Hi ladies.
My almost-21-month-old son is an apple juice fiend! He will sometimes drink two to 2.5 sippy cups of juice in an hour, then go for two or three hours without juice, and then go on another juice streak. I have to really stay on his diapers given his fluid intake; we go through about 5 or 6 wet ones a day.
I know excessive thirst is a possible sign of juvenile diabetes, but my son doesn't seem to show too many other signs. He eats well, but not excessively, and he's growing well. (At last checkup, he was between the 75th and the 90th percentile for height and between the 50th and 75th for weight.)
But this seems like a LOT of juice....
I also don't really trust my own fluid intake as a gauge, since I have a tendency to overeat, and I sometimes mistake thirst for hunger. Any words of wisdom will be much appreciated.
Doesn't sound like Diabetes,
because of the long intervals with out fluids, and the fact that he doesn't eat excessively, more than likely thats because he is filling up on the juice,
I want to suggest Water. much better than juice.
and 2 percent milk.OK
Good Luck
M
I am a Type 1 Diabetic, so I can tell you in my experience excessive thirst is 24 hours a day. Before I was diagnosed, I would drink water all the time, I couldn't make it through a movie without having a drink because my mouth was so very dry. I also drank a lot at night and went to the bathroom all the time! My experience being a mom is that my daughter almost 4 would drink apple juice a lot if I let her, but because of the sugar on her teeth I try to limit her to 1-2 juice drinks/day. I offer her milk, tea (w/ much less sugar than juice warm or cold), or even water. Also before I was diagnosed as a diabetic I would drink all the time and eat all the time but never feel full, always be tired, all the typical signs looking back. I was 19. Good luck. Seems like he just likes the great taste of sweet apple juice.
My son (20 months) is the same way with all flavors of juice. He used to drink juice all day & I changed diapers all day! I just severely cut down his juice intake to 1 sippy a day, with lunch. (Milk w/ breakfast & dinner) It was tough, but he gets water every time he asks for a drink between meals. I had to switch from clear sippys to solid colors so he can't see what is in them. He will take about 5 big swallows before he realizes it is not juice and then he hands it back to me and asks for juice. I just hand him back the water. When he is thirsty he will drink the whole sippy. When he is not he will ignore it and go on to something else without complaint. Most of the time he is not really thirsty. I think of it like this: he is asking for juice because of the taste,not because he is thirsty, and if he was asking for candy all day (hungry or not) I would not give it to him.
It took about 4 days for him to accept that it wasn't always going to be juice. So if you do try this method don't give up too quickly. It really really cuts down on the number of diapers you have to change a day!! (He still tries to get Daddy or Grandma to swap his water for juice.)
He was tested for diabetes at his 18 month appt & it was negative. But if he still drinks water all day I would definitely ask for a test.
I don't feel qualified to tell you how much is too much, so I will just suggest you check with your Doctor. But I will tell you if you want him to back off on the juice, Motts makes a juice box that is half juice, half water. Good for when you are on the go and he has a craving!
Gotta watch the apple juice.....lots n lots of sugar. Try water or dilute the apple juice...1/2 juice-1/2 water. As for diabetes, he would be craving water, not juice and if he drank juice, you'd see a reaction right away. Now...is he asking for the juice or are you giving it to him? If he is not asking, try giving him diluted juice at meal times and water in between, lets say every hour, give him a sippy cup of water, see how that works for you. If you are truly that concerned, talk to your pediatrician.
