[Monica77]

Hi,

Vanessa and Max are 19 months old and they are big kids. At their 18 months appointment they were over 30 pounds each and Vanessa 34 inches and Max 34.5 inches and I have the feeling they grew in the meantime. Max is above 95% in weight and height and Vanessa is off the chart, I didn't know that was possible. They were at 70% on the weight/height ratio chart. The other day a neighbor saw us taking a walk and she asked if they are 3 already, they look that big.

I have the feeling they are always hungry, but maybe they need more food now that they are older and bigger. They seem to get really hungry between breakfast and lunch. They usually share a mango for breakfast and have a cup of milk with cheerios each. Then at 10 AM they have a banana and goldfish, then lunch around 12, then a snack at 3:00 PM - milk and goldfish usually. Then at 6 PM they have a banana and at 7 PM they have dinner and a cup of milk. They eat a lot, they ask us to give them food from our plates when we eat also. My goal isn't to have overweight kids but I also don't want to starve them. They are very energetic, climbing on everything and running all day. Lately they seem more whiney than usual, and I wonder if maybe it's because they are hungry, they seem much happier after a snack.

Do they need more food? Please let me know what you feed your kids around this age and also I need some healthy snacks ideas, we usually give them goldfish, cheerios, fruit - bananas, pineapple, mangos, oranges, pears, but bananas are a favorite. For lunch and dinner they eat anything we give them, fish, chicken, any kinds of veggies and fruit, pasta, rice and they have plain yogurt after each meal.

Thank you,

Monica

PS My thread was supposed to be called Food, but I mistyped, and I tried to edit the title but I couldn't.

[megkc03]

I fixed the title for you. :) But man, they are bigger than my 4.5 year old! Lol! But he's just a small kid. He was 30 lbs at his four year and 36 inches. Lol!

As for food...it sounds like you are doing a great job already. I personally, would limit the goldfish type snacks. I know when I brought Anthony in for his four year, the pediatrician mentioned snacks with him. She said not to give him the empty calorie ones(goldfish, etc). She suggested cheese sticks, apples with peanut butter, bananas with peanut butter, full fat yogurt, etc. Now I know you are not trying to beef the up at all, but maybe have more filling type snacks vs goldfish, etc? Have yogurt be a snack in between meals. Fruit is always great too. You said they eat veggies so maybe veggies sticks-cucumbers, peppers, etc would be good too.

Sounds like you have some healthy kids though for sure!

[eagleswings216]

My kids are big, too, so I know the feeling! And they go through spells where all they want to do is eat, but in the last 6 months or so, their eating has chilled out a bit and their growing has slowed way down, too. But I have had them in 3T clothes for about a month already (and I could have done DS1 sooner but I held him back a bit so I could keep them in the same size). People are often shocked when I say they just over 2 years old (they also talk a lot and very well, so most people assume they are 3 or older).

Anyway, typical day for us in terms of food is something like this:
breakfast - each get fruit (usually one of the single serve fruit cups), plus either a muffin, oatmeal, pancakes, etc. (all about the portion size of a muffin)

lunch - usually some sort of meat (meatloaf, chicken, etc.) - around a 2 oz. portion or so, plus around 2-3 oz. of vegetables

mid-afternoon snack - fruit, yogurt, and/or string cheese

dinner - similar to lunch, but maybe a bit more (and I often have a meatless meal once a day - grilled cheese, veggie soup, etc.)

bedtime snack - usually some crackers, dried fruit, etc.

Some days, they don't finish all that they are offered, and some days they are begging for more. I usually start off offering them the above, and if they ask for more, I offer them something healthy, like fruit or yogurt, or whole grain crackers. They are soy intolerant still, so meals and snacks can be a bit tricky for us. I end up making a lot of stuff from scratch and portioning it out and freezing it.

[rollergiraffe]

18 months was a hungry time for my boys too. I just fed and fed and fed them all day long and they would eat anything I gave them. It has tapered off in the last 6 months or so (they're almost 3) and now they're more toddler picky about what they eat but they have relatively good eating habits. I say just feed them if they're hungry! Offer lots of healthy choices and talk about what makes a good diet.

[MarchI]

I think your schedule sounds fine. I would do a protein at breakfast (yogurt. egg) but other than that, wouldn't change the timing at all.

[Monica77]

Thank you for your replies. For some reason I realized I never gave my kids eggs, so I will try that also. They rarely have a ricota cheesa sandwich - maybe once a week, and that's the only bread I give them, but they are able to eat more than a slice of bread each. I don't have any string cheese but I had some provolone cheese and I gave them each a slice as a snack earlier, and they loved it. They only eat steamed veggies that I chop and I make some sauce with other steam veggies, we usually make their food, so I never know about quantities, I just combine stuff as I go, and if it tastes OK to me I feed them. I never put salt in their food either, maybe some lemon juice when they have fish. One of their favorite is spinach and ricotta cream with pasta or rice and chicken or fish, and chopped steamed carrots, peppers and whatever else I feel like adding.

