Hannah won't eat much

Today, well technically yesterday since its past midnight, was a relaxing day for Hannah and I. We caught up on some much needed rest after spending the weekend helping my father in law pack. We snuggled in bed and watched some movies while I tried to get her interested in trying some new foods. 

She is 16 months old but only weighs 17 pounds which is in the 3rd percentile for her age. She's always been small around the 5th or 6th percentile but since she dropped, the doctor got a bit concerned about it. He told us to try getting more calories in her diet, but unfortunately she's a picky eater and doesn't eat much. She is also super active so she burns off a lot of what she eats. 

Surprisingly the only things she eats well are fruits and vegetables. That's great for getting her vitamins and minerals but neither of those things have many calories in them. So I still let her eat as many fruits and vegetables as she wants but I'm trying to discover some other items that she will eat to get a few more calories in her diet. 

This morning for breakfast she tried rice crispies with whole milk. Surprisingly she really liked those so that will be something I can add to the list for her. Along with her snack of string cheese (the only cheese she will eat) I got her to try a few pretzels. She didn't seem to mind them much but was more interested in playing with them than actually eating them. 

I'm trying to be a good mom and make sure she eats enough and puts on weight, but it's hard. She just doesn't seem interested in eating. Whenever I try to get her to eat, she will usually eat a few bites and then seem completely indifferent to the food. 

I worry that if she doesn't gain weight, the doctors will say I'm a bad mom. I feel like they will say I'm abusing her by not getting her to eat enough but I can't force feed her. How am I supposed to get her to eat if she hardly ever acts hungry. It's frustrating. I want to be a good mom and do everything right but sometimes I feel like a failure. 

Introduction

I am a stay at home mom to my beautiful 16 month old daughter, Hannah. I love to write so I thought it would be fun to start a blog about our life. To start out, here's a little about me. I grew up in the country on a family farm that was so far in the middle of nowhere that the road we lived in was actually named after my family. I only have one sibling, an older brother, who I love so much!

I moved to the city for college when I was 18 and I loved it so much that I decided to stay. When I was 19 I started working as a community support worker for a man with Down syndrome. What started as just an after school job became so much more and I actually worked there right up until two days before my daughter was born over 7 years later.

When I was 20, the summer before my junior year of college, I met a man about my age working in the convenience store on campus. We really hit it off but I was too chicken to ask for his number. Every time I went past the convenience store for the next 6 months I checked in looking for him. Just as I was about to give up, I found his picture on an online dating site. I messaged him and he remembered me too! He had been looking for me as well. A few days later, we went on what would be the last first date of my life. Within 3 months we were engaged and we got married three months later the summer before my junior year of college.

I finished out my college schooling and received a bachelor's degree in psychology. I continued working at the job I had held during college because I loved it so much. We started trying to have a baby, but I couldn't get pregnant. We tried for a couple years and I struggled with the idea that I would possibly never get pregnant. Then one day, it happened. We discovered I was pregnant and later that year, Hannah was born when I was 26 years old.

We decided that although it would be tight moneywise, it would be best for us if I stayed home with Hannah. Staying home with her is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love being a mom so much! These last few months have been so hard for my family as both my dad and my husband's mother passed away within months of each other, but Hannah is what keeps me going even on days when I just wanted to hide in bed all day.

So that's a bit about me to start out with. I hope to post updates along the way about my life home with Hannah.