Is My Daughter Eating Enough

Lindsey:
As long as she is gaining weight I don't think you should worry. Toddlers are very picky eaters. My daughter is 3 yrs. now and some days she lives on milk, other days she eats all day long (small snacks). They have small stomachs and are far too busy exploring the worlds around them to be concerned with eating. They always seem to eat enough to get by. You might want to try some of the Gerber toddler foods which are fun to eat like the stars or yogert melts. Good luck!

When my kids are sick, I feel that as long as they are drinking and getting some nutrients they will have enough. While she is ill you may want to give her more milk. Once she is better, I recommend giving her food first and not letting her see her bottle or sippy cup. Once she eats something, you can give her the milk. Best of luck!

Hi L.,

Once your daughter is feeling better, I would suggest getting into the habit of 3 meals a day. At a year, it's time to be done with bottle "feedings." When she wakes up, no bottle - breakfast in the high chair with food and a cup of milk. Same at lunch and at dinner. She may need drinks during the day, but that shouldn't be a full bottle. Try water as a between meal drink to quench thirst with snacks if she eats them (I don't mean junk food snacks for a one year old of course, but healthy foods offered between meals). The only milk bottle I'd offer might be before bedtime - followed by tooth brushing.
Good luck and I hope your baby is feeling better soon

I would have to say if the doctor feels she's gaining a sufficient amount of weight don't stress about it. I have an 18 month old who has become a very picky eater and I was going crazy trying to find ways to get him to eat. Did you ask your doctor if she should go on a multivitamin? Our doctor reccomended Enfamil Poly-vi-sol with iron. (its a liquid vitamin that I put in my sons morning bottle) I was concerned that he wasn't getting enough nutrients when we started cows milk. I also noticed when he was going to have a growth spurt his appetite picked up a bit, so he let us know in a way. I hope that helps you some! Best of luck to you and your little girl!

I have a 1 year old and 3 1/2 year old - both girls are petite as well.
What I did was the 3 meals a day too...still BF my 1 year old first thing in the morning and bedtime. My daughter drinks 3 bottles of 4 oz...and still trying to teach her how to use the sippy...
Don't force them to eat - you'll make a mess and teach them to resent food...if she plays with her food, I take food away from her and ask if she's all done...if she continues to play, she knows she doesn't get fed. :) As a result, they don't make messes!!

I also want to promote healthy body image and eating habits...so I never force the issue - kids will let you know when they're hungry and just offer them healthy stuff...
I also set up a tray table on the floor (kids' height!) with a plate of healthy snacks as well - kids are so busy that they'd rather play or forget to eat...so they can toodle over to the tray table and munch on something and off they go. If you're worried about messes from that - I just teach them that eating is only in the kitchen, nowhere else...
Again, forcing kids to eat - might make them throw up too - so let your daughter lead the way! :)

well, i would say the foods you are currently offering, other than the veggies, are processed foods high in sodium, fat, preservatives, ect, then compact that by the fact she is not eating much of anything else, she isnt getting the best nutrition.

i wouldnt be worried about her weight gain as long as her growing curve is good, its not about the percentage, its about not dramatically dropping. rather than weight, you should focus on incorporating better foods in her diet. honestly, if all she eats are those types of foods, you need to keep trying new things. lots of processed foods is way worse than a few bites of healthy choices.

about the milk, can i ask why you stopped breastfeeding? i know you work, but if you were able to BF for this long, could you have continued it? i hope it wasnt something your doctor said you had to do. if you are truly worried about her weight gain and nutrition, breastmilk would have been your best option. that way you know she is getting the proper nutrients and you can work on the foods with less worry. cows milk is in now way comparable to breastmilk, and as someone mentioned, too much milk leads to anemia. milk should not be her food source but milk make you feel full as if you have eaten. that may be the problem as well, her feeling as if she ate from the milk. also, the "struggle" at dinner is proaly increasing the problem since she is getting so much attention for it. try to make it not a big deal. and if you do find healthy things, like fruits and vegetables, make sure to keep offering them daily so you can guarantee she ate something good, and to expose her to as much as possible.

just keep trying healthy foods, maybe get some of those little kids cookbooks, some have kid friendly healthy foods or foods that look cute to kids, but if it as all possible, try to restart breastfeeding. there is no need for her to be on cows milk ever at all as long as you give yogurt and cheese for calcium. breastmilk is completely different, look inyo that, i would def think that would be your best option. good luck!!!

