Feeling SO guilty!

[cantthinkofname]

I have just been to see the pedi with my toddler girl who is 14 months old and found out that she has only gained 400g since she was weighed last time at 9 months. I didn't realise, but now looking back at photos even from a month ago, she was a nice chubby baby, whereas now although not thin, she has definitely lost some baby fat. The pedi made another appt. in a months time to see if she has put on more weight. He said that she needs to be drinking 1/2l of milk per day, problem is she hates milk. Thinking back I can now see what happened. My breast milk has been drying up and so I wasn't giving her enough, i'd put her to sleep thinking she is protesting only because she doesn't want to sleep, when in fact she was still hungry! I then started giving her home-made chicken stock in between meals, however it really is water, so not many calories. I feel so tremedously guilty! She must have lost weight in the past couple of months. She has been doing so well on the charts now she is way below average, i had no idea that she only weight 8,6 kg! the pedi said that she should catch up pretty quickly and that i should let her eat as much and as often as she wants. We have started doing milk shakes with fruit, egg yokls and double cream to fatten her up, but generally she still doesn't eat great amounts, the pedi said that being "starved", her body has now adjusted to eating less....:( I just can't believe that I have been straving my own child! On the plus side he said that once she starts drinking milk, she will catch up really quickly although I find it hard to believe at the moment. What are the approximate amounts that she should be eating at her age and what should I give her to fatten her up?
Thanks! Eva

[winnybella]

She doesn't need to be drinking 1/2 l of milk every day- she does need to eat foods containing calcium but that can come from yoghurts, cheese etc- so if she hates milk, don't worry and try to see whether she'll eat other milk products.

Other than that, I would just give her a plate of food for every meal and let her get on with it. Eggs, bananas, avocados, hummus are all foods that are calorific and full of good stuff.

Basically the best thing to do is to let her eat as much as she wants (well, within limits, obv.). Don't start overfeeding her with all the milkskakes etc, because then you might have another problem a year down the line.

[winnybella]

Was she fed only BM and chicken stock?

[cantthinkofname]

Thanks for the tips, she doesn't feed herself, if I put food in front of her, she just plays with it. I have been feeding her what we have been eating, not just BM and stock, but even so, she still lost weight because I don't think she ate enough. The problem is that if she doesn't like something she would rather go hungry/wait until the next meal than to eat and I don't want to force her or to cook extra.

[thankyouforcats]

Maybe she is just going to be dainty and her weight will now settle at that lower percentile. This happened to my friends dd. Now aged 6 she is still tiny, barely eats, but perfectly healthy and happy. You have done nothing wrong.

[Wafflepuss]

Chicken stock?? Would you like a glass of chicken stock as a snack?

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

It does seem a strange thing to give a child but each to their own.
My DD is petite, she always has been and I empathise with you regarding the rather go hungry than eat something she doesn't like. My DD is the same still and she is 10.

[cantthinkofname]

To explain chicken stock: it is just as full of calcium as milk, because it is made from bones. She really likes it, I never gave it to her as snack but as a drink in between meals. but the difference is that milk has some calories whereas I'm guessing chicken stock doesn't have much.