A little more about Sophia's weight and food.

I was trying to quickly update yesterday but really wanted to write in more detail about her weight and formula and solids.

Sophia has almost always had a larger appetite than average. At just a couple days old she was eating 3oz every two-three hours. At three months she was taking in close to 50 oz a day. Actually some days she WAS taking in that much. It's not a normal (or very healthy) amount of formula for a baby. It's A LOT of water, which is actually the main concern with that much a day. The pedi calmed my nerves reassuring me that once we started solids she would not eat so much. And to an extent this was true, but it just wasn't that simple.

At 4 months we introduced solids. Sophia was so happy! At first we only did solids once a day, in the morning. Shortly after that we increased to twice a day. A funny thing happened. When we did solids once a day, she dropped a bottle, actually a bottle and a half. But when we increased to two feedings...she went back UP! WHAT?! That makes no sense. She was getting MORE food.

For the past few weeks we have only been giving Sophia one feeding, roughly 2 oz. in the morning. Her formula intake DID go down, to 35 oz (5 seven oz bottles!). Still more than the average 6 month old. But at least it was consistent.

During the begining of starting solids she did lose about a pound or two. Seems crazy to WANT this to happen, but Sophia had a lot of water weight. She was still above average in size (always coming in above the 100th percentile), so it wasn't like she was losing vital weight. We have noticed that her 6-9 month clothing has lasted longer than any other size so far, so starting solids when we did was the right thing for us, with out a doubt!

Recently I have been concerned that, now at 6 months, she should be eating solids twice a day. But I have been hesitant because of the previous experience of it causing an increase in her formula intake (I know, the math and the logic...they dont add up. I can't explain it!)

I brought this all up to the pedi we saw yesterday (Mrs. Emily is out on maternity leave, so we had a new dr yesterday!). I explained what had be going on, his explanation made total sense, it takes more water to process solids. She needed more liquid to digest her food. Our game plan now is solids twice a day. Two feedings, each 2-3 oz. Roughly 3-4 oz of watered down juice a day. And then we'll track her formula intake and see what's happening. If it increases with this new plan I'll have to call and bring her back in.

We are ok with Sophia's size, her weight is proportional with her length, so it's not unhealthy, it's just big. She's a happy and healthy little girl, which is all that really matters. We just want to make sure that she stays that way!