19 month old Constantly wanting food!!!

[kirsty_167]

Hi

My son is 19 months old and has in the last 2 weeks been asking for food pretty much all day (bar when he is asleep) He is going to a specialist at the end of March for his reflux so i will discuss this with him, BUT i just wondered what to do?

Could this be a growth spurt perhaps?

He can have breakfast or lunch etc (and its not a small portion) and then ask for food within 5-10 mins of getting down from his highchair.Sometimes the gap between asking is about an hour. If he doesnt get something he throws a mean wobbly.

He has a diet that is wheat and dairy free due to intolerances but is now eating very well on the foods he can have. He eats plenty at mealtimes and gets morning and afternoon tea.....How much should a 19 month be eating, maybe i dont give him enough but it looks plenty to me!!!

My concern is why is he want to eat so much and what do i do....do i give him it or not?

Sorry if this seems like a dumb post im just confused as to what is going on and what to do.

Thanks Kirsty

[binxyboo]

I was vegan for 13 years before having Riley, I found I could and needed to eat a lot to feel full. Now that I am eating dairy again, less amounts of food containing dairy make me feel fuller.I could eat a huge meal of veggies, pasta etc and then be hungry an hour later. What kind of snack foods is he having between meals?
And what does his diet in general consist of?

[jennyh]

my lo is 19months too and is milk,wheat,soya and fruit intolerant.she also grazes much of the day but i just guessed this was due to her trying to fill herself up

[CharlotteandCharlie]

Dd also grazes alot.  All day if I let her.  I have been noticing these days that it could be related to bordom or wanting my attention.  If I am making a meal she wants in the fridge or panty or if I'm on the phone or doing laundry she will hang around in the kitchen aimlessly until she finds potatos to put into pots.   

If I play with her or we go out or do a project she does not ask for snacks as much.

Just a thought for your lo?  Dd has no food allergies or diet issues but I thought I would put it out there.

[mari]

I have this problem with the 18 month old I care for,  Sometimes I really don't have any more snacks for him!!!  He screamed for a banana the other day (he's already had 2 and eaten half of Alex's and I was concerned that he would have a bad tummy so told him they'd all gone, did I do the right thing?)
He has dinner, and says 'more, then I give dessert, he says 'more' then I give more dessert, he says 'more'  then I give him a banana, he says 'more'  it is endless!!!  What do we do?  He is not even a big baby, quite small really.

[kirsty_167]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Firstly i think too that perhaps his diet restrictions means that it takes more to fill him up. Here is a typical day

7am up,dressed fruit snack (has to have breakfast at daycare)
8am breakfast-rice bubbles with rice milk (about 3/4 cup of rice bubbles)
9.30  snack....mini rice crackers size of a small coin  (about 5)
                     small handful of dried fruit  or a piece of fruit
10.30 (wants another  snack) 1x rice biscuit (or raisins etc)
11.30  lunch     pumpkin mash or rice noodles (something like that)
                      banana
                      popcorn (or vege crisps)

2.30/3pm snack  something similar to morning tea
4pm  Wants another snack!! (offer dried apricots or rice wheels)

MOans and groans all the way up to dinner at 5pm for food
5pm dinner   mashed potatoes,mince,veges

Sometimes after his bath he has some fruit or a rice based pudding or something small.Sometimes he demands this other times he refuses it

The list of food varies of course but thats what he has some days. Alot of what he has is rice based as in rice crackers, rice noodles,rice wheels not as filling as if he was eating plain rice (which he refuses) He has alot of fruit (which plays havoc with reflux BUT thats a whole other story lol!!)

I do believe he just isnt feeling as full as he used to when he did have wheat so is hungry.I get that. I can eat fruit or rice crakers and be hungry an hour later.

 * i can distract him but only sometimes.

* He always sits down for food, either in his high chair for main meals or on his special kiddy armchair for snacktimes.He is not allowed to walk around and snack (too messy for mummys liking!!!!!)

