Old Habits Die Hard.... (obesity is hard to overcome) Ramblings & pics.

First - I just celebrated my 5 year "surgeriversary" last week.   So the whole weight loss / obesity subject has been on my mind.

Cooper is 10 months old now and feeding himself more -- finger foods.  And I am panicing because I don't feel like he's eating enough.  I know I equate food with happiness.  I think eating more will make him sleep better.  Play better.  Be happier.  Last night I made him an egg, a piece of sausage and a piece of (baby bread) with jelly.  He ATE NOT ONE BITE and I had to resist the urge to open a jar of baby food or container of yogurt just to get him to eat. 

And guess what?  he slept for 8 hours straight last night. (this is rare for him)  See?  Eating more didn't equal better sleep....   

Why can't I get over the idea that food solves everything?  Hrm... anyway... I don't expect you'll have any answers to that.  I just needed to verbalize my frustrations with my own relationship with food so I can make sure I don't impart them onto my son. 

Second -  Cooper finally had his 9 month appointment (late) and he is 26 lbs and 13 oz and 31.5 inches tall.  That makes him 95th percentile for height and 95th for weight.   Doc says he's not concerned about Cooper's lack of babbling (well duh - he hasn't been concerned this whole time - apparently only *I* am concerned!).     The reason I'm not insisting Cooper get evaluated is that he has made progress.... he POINTS TO EVERYTHING and wants to know words.  I just hope some day the words will floweth from his mouth!   The doc said he should say 3 words by 1 year.  I don't think we'll be there! 

Oh and see picture below for his newest acheivement!

Okay.... enough babbling.  Thanks for listening to my late night rambles.  It helps to get that whole food thing off my chest and I know you ladies will understand better than anyone!

My before and after pics....  I'm still 20lbs heavier than my lowest weight, but Cooper is worth it!

  

Cooper Pointing



And.... TADA.... Cooper can pull himself up!




Have a good night!

Cindy

 Cooper is adorable!!  He is such a good looking little man, well not so little!  :)  Don't worry too much about his speaking abilities.  Every child learns at a different pace and the kids who talk later on will eventually catch up with the early talkers and then may even pass the early talkers for a while.  No worries.  Besides, then you have to listen to them all the time!! JK  Libby talks A LOT!  She is now 19 months old and says over 100 words.  She will copy everything you say.  She has copied my "oh crap" and "oh fuck" so now Mommy needs to learn to watch her mouth!  My doctor said by 18 months they should have 8 words in their vocab, give or take.  My friends little boy was born the same day as Libby and says MAYBE 3 or 4 words.  However, he knows quite a few signs, which will obviously delay his speech a bit.  Just keep talking to him and encouraging him to talk and he will be begging him to be quiet in no time!!  :)

Oh, and with the eating..  Libby will sleep 12-13 hours a night and not eat a single thing for dinner.  It is odd.  Then there are nights where she surprises us and eats a small amount of food and wakes up a hand full of times.  No rhyme or reason.

My dad was like 3 I think when he started talking. He just didn't need to. He would point and grunt and get it. When he did start talking he was talking in complete sentances.

Old habits do die hard! I come from an Irish & Italian family where everything we do is surrounded by food and drink. It makes us happy to feed people. I am going to have to fight this with  my own children I know.

Cooper is just a cutie and you can tell the wheels are turning he is just waiting for that  moment to come out with all his words! lol biding his time if you will.

You have done an amazing job! You look teriffic.

Congrats to Cooper on pulling himself up too! You are in trouble now Mom! 

Liz

wow on pulling him self up.. as far as babbling... he might not have anything to say... jayson is a huge babbler at 18 months... he has a few words... hi..bye.. what.. wait.. why...bad... mommy...yeah.. sometimes he will say baby... oy yay ( which means hey in spanish)  and puppy... however he understands what im saying perfect.. and can even follow 2 step directions such as ... "go get your cup and then come here"... jayson was a late crawlers... walker.. so im sure talking will be late too.. im not worried.. ohh and im a little heart broken there are not any fu pics LOL

OMG! YOU LOOK AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO!!!!

That said, I noticed lately I was doing the same thing with my 8 year old, trying to make harim finish all of his food even when he says he's full. I started thinking about it, and I dont recall doing that before surgery, I would just finish his leftovers! Ive started by letting him know to eat the healthiest things first, which he has always been really good about doing. I asked him recently why that was, and he said he saves the tastiest thing for last lol. That way, if he dosent finish everything, I know he atleast got some fruit and veggies in. I also have been making more of an effort to offer lots of fruits and veggies, and Im so lucky to not have a picky eater! Im glad to know im not the only one who has had issues with expecting kids to 'need' to eat everything! The fact that we are able to reconize it shows we are on the road to recovery!

BTW, Cooper is so precious!

I think I tend to have the opposite reaction with Rowan; I'm always trying to be very aware of not pushing food on him or making him finish things. My husband tries a little harder to get him to eat more, but I think that is his neurosis at work too - he's always been really skinny! He is also, I think, sort of stuck on Rowan's low weight percentile early on (25th for a while), but now he's in the 45th percentile, so I think we can relax!
Cooper looks a lot like mommy!

Cindy,

First of all you are beautiful!! And that Cooper is going to be a heart-breaker with those eyes and that hair!!

I sure wouldn't worry about the "3 words by 1 year". Doctors always have "guidelines". Once he gets to chattering, you probably won't be able to shut him up! LOL My step-grandson didn't say much of anything until he was about 2 1/2. Now he's 3 and talks CONSTANTLY!!

As far as the food-thing. I think I can relate. I don't have any kids (yet), but I relate food and happiness, or at least contentment, with every living thing. My husband, my cat, my horse are all effected by MY obsession with food! My husband can eat a big plate of supper and if he doesn't eat a 2nd, or even 3rd helping, I feel like I must have made a bad meal. If my cat meows for ANY reason, I'm running to the food bowl to make sure it's full. There's no escaping it.

I'm so worried about what I'll do to this child. Will I over feed, or will I starve it? I've told my husband numerous times that I don't want my kid to be "fat" like I was. Nobody deserves that kind of life. I want to spare him/her all those terrible feelings if at all possible. I don't know....

Anyway, you're doing a good job! Keep up the good work!

 

My baby...now 15...jabbered until he was 5!  I couldn't understand a word that boy said!  Funny how his older brother always knew exactly what he was trying to tell me.

Cindy,
You do look amazing! And Cooper is such a cutie. I understand the food issues. My daughter has started wanting to snack or graze all the time because she is at home and doesn't go to daycare, and will finally start Preschool next fall. I try not to make a big deal about food, but I have had to set some limits- I think she is already learning to equate eating and boredom! Darn it! But when she was smaller I didn't force her to eat-  A toddler/baby stomach is so small that it doesn't take much. I usually don't force her to eat anything particular, and I have been giving he rmore fruits. She isn't a picky eater per se. If she doesn't want to eat she usually won't eat anything. I agree that it is tough! I think we'll never get over it entirely.

Carrie