The child had a doctor’s appointment yesterday afternoon to check his ears. They are looking improved but not 100% better after the antibiotics. But that’s no surprise. It’s all good, though. He doesn’t seem to be in pain, and we’re seeing the ENT in a couple weeks.

The real drama came when the doctor weighed him and he’d lost a pound since he was last in 2 weeks ago. A POUND in two weeks!!!! Even the doctor is concerned now, and suggested regular weigh-ins at the clinic if he still hasn’t gained anything by his ENT appointment.

After asking me a few questions about Lewis’ diet and diapers, the doctor said I should focus on adding in protein- and fat-rich foods. At that moment, I had a revelation – I have a good eater, but maybe I’m not feeding him the right things!

I had been so confused about why he wasn’t gaining weight – he eats and eats and eats! He’s such a good eater!!! Why oh why isn’t he gaining weight? Well… yes it’s true that he eats a ton. He eats pouches upon pouches of pureed veggies and fruits, fistfuls of cheerios, and blueberries and raspberries until he’s sticky from head to toe, and sometimes he sticks half a banana in his mouth at once (so cute with his chipmunk cheeks!).

But look at that list. Where is the protein? Where is the fat? It isn’t just that he’s eating, it is what he is eating.

Duh.

I was just too concerned about what kinds of nutrients he was getting, and was satisfied to just give him what he liked, and wasn’t focused enough on the fat and protein. I thought my breastmilk and the cow’s milk would do the heavy lifting on that front. My focus was too narrow, and I failed to look at the bigger picture. Thank the lord for a doctor who got through to me without making me feel attacked or guilty for not understanding such a basic concept earlier.

Armed with this revelation, we’re now going to try to get Lewis to eat more meat, cheese, yogurt, peanut butter, avocados, etc. And the doctor said to try to push more and more cow’s milk, since he isn’t actually drinking all that much.

Most of the high fat/protein foods on the list above are not Lewis’ favorites. They’ve all been offered, but the majority are things he does not eat willingly. So it will be a battle to get him interested. And while he loves cow’s milk, he doesn’t drink more than a couple ounces of it at a time.

For the milk battle, we’re on the hunt for a sippy cup that he loves, which also allows him to drink easily. We think we’ve found a winner in the Munchkin brand cups that work like normal grown-up cups (but are spill proof!!! Wizardry!). He seems to enjoy those the most, so we’ve got two more of them on the way with Amazon Prime.

I will also be sending him to daycare with more solid foods and fewer pouches, and sippy cups instead of bottles. The cups will be filled with a combo of breastmilk and cow’s milk, since the doctor said cow’s milk actually has more calories than breastmilk.

BUT I will not be changing our new breastfeeding schedule. I do not want to increase it because we need to continue to shift focus to cow’s milk and solid foods, and I don’t want to decrease it because with breastfeeding still in the picture, I know for sure that he’s getting some calories + fat + protein each day. It is quite obvious that solids + cow’s milk are unreliable sources of sustenance for him, and breastfeeding is still a hit. Breastfeeding provides a guaranteed baseline that I don’t think it would be wise to take away. So weaning is on hold, in the interest of keeping Lewis fed and healthy.

I had a lot of anxiety about what to feed a baby with few teeth, and it looks like that anxiety was warranted. I have not been doing it right, and I must make adjustments. The combination of Lewis’ preferences for low-calorie snacks and my cluelessness has clearly led us astray. But we’ve got a plan, and we’ll work it out.