Should I let DS eat until HE says no more?

[:: ANA ::]

So, I recently posted here about the recommended serving sizes for toddlers (according to the American Academy of Pediatrics)...
Well, my LO always seems hungry!! LOL

He has always been great at eating with a more than healthy appetite since he was born.  He obviously gained weight pretty fast and now he is 13 months, weighs 11.5kg which is around 25 pounds and is 80cm long (which I have no idea how to express in feet-inches or whatever 

The thing is I've been trying to cut back on milk intake (20oz previously, now we're around 15) and feed him more solids, in quantity and variety.

Any given day, he eats something like this:
Breakfast: 1/2 egg, fruit, 1/2 slice of bread, 5oz milk
Snack: 1/3 cup of yogurt, 1 or 2 crackers
Lunch: 1/3 cup of pasta, 1/3 cup of chicken, up to 1/2 cup of veggies, 3oz of milk
Snack: Fruit/Veggies and 1 or 2 crackers
Dinner: 1/3 cup fruit, 1/3 cereal, 6oz of milk
Water throughout the day.

Every single meal he seems hungry as if never fed in ages! LOL...he gets really angry when he finishes his milk or asks for more and more food hahah poor thing 

I'm worried about overfeeding him, Mexico is 1st place in children's obesity in the world, which is terrible.  Of course I'm trying my best to feed him healthy, balanced meals but anyway, I wonder how much is too much?

Need to add that he's the pretty active, spirited, doesn't-like-so-much-to-sleep-in-the-day kind of kid  .

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[Texomamama]

Ana,

He's right at that age of 12-15 months where his caloric needs, and with it, usually appetitte, will actually decrease.  There is often a big slow down at this age as they become more mobile and interested in other things besides just eating.  So, wait and see if that happens.

Looks like you are offering a wide variety in his diet.  And, your portion sizes look reasonable.  If you want to increase, maybe you can up things from 1/3 to 1/2 a cup, esp all the veggies and fruit.

I personally think we, as a society, push portion sizes that are too big for toddlers.  I have always fllowed the rule of thumb that portion sizes should be 1/3 to even 1/4 of an adult's portion.  I can't believe when I go into a chain restaurant and see someone who has ordered an entire kids meal (which is as big as an adult should be eating) for an 18 mo, but then again, neither of my kids have ever been huge eaters, so I don't really know what it feels like to have them asking "More", "More".

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I let my kids dictate how much they want to eat, to a point of course (the point being that they can't eat just one type of food if they want more, they must pick something different!). Once they get to the point that I think they really have eaten "enough" I ask them to wait 15 minutes or so to see if their tummy really is hungry or not as I know it takes a bit for that full signal to get to your brain!

Has he always been like this, or is it a recent thing?  I'm wondering if he is in a growth spurt, in which case I would def. let him have more of some things.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

If he's eating healthy foods I wouldn't worry at all and I would just feed him!  Fruits, veggies, etc. I agree with limiting milk intake but other than that I think some kids just need more food than others!  My friend was just visiting with her 20m old and I swear I've never seen a kid eat so much!  LOL.  He eats all day.  But he's a big kid and he's eating super healthy foods so it's fine!  That's my $0.02 anyhow.