report card time

alaythia turned 9 months old this week. so i took her in for her check up. for a stay at home mom a check up feels a little like a report card. are they developing properly, are they healthy, are they growing? what you should be expecting the next few months as you try to imagine life with a crawler, walker and talker.

so i walk into the appointment with alaythia clean, fresh, fed, with her best face on. she's a healthy, growing, perfect girl. i'm feeling pretty good about myself thank you. at the end of the appointment the doctor throws something out, almost as a tack on. an 'oh yeah'.

'alaythia's growth chart shows that she hasn't gained much weight in the past few months. sometimes when you have a toddler you think your 2nd is eating enough when in fact, they might not be. i would encourage you to watch carefully how much alaythia is eating, you might be surprised at how much she can eat.'

wait...is she telling me i'm not feeding my kid enough? is she really saying that i could be keeping her hungry? do you know me? do you know the family i come from? we are professional eaters. you could accuse me of a lot of things, but not feeding my kids enough? no way.

i come home determined to see if in fact she can eat more.... i try and try at lunch time. not interested. see, i'm doing okay. she's not hungry. i try to convince myself. dinner rolls around, new tactic, i try more fingery foods. and sure enough alaythia ate about 3 times the amount i usually give her. i sat there in turmoil. glad that she was enjoying and eating to her hearts content. sad that she might have been hungry these past few months. and being the sweet little girl she is, never complained.

well my dear daughter, it's confirmed. welcome to the family that loves to eat. i'm afraid you're one of us.