Last week I took Miss G. to her 4 year old check up and her over all health is good. The doctor did express some concerns about the amount of weight she gained over the last year.I will say that my first reach was, is this doctor labeling this African American child. Then I regrouped, due the working relationship that I have with her pediatrician and the care that she given to her over the years. The doctor also stated that she was tall as a 6 year but she weight as much as a 8 year old, so she could not really tell if the weight was a concern or not. She got me all confused. Now I am supposed to watch her carb intake and give her more fruits and veggies, which she already loves, last year it was how much milk intake she was getting. It is so frustrating.Miss G goes through periods of time when she is a little puffy to when she has a huge growth period and really lean. Now since that visit, I have been limiting her snacks, which tend to be high in carbs and balance them more out other choices. It is just hard because she loves peanut butter and graham cracker, chips, granola and granola bars but they all have carbs in them. UGH! My mom said not to worry about it, because I am doing a good job with her, but I do want her be healthy.
I think that my biggest concern is that I do not want her to be overweight. I have never been a size 6 and right now I am at the lowest I have been in years wearing a size 16. I never let my weight to put limits on my life and I do not want her to have to make that type of choice in her life a well. She is an active child, she takes dance and loves her swim class. She runs and plays at school and we talk walks and she loves to ride her bike, but the doctor wants me to increase her activity. I am looking into soccer and tee ball for more activity for her. I am torn because I do not want to put an emphasis on her weight or how she eats, because I think that it might cause other self-esteem issues.
This parenting thing is hard because I don't want to put my food/weight issues on her but I also want to ensure that she is healthy. If you have any healthy eating suggestions or fun activities that get us moving as a family let me know.
Comments
Also, dance parties at home is fun cardio. We do them at random in our house just cuz I like to act a fool, not even for health reasons lol. And as long as she's eating healthy foods, I say let her eat as much as she feels she needs.
Good luck. You're right, this parenting thing is hard, and you're such an intentional mommy. You're doing a great job. Go with your gut. ^5.
@ OK Dani Thank you for you comments. I have been trying to adding more walks and bike rides throughout the week. I have been adding more fruits and veggies for dinner and looking at her snacks. Thanks for your suggestions!