Annabelle has finally started to gain weight! After a dramatic slow down of weight gain (falling from the 90th percentile to the 50th with a gain of only 3 ounces in six months) Annabelle has started to eat. She has eaten well every day for about ten days.It's such a relief!
I can't tell you how much it bothered me to suffer through an entire day or two of her refusal of food. On those days I would work SO hard just to get her to eat maybe a single rice cake, a bite of cucumber and half a banana... and that's all she would eat besides nursing a few times.
And, true to form, all it took was Annabelle finally making up her mind that she wanted to do it. Until I met Annabelle I never really knew how willful a one year old could be.
We owe a large part of our success to Addie, Annabelle's new little dolly. Last Saturday we had a garage sale and my mom pulled open a bag full of stuff I had decided to sell a long time ago. Annabelle reached into the bag and yanked out this terribly ugly homemade doll made with plastic parts and bright purple acrylic fiber. It even had purple hair. I couldn't stand it. Annabelle didn't put it down for two hours.
Since my daughter had never played with the same toy for more than ten straight minutes in her entire life, I immediately recognized that she was ready to attach herself to a transitional object. I started to panic, not really feeling ready for the moment. I didn't have anything at hand that I could use to encourage her attachment. I instantly remembered this doll I had seen at Target.
So I picked up Annabelle and we dashed off to get her her very own Addie. And wouldn't you know, Annabelle hardly lets go of her. She nurses with Annabelle. She dances too. Annabelle even hugs her tight in her sleep.
But best of all, they eat together. And when Annabelle feeds Addie she places the food to her doll's lips and then quickly shoves it in her own mouth, chews, and swallows. Some nights when Annabelle is done eating dinner after only about five minutes, "Addie" will continue to eat for twenty minutes or more! It's wonderful!
There are, of course, some side affects- both good and bad: Dave and I can finally enjoy some extended conversation during dinner because Annabelle is engrossed in the activity of feeding Addie. This is really nice for us. Annabelle has visibly gained weight. This is a relief and also a mixed blessing... I sit here with sore shoulders and a really sore back! I've been schlepping the same 24 pounds around for the last four months, and I actually noticed the jump in weight this past week. My baby-weight routine just kicked itself up a notch, I guess, and I wasn't prepared for the harder work.
Annabelle signing to Addie about eating.