* He too wants food if i go near the kitchen or try to prepare food. I have to have him distracted by his daddy or sister so i can do that!!!!!!

I guess i was just curious as to why he was always asking for food and what to do about it.

Okay two ideas

1) I am thinking of moving his dinner to 4.30 or 4.45pm as at 4.30 he gets very very scratchy and cross...He WANTS dinner then.
Is this too early? (he goes to bed at 6.45-7pm)

2) Do i need to feed him more at breakfast time.Like rice bubbles and some pureed fruit (he loves pureed fruit/food still lol!!!)

What do you think??

Thanks Kirsty

[TDR'smom]

Like Stacy said, as long as he is eating properly for his meals than I would let him snack....Also, as long as you are offering healthy snacks and he is not asking for candy, chips etc. 

DS snacks a lot too but we try to only give him fresh fruit, cheese etc.  (Occasional lollipop  )

They are so active at this age that he is probably burning it up anyways.

[jennyh]

my lo loves corn pasta bolognese and i have found this does fill her up a bit more than rice based foods

[kirsty_167]

Jakob doesnt get lollies or any junk food due to his intolerances,
except for bluebird plain chips occasionally (only ones without wheat)so his diet is very healthy......especially compared to before!!

I will try corn pasta again,he refused it last week but had scoffed it down prior to this.

Do i need to feed more at breakfast? Maybe he could have ricies and some diced fruit? This may well fill him up a bit more and get him to the morning tea at 10/10.30am??

Can anyone share what their toddler eats in a day?

Thanks
Kirsty

[jennyh]

India usually has-6.30-7am  energy bread toasted with pure spread[yellow tub soya/milkfree, 8am 5oz pepti-junior,9am rice cake or homemade popcorn,11.30 lunch-potato wedges/veg/chicken,12.30kallo bread sticks,orgran biscuit,2pm rice crackers,fennel tea,  3pm carrot batons,4.30pm tea-pasta bolognese and tapioca pudding,6pm kallo rice cereal,7pm 8oz pepti-junior hth

[Katet]

Firstly I don't actually think that sounds like an awful lot (not compared to times my boys eat lots) . Also hasn't he been slow in the crawling/ walking department... has he only been walking a month or 2? When L learnt to walk he had a huge growth spurt & got even taller than he already was & would eat anything not nailed down, which is apparently very normal.

[Mom to M&M]

I agree - that doesn't sound like a lot of food to me. If he'll eat more at each meal I'd certainly offer. Basically, I think it's good to offer as much as they want (healthy of course) at meals and snack times and try to hold off otherwise. So if he wants fruit with his rice puffs at breakfast, great! And if he wants a bigger snack at snacktime, etc - as long as the bigger snacks don't affect his meals. And like Kate said, if he's only recently learned to walk that can definitely affect appetite too. Will he eat any protein at lunch? May help fill him up more if he has a little chicken or fish or something with his pumpkin mash and rice noodles.

[kirsty_167]

HI and thanks!!!

Yes Jakob has only been crawling for 6 weeks.He started at 17 1/2 months.I figure now he is walking he needs more energy so i will increase his main meals.

Today he had ricies (big bowl about 1 1/4 cups) and some diced fruit. He didnt ask for anything until i offered morning tea at 10.30 am. He has now had lunch of pear rice cereal, 1 piece of luncheon and a banana. He seems content with that.

I will see how the afternoon go but maybe just increasing the main meals will see him through. His snacks seem enough and if i increase them ion the laste afternoon when he seems to ask for more,he refuse dinner.So i will leave the snack as they are and increase breakfast and lunch some.

