Another toddler food thread- Does your toddler get 1000 calories?

[Kmama2]

Ds is 13 and 1/2 months old. I read that toddlers need about 40 calories per inch of food in a day... so at 28-29ish inches ds would need a little over 1000 calories a day. He is still breastfed but barely- He nurses about 4 times a day but I am down to drops of milk if that as I am 22 weeks pregnant.

If he needs 1000 calories a day... 3 meals- 200-250 calories per meal and maybe 100-150 calories per snack? That just seems really high.  He eats 3 meals and probably 3 snacks a day. He is a pretty good eater - slightly picky but not too bad.  But he doesn't eat alot in any one sitting.

He is very small but has been for a LONG time- my dd was too. We make tiny petite kids. He was under 18 lbs at a year and 28 inches long. He is 1% for weight and 5% for height and 69% for head. :o) Doc said we could check thyroid and growth hormone but she wasn't that worried and I am not either. I wish he was a bit bigger and grew a bit faster...He still wears alot of 6-12 months clothes/ 9 month pants etc.  He poops every day. Pees plenty. His eyes are bright, skin is clear. His hair and nails need trimming often.

Developmentally I have no questions he is right on track or ahead . He walked 2 days after he turned 1. He has 10+ words. He is happy and lovable and sleeps 11-12 hours at night and 1-2 hours of napping of day.

So why am I worried?  1000 seems like ALOT of calories for him to take in.  He doesn't drink milk unless its in something or in a bowl with cereal.

He just finished lunch so far today he has had

BF- Maybe 1-2 tablespoons of milk ( whole milk) and 2 tablespoons of organic brown rice cereal. 1/2 yo baby yogurt ( the full container is 100 calories I think)

snack- 3 pretzels and 4-5 spoonfuls of applesauce with a drizzling of flax seed oil

Lunch- A few bites of shredded cheddar cheese, a few bites of lefotver roast chicken ( with olive oil), and a few bites of leftover Olive Garden Fetticuini Alredro. He refused applesauce/ pomegrante seeds.

He will def have another snack consisiting of fruit/ carb combo

and dinner ( chicken marsala, green beans and probably ww pasta with shredded cheese and butter) and possibly a bedtime snack.

He has nursed twice so far.. with another 2 times at least ahead but again I think I am pretty much down to drops of milk so I have no idea how many if any calories he gets from nursing.

 What about your toddler? How much food does he/she eat??

Its obvious us mama's worry alot about what our toddlers eat, how much they eat, how much they nurse, how many calories they eat etc. I guess I am no different.

[sunnygir1]

It sounds like your lo is doing great.  I would completely forget about counting calories if I were you.  Keep offering healthy food choices and breastmilk. follow up on any growth or development concerns that come up, and enjoy your little boy!

[penstamon]

I just want to echo want the pp said.  Don't worry about the numbers and follow his lead with eating.  Our DS is also small weight-wise (15%) and bigger height and head (60%).  His weight had not changed much since his last WBV 3 months ago and our pedi said this was normal for this age.  It sounds like everything is on track for your little guy so I'm sure he is healthy!  The only change we have made is adding fats to some foods- I cook his oatmeal with whole milk (no water), add oils to his dishes, nut butters, etc.  Most of this we were already doing but I figured it couldn't hurt.

BTW, DS doesn't drink milk either and my BM is running low from pg so I just cook it into stuff when possible.  I also supplement vit D.

[Kmama2]

Originally Posted by penstamon 

I just want to echo want the pp said.  Don't worry about the numbers and follow his lead with eating.  Our DS is also small weight-wise (15%) and bigger height and head (60%).  His weight had not changed much since his last WBV 3 months ago and our pedi said this was normal for this age.  It sounds like everything is on track for your little guy so I'm sure he is healthy!  The only change we have made is adding fats to some foods- I cook his oatmeal with whole milk (no water), add oils to his dishes, nut butters, etc.  Most of this we were already doing but I figured it couldn't hurt.

BTW, DS doesn't drink milk either and my BM is running low from pg so I just cook it into stuff when possible.  I also supplement vit D.

I do add fat to everything he eats ( usually butter or olive oil or flax seed oil)  and he does get Vit D. I think I just worry so much  because dd was still nursing tons at this age so I didn't have to worry about feeding her protein and fat so much as I knew my milk would fill in the gaps.

  I feel like ds gets 99% of his nutrition from solids so I have to think about and make sure he eats a protein, and fat etc with every meal and snack.

[amberskyfire]

I agree! It sounds like he's doing great and you don't need to count calories. That type of info isn't intended as a guide. It's more just given as an interesting fact. "Toddlers require 1000 calories per day." It doesn't mean you need to count and make sure your kids get that. It's just interesting to know. "Wow, the typical toddler eats about 1000 calories a day. I did not know that!" :)

Your son knows what he needs and if he wants to eat more or less, he will. The only thing you need to worry about is that he gets a good variety of foods to choose from so he's getting everything he needs and you are doing an awesome job at that. Beyond that, he knows when he needs to eat. You don't have to count calories to make sure you're getting enough to eat, right? You probably just eat when you are hungry. All animals know when they need to eat and usually what and kids aren't any different. ;)

[belltree]

There is a huge range in what toddlers eat, and it does not depend on if the child is skinny or chubby. Some kids can eat twice as much as the other one, and both are healthy toddlers. If your child is healthy, is gaining weight and growing, than there is no need to worry. Plus, once they become walkers, they tend to fall out of the growth curve a bit, until they catch up with the increased caloric needs.

Another great tip is, to not worry about daily food input, but weekly.

My 13 month old has days, where he only nurses, other days, he will stuff himself. Plus he eats in phases, there was the banana only phase, the yogurt with everything phase, spoonfuls of butter phase, the bagels only phase etc. I just go with the flow and don't worry anymore.

It's good to have an eye on things, but that's all that needs doing in general.