing, we always point at her and say, "Ellie, sit down!" I didn't realize that we did this until she started doing it back. Now when we tell her to sit down, she remains standing, points back at us, and waves her finger like she is telling us to sit down. She's also started pointing at her siblings when they stand on the couch to tell them to sit down.

For a kid who can't talk yet, she sure is has a lot to say!

It's adorably cute and hilarious, but probably not the response we should be looking for from our offspring! It's next to impossible to stay serious when she stands there waving her finger back at me while I correct her. Yikes! I'm sure this is just the beginning of it!

Ellie at the Park Last Week

This little cutie also pulled a fast one on us last week.

We've been so concerned with Abby and her eating issues, that we didn't worry about the other kids. Caleb and Elijah always eat well (and leave a total mess in their wake!). Ellie eats pretty well too, although much more daintily than the boys. Abby is the one who is ridiculously picky and tries to avoid meals.

Yet somehow, Ellie only gained one ounce between her 15 month appointment and her 18 month appointment which we had on Wednesday.

Really, Elle Belle? One ounce?!

Sean and I thought for sure that the nurse had mixed up the two girls while weighing them. So much so, that we asked the doctor to re-weigh Ellie. Sure enough. One scrawny little ounce. On top of that, her head isn't growing.

And Abby? She gained plenty and the doctor isn't concerned about her at all!

We now have Ellie on a daily Boost drink supplement to try to get her weight up. In a month, we will go back to the doctor to have her weight checked again.

Her doctor and therapist said that it's quite possible that she hasn't gained weight because she is such a stressed out little kid. I guess I didn't realize that her sensory issues could contribute to lack of weight gain!

She's literally stressing her calories out as fast as she eats them. (And I'm trying not to be a smidge jealous since I tend to run on the stressed-out side myself!)

I'm a little lost what to do once our month on Boost is up. I'm not sure how to change the stress level of my 18 month old daughter enough to help her gain weight long term without having to resort to nutritional drinks.

Hmm...I suppose if all else fails, I can just hand her a stick of butter and tell her to go to town! :)

16 comments:

  1. I wish I could lose weight under stress, or at least burn the calories I take in. But noooo, I retain and gain weight under stress! As concerned as I know you are, I so appreciate the hummorous way you ended your post with the stick of butter! We sooo need humor to relieve the stresses in life. Keep up the good work, and thank you for giving us a window into your world.

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    1. Hehe! I wondered if anyone would get that the "stick of butter" was a joke (mostly). Good to know it came across okay!

      Honestly, I have to laugh otherwise the daily frustrations would overwhelm me. It's easier to find them funny!

      And I have the same problem with gaining weight under stress. It just doesn't seem fair, does it?

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  2. LOVE the stick of butter! I'm with Tina above - I GAIN weight with stress.

    We have the same thing we our 7 yr old and 1 1/2 yr old - it's so hard not to laugh when they do these things, but the last thing they need is to see us laugh. Sometimes my husband and I go into our room and shut the door and quietly laugh, or we make a big production about how "mommy and daddy need to go to the basement now and talk about this" and then we laugh!
    --Andrea C. from Blue Ridge

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    1. LOL! I love that you guys "have to go talk about it." That probably strikes fear in your kids' hearts. I knew it would never turn out well when my parents had to "go talk about it." But now I wonder how many times they were laughing behind closed doors. :)

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  3. I'm surprised they're that concerned about it, my lil one only weighed 17 pounds at a year. It was like pulling teeth to get her to eat anything!! Now she's 2 1/2 and still barely eats, but her pediatrician said she eats like a normal person SHOULD eat, but the proportion sizes of our country have gone out of control and that's why there is so many obese people. I wouldn't stress about it too much, she's getting what she needs! My lo now weighs in at 23 pounds and is doing just fine. If I recall correctly her lil nogging didn't grow much either between those two appts. Good luck!

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    1. Yeah, I'm not sure what it means if her head doesn't grow, and I haven't googled it because I don't want to know right now. I'll googling it in a month if necessary.

      I don't think her current weight is the problem as much as it's that she hasn't gained much weight. I know I was on the little side when I was her age (wish I could still say I was on the little side!)We are giving her 4 oz of Boost or Ensure day now and hoping that pushes her over the hump. But I'm really trying not to borrow trouble by worrying about it until I have to.

      So glad to know that your daughter is doing well and that her slow weight gain didn't matter in the long run!

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  4. Oh how I wish I could lose weight when I am stressed, but I am the opposite, lol! Hopefully the boost should do the trick for your little cutie.


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    1. I hope so too! And I'm with you on wishing I could lose weight when stressed too! :)

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  5. From around 10 months, my girls' weight gain has been unimpressive. They just cracked the 22lb mark in the last 1 month and they're almost 2. The best thing that worked for their weight gain is when I add 2 scoops of formula to their milk cups. Everytime I do that, I see weight gain plus they seem more active and show better all-round development. When I stop, their weight flatlines.

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    1. Hmm...I never thought about reintroducing some formula! Thanks for the suggestion! It sounds like it works really well for your girls!

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  6. One of my twins has sensory issues, and I would strongly recommend (in your free time, ha ha) reading "Sensational Kids" by Lucy Jane Miller. It could help you not only with Ellie, but with Abby's eating aversion as well. If you want to borrow my copy, let me know!

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    1. Thanks for the offer, Therese!

      I may just take you up on that at some point! I wish I had more time to read. There are so many awesome resources out there and so little time to make it through all of them. I really appreciate it and will let you know when I have a second to borrow and read it! :)

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  7. No help here on the weight issue, but I can totally relate on the finger-pointing. My college roommate was very small and short, and when she'd had one too many beers (we were in college!), she would stand there and point her finger at the rest of us, telling us what to do or NOT to do. Too funny! Then when her own daughter was two years old, she found that finger pointing back at her! We told her it was payback for all the times she pointed it at us!
    Lee Ann

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    1. LOL! That's hilarious!! Like mother, like daughter! Hehe! I'd tell her it was payback too! ;)

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  8. Is it wrong to be a smidge jealous that your little cutie pie can stress her calories away? =) She's too cute and sounds like her wonderfully attentive mama will have her right back on growing track in no time-- even if it involves a stick of butter. =)

    Aloha,
    Following ya here and on pinterest from Our Everyday Harvest's hop. If you're up for a bit of a ride I'd love for you to join me at localsugarhawaii.com where we're riding the wave of life one little adventure at a time.

    xo,
    Nicole
    localsugarhawaii.com

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Nicole! :)

      Hey, I'm jealous of her calorie burning too! Lucky little thing! :)

      Looking forward to checking out your blog!

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