Always hungry

[lilac83]

I looked at the portion sticky and she really is awfully low for her serving sizes. I'm thinking of making the daytime bottles 4oz over the next few days, like I had mentioned before but then started getting scared she was starving  . Then I'll work on dropping one or the other in the near future. She does drink water and juice from a straw cup. She can down 4 oz of juice in a minute so she can drink well if she wants to but i think the warm milk in the bottle has become comfort more than anything. And while i dont mind, i do know its not the healthiest for her.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

She might be mad about it but kids just don't starve themselves - she will eat eventually when she is hungry enough and realizes you mean business with limiting bottles. I hope the egg went over well!

[lilac83]

The egg did go over good, she ate half of one! Today I tried giving less milk and at lunch she only ate 1/2 a chicken nugget.....that's it. Dinner wasn't much better. Basically 1/4 of a small crescent roll and a teaspoon of peas. Surprisingly though, she didn't act like she was hungry between meals/snacks. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I find it helps to keep in mind that their tummy is roughly the size of their fist...so much smaller portions than even an older toddler/preschooler.  Plus they are good self regulators!

[*Ali*]

Which portion sticky did you look at? I just read the No More Portion Distortion and Portion Size Primer on Snacks and IMO they are aimed at preschoolers and older children not a 1yo.

The info from the AAP and Canadian govt here is much more in line with the appropriate age range IMO. Serving sizes and healthy snacks for toddlers and Canada's Food Guide for ages 1 - 3 yrs

Both the latter FAQs recognise that the average 1yo's intake will be much less and maybe half that of a 2-3yo's. My kids were definitely eating significantly less at 1yo than they were at 18mo and 2yo.

Plus of course it will take a while for her reduced milk intake to result in the increased solid intake. 

[lilac83]

So it's been a few days and it looks like the midday bottle has been successfully switched to a straw cup. Turns out she doesn't like cold milk but as soon as I warmed it she started drinking 4-5 oz from the cup. I'm going to stay with the morning and bedtime bottles for a bit yet. I did drop bedtime from 8 to 6oz so she's getting 14-16oz per day instead of 18-20. Her food intake has increased greatly and most days she doesn't even need morning snack anymore!

[*Ali*]

Sound perfect

[creations]

[lilac83]

Things are still going well but now I'm torn on if I should drop the morning bottle. She drinks the entire 6oz and eats a good breakfast about 30 minutes later but never really asks for it which got me thinking I should drop it before she gets attached. The problem I'm now facing (seems I'm always facing a problem!) is my older dd starts school in 2 weeks. I was going to keep the bottle and feed M breakfast after the school run but now considering feeding them together. This could get a little chaotic some days though and I hate rushing but in the big picture it might make life easier than keeping the bottle past when she really wants it. I've asked dh his opinion but he's of no help, just says "doesn't matter to me." Ideas?

[creations]

Sorry I'm about as much help as your DH Just do whatever fits with your day the best.

[lilac83]

I know in the long run it doesn't really matter. She's just been so incredibly fussy in the morning for the last month and I can't shake the feeling that something's off with her routine. She's always been such a tricky one to feed, so unlike her older sister! I know part of the fussiness is the fact that she's not entirely ready for 1 nap but I can't make my older dd spend her summer vacation sitting around the house while her sister sleeps either. I've been going through the posted routines on here and it seems like most toddlers give up that morning bottle pretty quick and just have it with breakfast so maybe that's the route I should take. The way it stands, she starts fussing at 8:30 and doesn't stop until lunch time at which point she's been sucking on her paci for at least 1.5 hours and that just drives me mad but so does listening to her fuss. I bought teething tablets today though so going to try those tomorrow. Sorry I'm such an undecided mess with all this, if she were happier it wouldn't weigh on me so much.

[creations]

The way it stands, she starts fussing at 8:30 and doesn't stop until lunch time at which point she's been sucking on her paci for at least 1.5 hours

Does she continue to fuss when having a mid-morning snack too?

[weaver]

Robin, just chiming in to say, that my 2 and a bit yo is a real grazer so I go out of my way to make sure that just about everything I offer is nutritious.  I can understand why small folks might not want big portions, having never been a huge eater myself!, and also why small folks might not have the concentration to sit and eat at designated meal times.  It often happens with LO2 that she will eat some of a meal, go off for a wander and a quick play, and come back to finish what she started. But we also have meals where it looks like she has eaten nothing.    As Heidi says, though, she will not starve herself!  She has a decided preference for sweet things, so I limit these .   I think the best thing in these situations is to set up it so you *know* that 95 per cent of what's on offer to her is healthy stuff, and let her regulate her own intake.

Why not re-offer the same thing she had earlier or have a few things ready to give her so you aren't caught on the hop?

I do this ALOT.

[lilac83]

I thought M was starting to eat more food since she was drinking less milk but perhaps she is just a grazer and I should try offering more frequently. I'm totally grasping at straws here because something has to change. She's going into her second month the of being so so fussy all morning long. With snack, without snack, with going outside, without going outside. I even tried to lay her down this morning but of course she refused, she hasn't had two naps since she was barely 11 months old. I posted on the food allergy forum wondering if it could be the whole milk, I'm completely out of ideas.

[weaver]

  sounds maddening!