It has been a rough last few days around here. Little Man got better by Friday night, but then Saturday afternoon the girls came down with it, Trout got a secondary infection and needed antibiotics, then Monday and Tuesday the baby had the fever bug and he's been grouchy and crying and puking. Our 4 year old diswasher bit the dust and we took four days to find a new one we agree on, including all day on Sunday when we were supposed to have been going to the Building Museum, washing all the dishes by hand in the interim, using paper as much as possible. The old one had been fixed 5 times. In 4 years. We ended up getting this one. Yesterday. When BDF took off work for the second day this week. And he has no leave.
On Monday I took Trout to the doctor, and we weighed her and she had dropped 3.5 pounds since December. For her, this is a huge problem. She is 7.5 years old, she weighed 38 pounds on Monday. She is an unbelievably picky eater, and it has been getting worse and worse, and believe it or not I think part of my campaign to get them to eat healthier is backfiring, because she's eating more fruits and veggies, but they aren't exactly high in calories. Plus she has switched from drinking a lot of milk to drinking a lot of water. I weighed her this morning and she weighed 41 on our bathroom scale, which isn't that accurate, but I'm willing to take it and assume that she was dehydrated because of the sickness. We've discussed things with her and both BDF and I and the doctor told her she needs to eat more and needs to eat a wider variety of foods.
I feel like I have failed her. She told me she doesn't like to eat. She doesn't want to take the time it takes to eat. BDF is a little like that, and he was picky as a kid, too. I feel like I haven't done my job to show her how eating can be a fun and enjoyable process. I want her to enjoy mealtimes, not feel like mealtime is a chore. I really really want to declutter my kitchen and table so that we can eat our meals together at the table, which we usually don't do. BDF gets home too late, usually around bedtime, and I don't really like sitting down at the table to eat. But she needs me to do it, and I want to do that for her.
I'm tired. I'm also depressed. BigDaddyFish and I are having a tough time right now. He hates his job and ends up taking his frustration at all of that on us by being worse than his normally grouchy self. Combine that with my own depression and feeling of being overwhelmed by the constant needs of four little people and it's a powder keg waiting for a spark. It doesn't take much for it to blow.
We're trying to work it out, and I'm working on trying to figure myself out and fix some of my own issues. But the timing of everything is atrocious.
I may not be on here much the next few days or so. I need a bit of time to try and get my head together and take care of my family, catch up on the house, work on my grandfather's estate, and do some other writing to honor other commitments that I've made. When I come back, I'll take some time to reflect on my year in blogging (I completely missed my blogiversary last month). Maybe it'll help me find me again.
hang in there fg. hope it gets better soon.
Posted by: Kristen | June 15, 2007 at 07:49 AM
I've lucked out, in that my kid is a fantastic eater, but when I was a little girl I was much like Trout. I was the scrawny kid who rarely weighed enough to even make it onto the height/weight chart. I was the kid who didn't like to eat, who didn't feel much hunger, who just didn't want to take the time to eat. My mom dealt with part of it by letting me read at the table. I love to read, always have, and if I could read while eating I'd spend more time eating.
You haven't failed her, Fishy. It's not because of something you did or didn't do, it's just the way she is, just like my kid is a good eater because that's just who he is, not because I produce magically delicious meals. (And it's certainly not because I give him Lucky Charms. The most sugary cereal you'll find in my house is Frosted Mini Wheats, and those are my husband's.) And she's healthy even though she's skinny, right?
FWIW, I grew up from being a stick of a kid to become a woman who has to work to keep her weight down. I grew out of not liking to eat, too. Food and I are best friends now.
Posted by: Summer | June 15, 2007 at 09:59 AM
Believe it or not Fishygirl,
I was a stick skinny kid who never ate anything. I was such a picky eater I can still remember my mom trying in vain to get me to eat especially at dinner time. She would cook 2 or 3 different things hoping I would eat something. Around age 10, I started liking food more and now of course I love food :) It can be genetic as my father never ate a variety of foods and neither does anyone on my dad's side. My uncle only ate Cheerios, milk, bread until he was well into his twenties. He never ate meals at the table during holidays. So I wouldn't worry about it. Hang in there!
Posted by: Minnow | June 15, 2007 at 10:56 AM
My nine, almost ten year old weighs 48 pounds. My 7.5 year old weighs 45. Both are skinny, skinny kids with lots of energy.
I know it's hard, but try not to worry. She's eating well, exercising enough, right? Some people are heavier and some are lighter, and she's one of the lighter ones.
We can talk about it next month!
Posted by: Carmen | June 15, 2007 at 03:17 PM
I weighed 20 kg (44 lb) when I was 9 years old - trust me, she'll be fine :-) My mom was always trying to get me to eat. She took me to a nutritionist, who said I had to eat three meals a day and three snacks. I developed some bad eating habits at that time because the snacks I was given were chips and cookies (for the calories). She will eat when she is hungry and it sounds like she likes foods that are good for her. I promise you that she won't die of starvation!! xo J
Posted by: Fish-flopper | June 15, 2007 at 05:01 PM