Failing my kid.

I have an almost-two year old who weighs 43 pounds and has high cholesterol.

If I read anyone else posting that, I would imagine I knew they types of food the must be feeding their kid. I'd especially think that if I saw me, their mother: someone who is morbidly obese.

But, because of my own experience, I am extremely careful about what I feed my kid. I don't let her have crackers, cookies, ice cream, cake, sweets of any kind, juice [at day care they do let her have crackers, including things like graham crackers]. Carbs are minimized; only whole grain bread is used [again, except daycare, where they let her have bagels.]. She has red meat maybe once or twice a month, if that. She has dairy most days (in addition to 16 oz of milk) but it's typically (unsweetened, plain) yogurt, not cheese. She has fruit/veggie pouches only in emergencies (ie we're stuck out). To avoid overfeeding her, I use portion-controlled meals from Little Spoon for most of the meals I feed her.

She could probably use more fiber, and probably more exercise. But I'm honestly at a loss of how it is that she's now so big--in size 6T--and suffering from higher cholesterol than I have.

I thought: genetics. But both her donor and I have been tested for the genes for familial hypercholesterolemia and we both tested negative.

Her weight and health are the biggest anxieties I face in my life. This is my first kid and I don't necessarily know what other parents are doing with theirs. What am I doing wrong?!