Hi There,
My daughter was born average size (7lbs, 2oz.) but has always been tiny. She will be 3 at the end of Nov. and only weighs 24 lbs. She was only 14.5 lbs at 1 year and 18lbs at 18months. The Pediatrician has never been worried because she is growing at the same rate as the growth curve (just smaller) and has always been energetic, bright, and developing normally (even early with milestones). She has always eaten a variety of foods, and loves vegetables, but just doesn't have a big appetite. My 7 month old son on the other hand weighed as much at 6 months as my daughter did at one year! Every child is different and grows at different rates. Just don't get stuck in the trap of giving your child only milk because she isn't eating much. She will only fill up and not be hungry to eat, and it will become a cycle. If she is hungry, she will eat. Just offer a variety of healthy choices and she will eat when she is hungry! Ofcourse, mixing in their favorite foods (as long as it's not too much sweets) will assure that they will eat something.
Good luck, and don't worry. As long as she is energetic, healthy and developing normally, you have nothing to worry about.

My son is 2.5 and still will want mostly or only milk when he isn't feeling well. He drinks a lot of milk the rest of the time too. I don't think it is hurting him since he is in the 90 something percentile for size (38 lb.s at 31 months). He eats many things--at least a few from every food group but in small portions. Sometimes he loses interest after 3 bites and it is very hard to keep him at the table for long.

The other thing is that some people have said milk makes mucus worse. I read a study that proved the opposite--it makes no difference. Scientists gave 2 groups of people the same cold virus and let 1 gruop have milk and dairy and the other not and they had just as much congestion in both groups. However, you do need extra fluids when you are congested and I'm sure many people perfer clear fluids for that.

Hi,

I had a teeny tiny eater too (except my son was never teeny tiny, just his stomach). First, as long as she gains weight normally, and has her normal energy, don't worry about how much she eats. She might just be a small eater. At that age, babies don't know eating disorders, and they'll eat what they need, unless there is something wrong physically - or several wrong psychologically, but it's very rare.

As for her being a little sick, I wouldn't worry either if she doesn't want to eat foods. Most kids would not be hungry anyway when under the weather.

As for the larger question: I had this issue, and my solution was to just reduce the number of bottles a day, until he went down to what the pediatrician recommended. Once my son was hungry, he very quickly ate his food... Don't worry if she doesn't eat for a meal or two, again she won't let herself starve. As for what and how much she eats, remember that your responsibility is to present her with foods, and what foods you present her. But it's her responsibility to eat... I've used this method with my son (except for the part of what foods, I tended to give him the foods he liked rather than systematically giving him fully healthy meals, something I regret today), and it worked fine. Also, if you introduce new foods, it takes anywhere between 1 and 13 presentations for the child to start to eat them, so don't get discouraged.

Hope this helps.

I don't think cows milk is nutritionally similar to breast milk. If it is mainly what she eats you might want to consider continuing with some formula each day. Or if you can continue to breastfeed once or twice a day that is probably the best option but you may be past that point. Definitely better than the Pediasure milkshakes, formula has to pass certain nutritional standards set by the FDA--Pediasure does not. In many countries formula is continued well after the first year--similar to a protein drink once a day. Check out this web site for info on specifics for how much your daughter should be eating and drinking at this point: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

How did your daughter's favorite foods come to be chicken nuggets and fish sticks? Maybe she wouldn't be quite so picky if you were giving her foods that have great flavor and are good for her too. Grilled lemon chicken instead of the processed fried stuff, yogurt with fresh fruit, or the veggies she likes so much with some cheese or hummus, real fish--whether it be canned tuna with veggies mixed in or something fresh. What you think are her favorites may just be what she's gotten used to so she refuses anything different.

Kids are completely maleable at this age and she should be able to try anything. She may not like it the first time (think about how you feel when you think you're going to take a bite of say rice pudding and get sour cream instead, you're first reaction is always going to be yuck! Not because you don't like it but because you weren't expecting it). So take it slow, mix new foods with foods you know she likes...she likes bananas or apples-->try putting a tiny bit of peanut butter on a slice. She likes rice krispies but has always refused banana-->try rolling sliced banana in rice krispies. I think, with a little time and experimenting, you'll see that it's all about getting creative with your kid's foods. It's funny how much more fun a buckwheat pancake is when it has a fruit smiley face grinning back at you. My mom always cut our sandwiches into fun shapes, like hearts and circles, or even just cutting up a sandwich into a bunch of little squares--kids love to eat "their size" foods, hence the love of the little chicken nuggests, I think. My mom used to call them hors d'houvres and we loved it. Let her have fun with her food and have fun with her.

Good luck! I hope some of this might help.

