Good morning all!
We took our two year old to the doctor for her well baby check. She is 35 in = 81% for heighth and 39.5 - 100% for her weight. The doctor suggested that we not give her so much rice milk through the day and substitute water in it's place. She was not crazy about the water so we began giving her 1/4 cup of rice milk mixxed with water. She loved it but now she is asking for it all the time and really drinking a lot of luquid. She has two cups at home 4 to 5 at my house through the day and probably two to three more at home before bed. Her sippy cups are 8 oz. We feel that all of a sudden she is drinking so much and we were a little worried. Do you ladies think this sounds like a lot of liquid. She is still eating a good breakfast and lunch not so much at dinner. She does not like sweets, will not drink juice but we found out she likes M&M's and we are using them for potty training only. Would you be calling the doctor if your two year old went from 4 - 8 oz cups of 1/2 rice milk 1/2 water to 9 to 8 oz. cups 1/4 rice milk 3/4 water? Hope this makes sense, thanks for your responses in advance, you are the best!
Thank you for all the responses. I read them to my daughter and we have decided to go ahead and take her to the doctor tomorrow and get her blood tested. It can't hurt and she might give us some good ideas too. We both agreed to cut out the water rice milk mixture. We agreed with your postings, that if she is really thirsty she will drink water. She eats good for a toddler I think. She loves beans and meat and is not crazy for sweets. I am still going to follow up on your ideas for meals and of course will try to let you know the result from the blood test. But if you do not hear from me just know it was good news. If it is diabetes I guess I will be sending out a new request to you all. Thanks to all, your the best! K. K.
If part of the doctor's concern was cutting down calories, you haven't done that, because now she gets half as much rice milk per cup but drinks twice as many cups. I'd cut it down to just water and she'll drink when she's thirsty instead of just because she likes the flavor.
YES! It could be type 1 diabetes. It can happen at any age.
At our 18 month appointment, our ped said that my son was getting into the "toddler time" and if given the chance, he would eat on the go, and not sit down to eat a meal. We now make a point of sitting him down for any meal, although he may get a random snack as he is cruising. We always offer a meal first with a cup of liquid before a sippy cup. He had really increased his intake of milk before we did this. He loves his milk and sippy cups, but drinks so much less of it now that he is drinking from a real cup at daycare. We are also using a different sippy cup for his evening milk, and he is also drinking less (the one he was using was more bottle like, this makes him sip more). And rarely drinks it if it is just water. I think that it was a soothing thing, and definitely the milk that he wants, not necessarily the liquid.
Try offering just water, and only half a cup. If she still wants it, then yes, go to the doctor. If it was the sweet of the rice milk that she was after, her intake may reduce.
Good luck, I hope that it is just the taste she is going after, but if not, better to catch it early.
Hi K....please have her blood sugar tested. I have two Type 1 diabetics in my family and a neverending thirst was one of the big signs that clued us in.
I don't think there is anything wrong with drinking a lot of liquids if they are nutritious. Our daughter drinks a lot more than most kids her age, and her father drinks a ton of water. I think there is some constitutional thing there, although I don't know what that is.
My questions would be, is your granddaughter getting milk as well as rice milk? (You didn't mention any dairy intolerance). Is her diet healthy overall? Is she getting exercise? Does she show any signs of diabetes or any other health problems? Is she overweight? If you're not sure about these things, I would ask the pediatrician.
A lot of people post questions about whether to call the doctor about this or that, and in my view, if you're asking the question, then you should call. Even if you speak with the doc or a nurse over the phone, you'll learn something, and an appointment may be warranted. That's part of their job as healthcare providers, to guide you when you don't know something about your child's health. There's never a reason NOT to ask the doctor things if you are concerned - better to be informed than in the dark.
Hi K. - yes, it's definitely a good idea to start phasing out the rice milk completely. It's just sugar and carbs. It also sounds like it is affecting her appetite for meals too so that is a red flag. Considering the excessive thirst, it probably is a good idea for her mom to schedule a visit to the doctor to check for blood sugar imbalances. Since she is just two years old and 40 pounds it's also time to weed out any empty calories from her diet and focus on helping her get really amazing nutrition. One way to help keep balanced blood sugar is to serve a protein with a carb with plenty of fiber - it can be as simple as a whole grain spaghetti with a meatball or tofu.
In the book called "What to expect the Toddler years" they have a really good section called the Best Odds Diet. It's full of healthy menu ideas to make sure our kiddos are getting balanced nutrition.
Hope she's okay!
That does seem like alot of liquid. You just don't want to have her not get nutrients from food b/c she's full from drinking. Also, (and this may not be true for kids) adults can drink so much liquid/water they deplete or reduce certain minerals/elements from their bodies - i.e. potassium for example. I'd suggested taking the rice milk out and just giving water at least half the time (she will drink the plain water if thirsty). Also you can try giving her the drinks in a regular cup at her chair - less habit forming. Finally, you can offer the milk/water mix only after meals and water in between. She may not be happy with that, but then you will know if she's just doing it out of habit or b/c she is truly hungry. Enjoy your granddaughter! She's lucky to be home w/ grandma so often.
Try cutting out the rice milk except with meals and give her plain water. If she's thirsty, she'll drink it. If she's not she won't.
I know that my kids drink a TON of water because we live in a dry climate. When we have more humid days they don't drink as much. But I have noticed that if I cut the water with something else (milk, juice, etc) that my daughter will ask for it a lot more. If she still asks for that much water to drink, it may be time to ask the doctor if there is an issue.
Hello K.,
My son had a similar situation happen to him. He has always chosen water over every other type of drink. He drinks way more then the recommended amount, but he I check out the recommeded amount of water for a child on line and it is saying about 4-5 (8oz) glasses per day. Is she uninating more? Has her weight gone up? How long has this been going on?
I would say that monitoring this and laying down groundrules of how much she is going to drink and that is it. I would use charts to discuss with her the amount that she is drinking. This could be used as positive reinforcement and counting activity at the same time. If this continues for too long (3 months) you may want to do additional research and contact her doctor.
You should talk to the doctor. It could be diabeties... drinking a lot of fluids is a sign.
It does seem a bit excessive. You might want to call the doc and run it past them. The biggest concern is the possiblity for water intoxification, though I don't think she's to that point yet.
Try giving her only half a cup each time she asks. And don't let her carry her sippy cup around the house. It's time for her to learn to sit at the table (or stand in one place in the bathroom) and drink from a normal cup.
It's probably nothing, but it would be a good idea to have her blood sugar tested. When my son was 19 months, he started drinking a LOT (sometimes 15-20 8 oz sippy cups per day). He would also wet through his diapers a few times each day even though I was changing him constantly. He was also being fussy a lot when he was previously a very easy going toddler. We took him to the doctor and they did a simple finger prick and found out that he has Type I Diabetes. We were shocked...we didn't even really realize that kids could get diabetes that young. And its not just candy and juice that affect blood sugar, it is anything with any amount of carbs. Anyway, that was last January, and we are working on getting his blood sugars more stable, and he is feeling and acting MUCH better. Good luck with your grand daughter. I'm sure she will be just fine!
Slowly start cutting the rice milk out of her water. So she is on 1/4 rice milk 3/4 water. Well move it up so there is a bit more water each time. She would be fine if it was plain water.
Let us know what hppened at the dr. At first when I read this, I thought, great, that is so healthy for her. I am surprised at hw many people are alarmed. I bet she is healthy and when you are getting sick, one of the best things we can do is drink more water. In general, there are books and theories out there that state people don't drink anywhere near enough water and it is the root of most of our health ills. Hope it goes well.
