Hi Mamas,
I know they say that babies and toddlers have a great ability to listen to their hunger/satiety cues and they will not overfeed themselves but is this true for all kids? My 1 year old loves to eat which is a blessing b/c I don't have to struggle with getting him to eat veggies/fruits, etc. but I'm starting to worry that he eats for the joy of eating/practicing chewing skills/etc. -- not for hunger. This is what he happened last night.
I fed him his usual dinner which is a 8oz tupperware of food (last nite it was mac n cheese w/ broccoli) + some milk. he finished it and after the last spoonful he started crying like he wanted more. i took him out of the high chair and tried to distract him, thinking he'd had enough but he just cried and cried like he was still hungry! so my husband got out a banana, ate half and gave the other half to our son. again, with the last bite, he starts crying like he wants more. he's looking at the banana peel as i throw it in the trash and crying. so i get some blueberries, squish them and give them to him. after a handful, he's just keeping on going and i'm thinking his little belly is full by now -- think about it, 8 oz of solids, mlik, 1/2 banana, and a handful of berries!! he's only 1! so then i decide i'm not going to wait for him to stop eating, i'm just going to cut him off. so i stop w/ the blueberries and he starts crying but he's less irritated now and he stops when i distract him with a toy.
so what do you think? is this amount of food (8 oz of solids, mlik, 1/2 banana, and a handful of berries) too much for a 1 year old or is that amount normal? could he really have still been hungry? should i have kept feeding him?? so far he's not overweight at all -- over 90% in both height and weight so he's proportional but his behavior of constantly wanting to eat is fairly new. he used to not open his mouth after he felt full so i knew he was done. these days he's like the energizer bunny, just keeps going and going!
I wouldnt be to concerned my 22 month old eats more than most 4 and 5 year olds at every meal and is actually small for his age. He just has a very high metabolism and is very active.
It matters on the kid and growth cycles. My son at 1 would eat 8 scrambled eggs all by himself every morning. have a snack of apple/fruit, lunch of 2 time whatever I ate, snack again then dinner eating as much as my husband and I combined. He isn't overweight in fact he is RIGHT on the 90% line in everything.
I have found that as kids go through growth spurts they demand more food. The toddler years can be extra crazy because they have so much energy and they are so busy they burn calories ike no other. My daughter would be a member of the clean plate club plus some for a few months and then like a light switch she would barely touch a mouthful. I do not think that sounds like a lot of foods. You are filling him up with nutritious options high in vitamins, minerals, and the stuff they need to grow not junk. I would say add little bits until he feels full and eventually he will more than likely change his habits again. You might want to consider foods high in fiber and protein as they will sustain his little tummy longer and make him feel fuller.
Sounds like your little man is going through a growth spurt. If you tired distracting him and that didnt work then I might try a sippy of water after all that food.
My daughter is 14 months old and in the 95% for height, 25% for weight and is a HUGE eater. In one sitting, she will eat a whole packet of oatmeal, a half-whole peach plus 8 oz. of milk or 6 oz. of steak, 6 spears of asparagus, other random veggies plus 8 oz. of milk. She eats a huge breakfast and then eats a huge lunch about 2 hours later. I am constantly amazed at the amount of food she can/will eat in one sitting, but I don't cut her off until she stops eating what she has in front of her.
Your son sounds perfectly normal to me! Did he recently start walking? Kids burn TONS of calories playing and walking and growing and need lots of food because of that. That's why kids need snacks between meals and eat about every 3-4 hours. As long as your son isn't spitting up/throwing up his huge meals, let him eat. When he's full, he'll stop. There will be some days he will barely eat anything and you'll be longing for the non-stop-eating days to return.
Good luck!
As long as he's not throwing-up or having any other tummy troubles after eating that much, I would say let him eat. Next week he may not want to eat anything more than 1/2 a banana. I suspect he's going through a growth spurt. Congrats on getting him to eat such healthy foods!
My boys all went through that when they were little. The 4 year old could out eat the 8 year old. None of the children are overweight but have very high metabolisms. When they go through growth spurts notice the pattern.
My son's pattern is first eating everything under the sun and lots of it, followed by the inability to stay awake. Then the next thing you know he is two inches taller.
Your little one is probably having a growth spurt. Be certain he has plenty of water.
It seems like a lot, I'll definitely agree with that! Sometimes my 15 month old does the same thing. After a few days it stops and then I'll notice he's not fitting into some of his younger age group clothing. Growth spurt! lol We also have to look at how active our little ones are. I swear my son is eating every two hours or so. Usually small meals or snacks, sometimes just a drink. When I evaluate it, he's constantly moving. He's either on a riding toy, using a push toy, running, climbing, dancing etc. They're so active and they need fuel for that.
