Jena is NOT Overweight

At Jena's three-year-old checkup, our pediatrician informed us that while her height remains tall, but "within normal limits", her weight now puts her in the "overweight" range.

He recommended she get more exercise. You know, without ever asking about her physical activity.

I'm not buying it. The mom who has always been paranoid about her daughter inheriting her weight issues is not buying that her daughter is overweight.

I look at my child, and how very tall she is compared to other children her age, and how we have to buy larger clothing for her to accommodate her height, not her waist, and I do not understand how her height can be "within normal limits", but her weight can be "overweight".

I look at my daughter, who when she wakes up in the morning, before she eats anything*, is so skinny that her ribs show... and I cannot believe that my skinny minny is overweight.

* after she eats her little belly pops out all round & full. So cute. Reminds me of little kittens after they nurse. So cute!

I look at her eating habits - how she detests almost all forms of meat (except cheeseburgers), loves fruits & veggies (especially salad), and thinks the idea of us having chips or pop in the house is "silly".

How when grandma gets her ice cream she asks for white ice cream with strawberries, eats all the strawberries, then declares herself to be full and pushes the dish of ice cream back to her grandparents.

You cannot force this child to eat if she's not hungry. Just ask all four grandparents who can't get over the fact that the "Clean Plate Club" doesn't exist in our house. You can't tempt her with sweets, with ice cream, even with her very favorite - oranges. When she's done... she's done. She doesn't know how to overeat.

She's not permitted to drink pop. Her juice & tea are diluted with water. Her chocolate milk is diluted with white milk.

She prefers water.

She goes to preschool three times a week, where they have gym / physical activity twice a day for 45 minutes each time. She also has dance class once a week for 30 minutes. During nice weather we take her to the playground to play her little heart out at least once a week, more if we can. She runs around our yard with the dogs, plays on our swingset. She dances in the middle of stores, races herself thru the aisles of other stores, and her latest craze is to gallop ("like a horse!") from one end of our open floorplan house to the other.

I know our lifestyle is not perfect, is not the most health-conscious.

I also know that my daughter is not overweight.

Shot this pic 2 days after her appt while she was dancing around the living room.
AFTER dinner.
Clearly that child is overweight... NOT!

Thanks for checking in!