Thanks everyone.......still curious to amounts other children have
Kirsty

[Mom to M&M]

I think that's a good plan - increase his main meals and keep snacks as they are (or you may find they even decrease). As for other amounts, have you checked out the thread about what your toddler ate today? It's a HUGE variation. For example, my DD eats really little. She's not nearly as picky as she used to be but still the amounts are tiny - which is strange considering she is about 40-50% for weight and very active. Guess she just has a slow metabolism or something. Teething is making things worse right now (damn those eye teeth) - today the whole day all she had was about 16 ounces whole milk, 5 ounces diluted juice, some oatmeal and fruit puree for breakfast with a few bites whole grain bagel, no morning snack, only few bites homemade mac n cheese for lunch and dinner was only a few bites of broccoli and literally 3 tiny forkfuls of lasagna. Go figure.

[chell]

My Jacob has a vegan diet. When he was your lo's age and younger he had a very big appetite. I let him have what ever he wants, as long as it is healthy. He is above average for both weight and height. I think his body just knows what it needs.
I'd agree with Karen about increasing main meals.

[*Natasha*]

Yep my DD is the same and i find she wants to eat reguarly when teething i think the chewing helps with the pain and eating distracts her from the pain. Most Lo's weight slows down around 12months my DD's hasn't and let me tell you i am quiet happy she is eating so well.

[MamaC]

My ds can drive us crazy getting into the snack drawer, too!  Cereal, raisins, etc.  Distracting helps, going outside, etc.  Or, I'll give him a bag of cereal and raisins.  I 've noticed that when I give him heartier snacks like cheese and peanut butter w/ crackers or yogurt, that he asks less.  If you're following a vegetarian diet what about garden burger chunks or other frozen protein things like Morning Star?  I guess I'm saying, what about adding more protein?  He's not been asking as much lately, but it's maddening when he's on that rampage.

[mum101]

Hi, What a healthy eater! 

My only suggestion is that he might need more protein to get him through the day. 

[binxyboo]

I don't mean to make light of it, but I would just LOVE if Riley asked for more food like that! It doesn't happen often around here.

[kirsty_167]

BInxyboo........you arent making light of it dont worry!! My mum also reminded me that it wasnt long ago he wouldnt eat hardly anything!!!!!

I have added more protein.he isnt vegetarian just had to take wheat and dairy out of his diet. He loves sausages,bacon (thats a new one) mince and luncheon (another new one) He only has just started eating meat in the last month properly,until then he spat it out!!!

Breakfast now consists of rice bubbles and fruit with his rice milk (big bowl)

And Now at lunchtime he has rice noodles or some sort of vege mash and a banana,some crackers and a bit of luncheon.Some days he eats all of it,some days he doesnt. He has however stopped asking for so much between meals.

Just adding the fruit at breakfast and luncheon meat at lunchtime seems to have curbed that hunger. I guess he just needed more to fill him up longer. It may well havebeen a growth spurt too as he hasnt had one for awhile.

His snacks are rasins/sultanas/banana chips/rice crackers or fruit depends on what he will take.YES he has an opinion on everything now and watch out if you dont offer the right thing!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully we have it sorted for now,In future if this happens again i will look at his main meals and adjust these first.

Thank you all for helping me out...............much apreciated.
Kirsty

[LilysMum]

If the child is eating well at meals, but then wanting more then give it to them.  I think grazing only becomes a problem when it effects mealtimes. 

I think the people who have commented about the food restrictions effecting the diet are spot on.  My LO was on a diary and gluten-free diet until she was one.  Not only did she eat less once wheat (in particular) was introduced, she also put on a tonne of weight.  My husband had to go on a wheat free diet 10 years ago.   He lost a lot of weight as the rice and corn substitutes just don't contain the same amount of energy. 

[kirsty_167]

Hi

Lilys mom...i agree that food restriction do effect them.I  felt this was the reason but as always have to seek advice and help from BW!!!! While i trust my gut i wanted to reassure myself that this could be the reason.

The last 2 weeks have been much better since i topped up his main meals. Yesterday he grazed alot in  the afternoon but that was the first time since i originally posted he has doen this. As long as his meals arent affected i give it to him. My rule of thumb is nothing after4pm and then his dinner isnt affected.This seems to work well. Up to 4pm he can eats or graze but cutoff is 4pm.

Thaks again
Kirsty