15-mo old diet and nutrition

[gulielma]

I'm a bit concerned about my 15-month old's diet. He eats all of the time, 3-4 meals a day plus 2-3 snacks and still occasionally will bring me food packages to open if he finds them around during the day. I have a hard time getting him to drink much milk, around 8 oz. tops in a day (he still nurses in the morning, although i doubt he's getting much then, and has no interest the rest of the day), but he does eat a lot of dairy - yoghurt, cheese, etc. We just started mixing some juice in with his water once or twice a day, just to give him some more calories. Nonetheless, he's noticeably dropping on the weight charts and looks thin. More than that, he acts hungry a lot, but won't eat much at any given time. He's also gotten more and more picky about foods over the last 3-4 months. So we used to be able to give him eggs, French toast, ravioli or pasta, tiny bits of meat, and now he'll rarely eat any of them. Nor will he eat veg that isn't pureed except for peas, and really would prefer all of his food pureed if i'd let him. I'm also thinking that his diet is causing sleep problems, because he doesn't sleep terribly well and has been waking up super early and clearly hungry.

So, I'm curious what other peoples' toddlers eat? Particularly how much and how often? Also, what and how much do they drink?

[MelW]

My 16 month old usually eats about 3 snacks/3 meals daily. She's pretty busy during the day and mostly chooses water instead of nursing- but nurses all night long. On evenings that I work, she will have about 4 oz goats milk before bed.

For food- her molars coming in seem to have made her much more picky. I generally offer food and don't stress about how much she eats, though it's a little harder with this skinny toddler than it was with her bigger sister not to stress.

This week's favourite foods: goat cheese, olives, frozen blueberries, peas, garbanzo beans, edamame, barbecued chicken, salami, refried beans, cooked onions, yogurt, peach slices, hummus. Some days she'll sit and eat for ages and other days she is just too busy playing. Or too tired, or uninterested.

Even though he's dropping on the charts, is he at least gaining/maintaining weight? Is he meeting milestones. Sleep aside, is he otherwise healthy?

[CherryBombMama]

my ds eats 5 small meals a day, not quite full meals, but more than snacks.

for a while there, he was eating everything! hummus, pastas of all kinds, almost every veggie (brussle sprouts!) every fruit you can think of, and now (16 months) he cut back and eats mainly potatoes (mashed, fries, hash browns, baked) mac and cheese, broccoli, cheeses, oatmeal, turkey breast, breakfast sausage, and most fruits still ...

he drinks 7oz of milk for breakfast and 7oz before bed, and lots of water all throughout the day in a sippy cup

[sillysmile]

My toddler is 19 months and 28 or so lbs (high nineties for weight and height), and hardly eats more than a few bites of anything. VERY frustrating. Her weight has been absolutely flat since 12 months. We still feed her on demand at night, so she gets most of her calories that way. We're trying to nightwean to increase her daytime appetite.

Her favorites are greek yogurt with a little honey, freeze-dried strawberries or blueberries, raisins, carrot chips, meatballs, chicken fingers, cereal, oats, rice, tortillas, and will occasionally eat some omelet, peas, broccoli, avocados, cheese, or deli meat.

She mostly snacks during the day when she's playing.. hard to get her in to the high chair these days, but we attempt 3-4 seated meals.

[changingseasons]

Does he show any signs of food allergies? Rashes, sleep issues, behavior issues, loose stools, etc.?

Sometimes eating all the time is a way to sooth an upset stomach. Also, if he is constantly eating but losing weight, there is probably a malabsorption issue going on (which can be caused by food allergies- they damage the gut, so it doesn't absorb nutrients properly.)

Dairy is the #1 food allergy in kids. (And surprisingly, constantly craving dairy or other foods can be a sign of allergy.) Soy, eggs, gluten, and corn are other common triggers. Check out my blog for more allergy info.

[kriket]

On a lucky day, my 15m old DS will eat a bite of cracker, a sliver of cheese, and a chip off the floor (he puts it there, he doesn't just find them laying around )

He also drinks cow milk. And nurses 2-3x at night and 2ish times during the day.

I have been thinking about making juicy smoothies, like apples, carrots spinach all blended? He loves juice, so I'm going to try and sneek in some veggies

I also read in a magazine today about baked kale being chip like. I was going to try that too. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Punchy Kaby]

My 15 mo is very picky, she knows what she wants and doesn't want and each day is different! I constantly try new things and I never know when she is going to like something. Yesterday I was eating smoked oysters from a can and she wanted some and ate 4!

I agree with checking on food allergies. Maybe check out parasites and yeast as well. It sounds like he is not getting calories from his food. Also, maybe try less grains and more meat, veggies and fat (ghee and coconut oil are good). I would stay away from juice, empty calories and messes with insulin levels. I make water kefir and my kids love it and ask for it every day.

Also at this age toddlers are moving more andworking off their baby fat. Did he just have a growth spurt? My 15 mo DD has grown 2 inches this summer but has notput on any weight in a few months she runs around a lot and is very active. How active is your DS?