Spurt

Something different is happening.

My petite-since-birth, perfectly-5th-percentile-dwelling little Nora is... well, I think she's packing on a few pounds. :) At her 12-month appointment, she was 17 lbs., 14 oz., which was right on the 5th-percentile growth curve she had been following all along. The doctor used words like "perfect" and said she was "doing exactly what she's supposed to be doing" as far as eating, drinking, and growing.

Then, at her 15-month appointment, something funny happened--Nora had gained 3+ pounds, weighing in at 21 lbs. total, pushing her into the 20th percentile. Our doctor pointed it out to us, and said, "What do you think is different?" I shrugged and said, "Well, I'm not breastfeeding anymore." (I stopped completely when she was around 13 months.) She asked how much milk we were giving her, and I quickly estimated that it was maybe 21-24 oz. a day. She said that now that Nora is eating table food, we should cut back her milk intake to a maximum of 15 oz. a day. So, we did. No big deal.

Nora has been eating like an absolute champ lately. Ever since she recovered from being sick for that week in December, she has been shoving food into her mouth by the fistful. She won't eat everything we serve her, but when she likes it, she loves it. There are times when she seems simply insatiable, and we can't imagine how her little tummy is possibly holding all of the food that she's eating. But we've always been told that babies are very good at regulating their own food intake--if they're not hungry and they don't "need" it, they won't eat it.

{check out that buddha belly! watching the beginning of "Tangled" with my mom on New Year's Eve}

Still, I think Nora might be "filling out" a bit. Her little buddha belly is hysterically round (and cute!) these days, and I notice that she feels a bit more "solid" when I lift and carry her. I (very unscientifically) weighed her at home this week and I think she could be over 22 lbs. now--and it's been less than a month since she weighed in at 21 lbs.

What gives? Everything you read/hear says that babies all "grow at their own pace," but that they're considered healthy if they "grow on the curve." In fact, from the very beginning, our pediatrician said that assuming she goes through life eating healthfully with a balanced diet, Nora would likely still be on the 5th percentile curve when she graduates high school, for crying out loud.

Are these just normal fluctuations? Is she just "catching up" after being so tiny for so long? Is it a sign of an impending growth spurt? Or are we actually overfeeding her? These are the questions that are running through my head. She's only (almost) 16 months old, so I don't want to stress about her weight--but I guess I'm just paranoid given the whole previously "perfect" growth curve. I suppose you could say she's throwing us a curve ball. (hehe.)

{more round belly!}

Don't get me wrong: I do think she's healthy. I look at her and see nothing but a healthy, growing girl. And it's hard to argue with the amount of food she's consuming when she's eating things like broccoli, green beans, black beans, and oatmeal like it's going out of style. Avocado. Veggie burgers. Sandwiches with a little bit of hummus or peanut butter. Pretty much anything that we eat for dinner. We try to give her balanced meals as much as possible--protein, carbs, vegetables, fruit with every meal. She doesn't drink any juice.

So, who knows? We're just first-timers with this whole parenting gig, so we want to make sure we're doing everything right. I think we just have to wait and see what happens between now and her 18-month appointment. We're fairly confident with the way we're handling it, but still plan on checking with the doctor (and get her weight checked officially) when we take her in for her follow-up ear infection appointment next week. Until then, does anyone have any experience with this? I've been told by a few parents that kids "grow out, then up" so we should perhaps prepare ourselves to see her get a little taller soon? I'm hoping that it'll all even out in the end--maybe she's gaining faster now, but will slow at some point?

In the meantime, Nora's good appetite doesn't seem to be letting up. My girl likes to eat! :)