L.,

A one year old needs good nutrients. There is virtually no nutritional value in the foods (except the veggies) that you are giving her. Children tend to know this intuitively. Instead of mucous-creating whole milk why not try a protein powder? No soy, hemp or rice protein. Sun Warrior makes an excellent mix that is full of nutrients. She will gain but won't get fat. You can blend it with water and make it as thick or thin as you want. You can blend frozen fruit with it too. It comes in Vanilla, Chocolate (all natural and organic cacao which is full of antioxidants) or plain. This will keep her healthy as a main food and then you can add fresh fruits and veggies to snack on when she feels hungry. One year is the normal time to start adding foods. The docs will say much earlier but it's just gotten us an obese and unhealthy society to go against nature. A probiotic superfood would do her good too to make sure she has good bacteria which aid digestion and absorption of nutrients. The first few years of life are the most important. Breastfeeding is the best you could have done. Kudos to you for doing that a full year! If you like, fill out the form at the end of the video on my website and I'll give you a free nutritional consultation and point you to some sources to learn good nutritional info.

S. Hoehner
www.sharethecause.com/detoxqueen

PS: Pediasure has water, sugar and corn and the first ingredients, closely followed by artificial flavor. Not suitable for a growing child or any other human being who need real food and real nutrients like we are meant to eat. Of course a slim person will gain weight with this but if you want to build healthy cells, not junk cells, don't even think about trying this. Might sound harsh but it's fake food like this that has ruined the health of Americans and turned them into the second most obese nation on the planet. Australia recently won first prize.

Hi,

My first son was not interested in eatting for the first two years. He just drank milk. He was petit, but healthy. Because he was so healthy I decided that he was fine and not to stress about it. At two he did begin to eat more. At one point (when he was 5) I juiced fresh fruits and veges and mixed them with store bought apple juice because I was concerned that he wasn't getting enough vitamins (he was eatting meat and some starches.

He is now healthy and of average size. He also now eats just about everything. I think the body is very wise and trying to control how much and when your child eats to fit someones idea of normal isn't a great idea.

This sounds like my daughter! She was also tiny at birth (though full term and healthy) and has stayed very petite - she is about 28 pounds at age 3 and a half. I found around age one was the hardest time to get her to eat food. I had to restrict the amount of milk I was offering so that she would get hungry enough to eat anything. We had to stop giving her a bottle at bedtime because it meant she was never hungry for breakfast - stopping that made a big difference to the amount she was prepared to eat in the morning. I also try and give energy dense foods so she is getting a lot of calories without bulk to fill her tummy up - she loves stuff like oily pesto sauce on pasta, and also lots of dairy. I found that letting her feed herself with her fingers meant she ate a lot more than if I fed her with a spoon, even though it made a big mess - she likes to be independent. Also I would give chunks of things eg chicken or fish as finger foods rather than mashing them up, so she could feed herself.
I think the thing is to try not to worry, as long as she continues to grow, develop and gain weight - some kids are just smaller than others and less keen on food (my older child is the opposite - tall for her age and loves her food!!).
My younger also goes off her food whenever she is ill and sometimes takes a while to start up again afterwards, and we just have to accept that is normal for her and make sure she has plenty of fluids and small amounts of things she is prepared to eat.

Kids are all different - my oldest was just 5 lbs when we took her home and at a year 15 lbs - she tripled her birth weight which is what they want. For her 1st birthday we went to breakfast and she had an egg, home fries, bacon, toast and a pancake, she was a good eater, but she stayed small throughout her childhood. She was very active. My 2nd daughter at birth was 9 lbs 12 oz! She was a good eater, but never had seconds until way into her teens (after her hormones kicked in). I had to be careful at family gatherings someone would want to fix her plate (and my mom beleved if it's on your plate you eat it) and they would always give her too much. She didn't eat between meals, she just couldn't eat a lot - she stayed very small - couldn't find pants that fit, etc. My 3rd daughter was an emergency c-section and on life support until she pulled out the tubes - couldn't eat solids until way past a year, couldn't even keep down cereal, but she gained weight on formula ok and then solids were a very slow process. My 4th child, a boy was breast fed and starving. When I gave him cereal I couldn't give it to him fast enough,I know they disapprove of them, now, but a friend suggested one of those bottle feeders - he loved it.
As I said, all kids are different, if your daughter has favorite foods, she must be eating something. If she eats better during the day, that's ok. My kids always loved breakfast, because they didn't get bottles all night and woke up hungry.But evenings they'd be too busy, tired, cranky, whtever to eat big meals. Also, if this is her time with you, she may just be happy to be with you and stressing out over a meal isn't worth it.If she's hungry, she'll eat. My son drank only low fat powdered milk for a year after I stopped breast feeding. Whole milk is so rich, I'm surprised she likes it so well. Did you just go back to work or have you been pumping? Maybe somehow she connects it to you. How many bottles was she drinking before she went on whole milk?Have you tried juices - my daughter waters her boys apple juice down to 1 part juice 3 parts water - so they don't fill up on it and not want to eat. I know they say whole milk for toddlers, but maybe if you watered it down, she may not love it as much. Just a few suggestins, but seriously, if this is her time with you and your husband - the family dinner, think of what else has changed - going to a bottle is a big deal, but when did you go back to work, when did you start a bottle, have other things changed/ The smallest changes in our lives are huge changes to a small child and their mind doesn't work the way ours does - the have a much smaller reference point. As long as she's gaining weight, she's healthy and you will always worry - you're a mom. Welcome to our world - my oldest is 31 and I still worry everyday about every one of them, plus my 4 grandchildren and their spouses (who have a lot to do with their happiness) so good luck!

