13 month old eats and eats...and eats...what to do?!

[MummyToBen]

Just after some advice/reassurance please

My DS is now 13 months old and since 6 months (when his reflux finally got medicated properly) his weight has been up around the 90th centile.  His height is around there too.  We've done baby led weaning from 6 months and he's always LOVED food!  He's always eaten a fair amount but the last couple of months his appetite is REALLY big and I'm just wondering if it is a phase or whether I need to just be strict about the amount he is eating? 

To give you an idea....this is what he will eat if I do not restrict him (which I've not done unless I feel it is getting completely out of hand on a particular day!)

For breakfast he will easily eat a 40g bowl of cereal or porridge, natural-yoghurt, a whole pear and then still look like he could keep going....

11am snack of something like 2 prunes, a rice-cake, a couple of tiny cubes of cheese

12.30 - one and a half pieces of toast with beans or scrambled eggs and peas, half a tin of peaches (rinsed of the juice), then will be shouting for more... and so normally gets some of my lunch too 

4ish - snack of something like wheat puffs (no sugar/sweeteners), whole apple, 1/2 banana...shouting for more again....so might get a piece of cheese or whatever is to hand

6.30 - whole bowl of home-made spaghetti bolognaise (not much smaller than mine at all)...then will be shouting for mine too. yoghurt or fruit

7pm - 5-6oz formula milk

He also drinks water with a tiny bit of apple juice throughout the day.
If he sees food around the house he will shout for it (we have to hide anything from him and I rarely take him into the kitchen!!).  There *are* times when he is obviously full and starts throwing things on the floor, and other times when he eats less - so I know he doesn't have a problem 'knowing' he is full sometimes.  But really, he eats a similar amount to me during the day and I'm sure that can't be right??!!

The ironic thing is that my last job was managing the childhood obesity programme in my city  (for 8-13 year olds though) so I'm well aware of healthy eating etc.....but I'm also cautious about restricting his food at this age.  Any thoughts appreciated

Thanks for reading my mammoth post!

x

[Adaias mom]

I think as long as what you give him is healthy then i wouldn't worry. He eats plenty of nutritious food its not like he is pigging out on chocolate so i would just be happy he is such a good eater. He does eat alot but as you said he's not eating til he's sick, and he does know when to stop, so just keep him eating healthy foods, and ensure he is active and IMO i think its fine.

If you are worried you could always take him to the HV and get him weighed to ensure he's not gaining too much weight.

[Roseii]

Hey, just to say my DD (15m) also eats and eats and eats, I swear the kid is never full. I haven't seen my HV for a couple of months but last time I did she said it's all baby led at the mo and if she is keen, let her eat, of course providing it is all healthy. I am also conscious of it as DH is overweight, as are his whole family and I do not want her to have weight issues. I will see my HV again soon and see when I am supposed to "take charge" a bit more.
DD is also on 90th centile, she was born on it, dipped a lot, then caught back up again. I guess we just have to count oursleves lucky as I would rather the way she is than having to worry she doesn't eat enough or that she was terribly fussy.
HTH

[firsttimemummy]

My DS loves to eat too!  I think you would know if he was overeating (and he would almost definitely bring back up anything his body doesn't need anyway).  I think my DS eats so much as he is always on the go - I got him weighed last week (he is 11 months) and his weight is still fine .. in fact he only gained a couple of pounds since his last weigh-in 2 months ago.  My friends' DD is the same age and she hardly eats a thing (Although she is fit and healthy) and they find it sooo stressful, so even though it costs us a fortune we are lucky our kids are not fussy!

It's good, healthy food you are feeding him so that is good.  Just to make you aware though that some dentists suggest only giving fruit juice (watered down a lot) with meals and water the rest of the time because of the fruit sugars.  I have still go no fillings etc (a, nearly 30!) but have bad enamel on my front teeth - I don't drink fizzy juice or eat many sweets, etc - it's because I used to drink lots of fruit juice (And then often brush my teeth afterwards, which only rubs the acid into teeth!).

[Mashi]

You say his height is also around the 90th percentile so I would expect that he have a larger than "average" appetite, being that he is, well, larger than average!  It's not just his weight, but his height, so that's great, IMO!!

I've recently been stressed about DS's eating habits (opposite way, though!) and one of the toddler feeding websites that I have come across is one that the American Academy of Pediatrics links to - and their guidelines (the AAP) is roughly 40calories per inch of height ... so if your DS is appx 80 cm tall (going off of the UK "red book" 91st percentile for 13 month old) then that would be appx 1250 calories per day. Doesn't seem to me at a glance that he is going over that, but if you are really worried you could work it out and see...

[MummyToBen]

Thanks ladies....so I'll just have to go and get a part-time job to fund my boy's massive appetite then??!!  

Just to make you aware though that some dentists suggest only giving fruit juice (watered down a lot) with meals and water the rest of the time because of the fruit sugars.  

Thank you - yes, not ideal I know, it's because he somtimes gets constipated (due to reflux medication) so it keeps it at bay....we'll need to change things as soon as he gets some teeth!!  He's 13.5 months and no teeth yet!!

[MummyToBen]

Thanks Mashi - that's really helpful - will have a look at that.  Yes, I can't imagine he is eating any more than that as I'm extra careful about *what* he's eating due to the vast quantity that he has!! 

Hugs, I can imagine how stressful it would be to be struggling at the other end of the spectrum with the quantity of food a lo consumes  .  Ben was SO tiny as a young baby as he had feeding problems, so in a way I am grateful that my 'problem' is now at this end of the scale!