should I worry about her waking hungry at night??

[*Becky*]

DD is 16 months, always been a great eater up until the last 2 weeks....she is not teething atm but is very picky. Today bfast was ok, lunch ok but bedtime terrible. She would have literally eaten nothing but I gave her some bread and honey and half a cereal bar in the end 

I just can't cope with her waking hungry as we already deal with EWings...

I don't want to start bad habits, I really don't but when do you think they don't wake out of hunger.

With H if he does not eat tea like tonight       I just let him get down but that is it for the day foodwise...with M I feel a bit different     

[ZacsMumme]

At this age Zs appetite seemed to disappear in the late pm no matter what I did I would worry he would wake at night hungry but he never did. He did however get a bottle before BT
I just made sure there was food on offer at dinner time KWIM. And I tried not to worry too much about it. One thing that helped was giving him dinner early ie 4.30 ... For a while? Have you tried different times?

[clazzat]

M basically stopped eating at about 12 months having previously been a good eater and I agonised about the hungry overnight dilemma, but it seemed fairly clear to me that I needed to be firm about not letting her have all sorts of different things so I started putting her to bed without supper - she never once woke in the night or woke early because she was hungry. By the time they are in 3 full meals a day, they are reasonably good about regulating their own intake - if she has a good breakfast and lunch then she is quite likely to be eating all the calories that she needs at those meals. Let her decide whether she wants to eat or not, and don't worry about her waking up. Also, I have quite often put x to bed without supper because he won't eat it for one reason or another and he hasn't woken hungry either.

[*Becky*]

ok thanks....she also refused her bedtime bottle but then did a great night so I guess she is either not 100% well or just was not interested...

[ZacsMumme]

Teething plays a huge part in Zs appetite...do you think maybe teeth are at play here?

[*Becky*]

could be sara - she does not have canines yet or 2 of her incisors on the left side....she slept amazingly last night so don't know what is going on. Woke up this am and did a huge really yucky smelly poo but has been ok. Not wanting much food though apart from yoghurt and faves like that...weird. I would have thought she would have bad nights or at least her usual EWings if it was teeth.

[ZacsMumme]

We had a period where Zs behaviour was rubbish, and he was fussy with food, really fussy. Yogurt, toast and cheese that was it! A few weeks later the canines started to cut his sleep wasn't affected till the canines were closer KWIM?

Maybe a bug coming? - I know it's hard not to worry, and I did! But focusing on 3 days food intake helped as I found Zs food balanced out ie fruit, dairy, carbs protein.

[clazzat]

Definitely worth looking at intake over a few days rather than just one day - it does tend to balance out.

[*Becky*]

uggh, she just pushes her plate away without even trying. She will eat bfast and then it is basically yoghurt or fruit bars/rice cakes...??

[clazzat]

I know it is hard when they are not eating, but let her decide what she wants to eat. She is the one who knows how hungry she is, and you wouldn't like it if someone kept forcing food on you when you had made it clear that you didn't want anything. If you are really worried about how much she is taking in,  you could try making a smoothie so that you know she is getting some fruit/veg and milk.

[Shiv52]

I agree with Clare. I'd just keep offering what you're having. Don't pander and she'll eat when she's hungry. If its any consolation I made chicken potato and spaghetti for dinner and rosa had one piece of chicken and 2 spoonfuls of sPaghetti before saying she was done. And this would be typical amounts for dinner and I don't even really think about it. She doesn't wake hungry at all.