Some of it may be novelty of chewing or practicing, or maybe even just tasting the different flavors because they're able to start asserting preference now. Some of it could be teething and chewing felt good on his gums. But I bet he was just still hungry and was going through a nice little growth spurt. As long as he's asking for more I wouldnt worry. I personally would NOT withold food if he's acting hungry. If he's picking at it and playing with it and you take him down and he cries then that's one thing, but if he's eating when you give him small portions for seconds then he's still hungry and needs food. Since you're giving him such healthy food, I don't see the issue with it.
Is he about to grow?? My son is a bit older, he is 3, but there are days he eats more then I do. He can sit down & eat 3-4 bowls of cereal & be hungry again in about an hour. He has always been a bigger boy, not fat - just pudgy. But then again so is momma. He was 8# when he was born & 16# by 2 1/2 mo. So he started to eat cereal & fruits around 3 mo. By a year he was eating what we ate... I have never stopped my kids from eating when they ask for more. I have a 6 yr old girl that is 48#, a 5 yr old boy that is 38# and a 3 yr old boy that is 36#... at this point my 3 & 5 yr olds will be moving to the next car seat stage together.
If you are truely concerned w/ his eating - talk to the doc when you take him in for his next check-up or give them a call. But if this is just something that happens once a week or every once in a while - he may just like what you are feeding him or actually be hungry. From what I have seen - kids do have days they just can't seem to get enough to eat... I just try to keep up with their hunger, cause the next day mine just don't seem to eat much.
If your 1-yr-old acts hungry I say feed him. It's probably a phase or growth spurt like everyone says. As long as it's not junk I'd just keep going. My kids LOVE watermelon (yea Summer!) and it's a great filler I feel comfortable letting them 'binge' on.
He's probably going through a huge growth spurt right now. Since he has loads of energy to spare and his height and weight are proportional, I wouldn't worry about it. And since he's in the 90th percentile for both height and weight, then he may need to eat a little bit more than some of his smaller peers to keep his body going.
There is a small percentage of the population that simply does not get the physical/mental "I'm full" message.
It sounds to me like your little one is heading into a growth spurt. At that age my kids eating went into overdrive. They were both eating a small adult meal every meal at about that time. Sometimes they even ate more! Every kid is different so figure out what works for yours and if you are truly concerned talk to your pediatrition or one of the nurses in the office.
Just for fun, I'm adding my 2-cents-worth! ha Because our son is now 17 years old...but last year...exactly a year apart, I had him into the doctor for his yearly exam (from 16 to 17) and he had grown 6 inches in one year...its a growth spurt and kids go through times where you can hardly get them to eat anything and the year my son grew 6 inches he really took off with his eating! Now, he's 5' 10" and 122 lbs. No weight issues at all. LOL!
I doubt that he is hungry after all that food, Remember their stomachs are no bigger than their fist. I think maybe he cries for more food cause you give it to him. and he maybe using the crying to control. J.
growth-spurt
My kids do that. Lots of kids/babies do that.
Last summer, my daughter went through a HUGE growth spurt. She was basically hungry every 2 hours or less. Not just wanting a snack, but a full on meal. She'd eat all. This went on for all summer. The Doc said its fine. She was fine. Nothing wrong with her. She ate healthily. No junk. She grew, like about 6 inches that summer. No joke.
My picky son, will eat well and heartily, when he has a growth-spurt as well.
Both my kids, since birth, have been in the 95-97th percentiles for height and about 50th for weight. No matter how much they eat, they are still lean. And growing.
Your son, is probably having a growth-spurt. 12 months old is a spurt time, then at 15 months, 18 months and so forth, and 24 months.
It will subside when the growth-spurt is leveled off.
Just feed him healthily... not junk food. Like you already seem to be doing.
all the best,
Susan
It could definitely be a growth spurt. My son has the opposite of growth spurts (he is 21 months old), but has always been this way. He constantly eats a lot, and then every once in a while he will go through a few days where he barely eats anything. Your son is most likely still hungry.
Like other said, normal...a growth spurt. At that age, my son would eat and eat until his stomach was so full it felt hard as a rock! And then about an hour later he would eat some more. Trust me, when he is truly full your son will stop eating. You really can't over feed a baby. They are growing so fast and doubling their weight and height so fast, they need the extra nutrients to keep up. I always said that I would rather have a baby that ate everything in sight than a baby that you had to struggle to get to eat and was on the low end of the weight scale.
