A 'WIC Chick'

Yesterday I spent a day at WIC following clients through the appointment process.
Here's a microcosm: a girl who looks several years younger than me comes in with her 3+ year old son and newborn baby. She had the baby on Christmas eve (about 2 weeks ago) but you could never tell it looking at her. She's amazingly calm and really confident and capable at caring for her kids. All three are weighed and measured and the mom and toddler have their hemoglobin tested with a finger-stick test. The toddler cheerfully puts his heels against the wall and holds his head still while the nutritionist lowers the measuring board to the top of his head, but his baby sister isn't very impressed at having to lay down on a measuring board. In the counseling room, the nutritionist explains the results of the hemoglobin tests - their iron statuses are all fine, and plots the childrens' growth on their charts. The little boy's weight has jumped ahead of the normal curve, so mom and RD talk about ways he can stay active. The dietitian shows them pages of pictures - one page for each food group, and they talk about the foods the family eats from each group. This mom breastfed her baby for five days, which the dietitian commended her for, and now the baby will get most of her formula from WIC. The mom and dietitian discuss a few other topics - encouraging the toddler to drink water instead of juice, and giving him an open cup instead of sippy cup or bottle since it's better for his teeth. Finally the mom picks which food options she wants - milk alone or with cheese, and dried beans or peanut butter, plus the standard cereal and juice - and the dietitian prints her food vouchers then they're on their way.

The whole day went like this, but each client had their own experiences to bring to the discussion. One little boy had so many allergies that he's on a pediatric supplement drink, which WIC covers for him. Another little girl's hemoglobin has been continually low, so the dietitian offered to send a letter to her doctor alerting him of the problem. One dad came in with his son as his wife had fallen and broken her ankle that day, and another father-to-be came in with his pregnant wife who had arrived in the US only two years prior from Thailand.

The thing I really respected about the dietitians was their gracious manner of just talking to people about where they're at, encouraging and praising all the good things they are doing to care for their kids and themselves, and sharing ideas for changes to help them and their kids remain healthy. And I went away thinking 'hmmm, maybe if I'm ever pregnant I'll go on WIC.'