Try Pediasure!

It's expensive but my son has been on it since he was
about 1 year...1 bottle a day..he loves it, lots of
calories and vitamins...

My pediatrician recommended it for his slow weight gain, and
fussy appetite.

It has really helped him.

K

Hi L.,

A few things to keep in mind. When we don't feel well, we tend to eat less, this is true for your daughter. Also, when children go through growth spurts, their eating and sleeping habits can change. Your daughter will let you know when she's thirsty or hungry, so don't worry that she's not eating enough.

As for the milk, maybe you might want to try reducing the servings to 3 or 4 ounces.

Another thought, some kids are natural snackers, meaning they may prefer to eat several small meals a day rather than the traditional 3 (this is a much healthier way to eat). Try giving her healthy snacks with her milk.

Good Luck.

Hi L.! Yes, it's OK for our little ones to not want to eat while they're sick, but she'll need to get back on track as soon as she's better. Our son was a milk junky too and we stopped offering milk at meals, until he was done eating. Then as he started to demand milk during meals, we offered 1 or 2 ounces in the sippy at a time, and that was it until he ate more food. Now we offer water at meals now and he has milk with snacks (he gets milk in his cereal with breakfast too). You may want to try using a sippy instead of bottles, but that's a personal decision for you, your baby and her doctor. I'm always being reminded by our doctor, friends and family that my kids will eat and drink when they're hungry and thirsty!

I seriously would not worry!!! I have 4 children ages, 10,6,3 and 2. I was so nervous with the first two that they were never eating enough. My doctor said, the child will not starve himself/herself. They will let you know when they are hungry and milk alone is fine. But I understand wanting your daughter to eat more solids. It's a hard process but you may want to think about weening her from the bottle altogether. Maybe put water or diluted juice in the bottle instead of milk and offer milk in a new "exciting" sippy cup with dinner.

A source I found helpful was the age to age guide for feeding on babycenters website. I was reminded just how small a serving size of anything is for toddlers. She is most likely eating better then you think.

These are serious questions regarding nutrition. If you are not getting the feedback you need from your doctor, it may be time to find a new one. In the meantime, children soley feeding on milk are at great risk for anemia/low blood counts. A nutitional supplement may be a good idea, but again you need to talk to your pediatrician about this. One thing is certain: milk is not enough.

My son is 2 and he is a terrible eater. He LOVES milk and drinks a lot of it. I offer him food and let him eat as much as possible but still give him milk when he wants it. I have spoken with his doc and they say this is fine that he will grow out of it.

Hi L....as a mom of a boy who hardly ate, I know how you feel...one thing I learned was that kids need serious routines, and they need to think its fun, and pleasing to whomever is taking care of them, for them to try new things...they aim to please...on the other hand, my son Damian...gave me loads of trouble, and I had him evaluated by a speech therapist when he was almost 2, only to find out that the fact that he rarely put objects in his mouth, like other kids, was to his detriment. His muscle tone in his mouth and tongue was very low, which made it uncomfortable for him to eat solids, so they did some fun therapeutic activities with him, and he started eating... As far as her being sick and wanting to drink only milk...no good...milk increases mucus, I used to give Damian echinacea tea like 4 oz. and mix it with 3 oz. of milk, this way his immune system was boosted and he got more fluids than milk... Is there a wholistic pediatrician around you? or nutritionist, or an agency that can evaluate her for muscle tone?...It would probably help you guys a lot. Well God bless and good luck, it isn't easy. Anything I can do, let me know

Actually, you wouldn't think it, but milk is a solid. I wouldn't force the issue. Give her milk at meal time in a sippy cup (you may have to remove the anti-spill until she figures it out). The rest of the day offer her juice (cut 50/50 or less) or water. Really, as long as she's gaining weight it doesn't matter. But I would kind of switch to where she only gets milk with meals and then first thing in the morning and just before bed. The rest of the time offer something else.