They had french toast a few times so far, and maybe crepes twice a month. They never had pancakes or waffles for breakfast, because I am afraid to give them stuff that can make them fat. They never had grilled cheese sandwiches either. I really am watching that they eat healthy, and gold fish and cheerios are the only treats :), they don't get candy or cookies or any kind of juice, they only drink water and milk. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful they are good eaters, and I am sure at some point they will become picky, I just want to make sure I am not overfeeding them or underfeeding them, I feel like it's always a guessing game and they always seem to want more.

Speaking of clothes sizes, Chidlren's place had a big sale in February and I bought some 3T clothes for Vanessa to wear next fall and surprise surprise she can fit in them very well now - 3 T pants look good on her, not too large, not too long, also, 3 T T-Shirts, and skirts and long sleeves shirts - the sleeves are OK also and they are not too large at her sholders. And just to have an idea, I just bought Max some size 8 sneakers from Target that fit him great. He is still OK in 24 months clothes, but the pants are kind of short.

Have a great day,

Monica

[eagleswings216]

I feed my kids pretty healthy, too, but I do allow them occasional "bad" things. They get grilled cheese about once a week. Same thing with hot dogs and easy mac, and they eats lots of veggies and fruits.

I guess I'm wondering why you think pancakes or waffles would make them fat? And bread? Healthy carbs are an important part of a balanced diet. If you make the pancakes and waffles yourself, they can be pretty healthy, especially if you give them fruit with it, which is what I do (no syrup or butter).

As for bread, what about peanut butter and jelly on whole grain bread? I get low sugar jelly, all natural peanut butter, and whole wheat bread, and usually serve it with some sort of fruit.

[Monica77]

eagleswings216, on 12 April 2012 - 07:01 PM, said:

I feed my kids pretty healthy, too, but I do allow them occasional "bad" things. They get grilled cheese about once a week. Same thing with hot dogs and easy mac, and they eats lots of veggies and fruits.

I guess I'm wondering why you think pancakes or waffles would make them fat? And bread? Healthy carbs are an important part of a balanced diet. If you make the pancakes and waffles yourself, they can be pretty healthy, especially if you give them fruit with it, which is what I do (no syrup or butter).

As for bread, what about peanut butter and jelly on whole grain bread? I get low sugar jelly, all natural peanut butter, and whole wheat bread, and usually serve it with some sort of fruit.

I think you are right. Since my kids were always so big, I was a bit reluctant to give them carbs, but I realize they may need some bread or something more filling in the morning. Thanks for opening my eyes on this one, I will start giving them more bready things. Their "unhealthy" foods come from our plates :), whenever we eat, we let them taste our food, so they had mac and cheese also, and peanut butter and spaghetti with meatballs, or breaded chicken, but that's more like a few bites after they are done with their meal, not their main meal. Ah, and as you can see, I am not so concerned with my own diet :), but hey, I mean well for my kids :). On a more serious note, my husband deosn't really eat veggies, so I am afraid of them becoming like that, that's why I push them to eat veggies now while they still like them :).

[eagleswings216]

Monica77, on 12 April 2012 - 09:48 PM, said:

I think you are right. Since my kids were always so big, I was a bit reluctant to give them carbs, but I realize they may need some bread or something more filling in the morning. Thanks for opening my eyes on this one, I will start giving them more bready things. Their "unhealthy" foods come from our plates :), whenever we eat, we let them taste our food, so they had mac and cheese also, and peanut butter and spaghetti with meatballs, or breaded chicken, but that's more like a few bites after they are done with their meal, not their main meal. Ah, and as you can see, I am not so concerned with my own diet :), but hey, I mean well for my kids :). On a more serious note, my husband deosn't really eat veggies, so I am afraid of them becoming like that, that's why I push them to eat veggies now while they still like them :).

Your husband sounds just like mine! There are only a couple of vegetables he will even THINK about eating. So far the kids haven't noticed, but I'm sure they will one day.

Another thing to think about - as far as mac and cheese (which my kids would eat every day if I let them!). I found some noodles at the grocery store that are actually 25% vegetables, and they love them (they are the tiny shells rather than actual mac noodle shape, but they bake up just fine). I also use real cheese, not processed cheese, milk, and just a touch of butter.

It's definitely easy to get into a habit or routine with meals and then you just don't think to change things up unless someone says something that makes you think about it. I remember being really worried that my kids were too big or overweight, but they have always stayed in pretty much the same percentiles for weight and height, so we are doing okay it seems.

This post has been edited by eagleswings216: 12 April 2012 - 09:58 PM

[w101ttd]

I agreed to pps. Give them as much food as you ask which their bodies require. I would just adjust their diet a bit. I see you dont give them enough carb ( white rice roll it into small balls, wheat bread, whole grains cereal, whole grains pancakes,..) and chese, some scramble egg. maybe its the reason they are hungry all the time. Carb helps them feel full longer. You can just give them just steamed veggies, cut down the sauce (which is extra cals). usually sauces have lot of extra cals. If you give them yogurt, you might can cut down on whole milk yogurt. Just change their diet a bit: reduce some high cal but not important, and add some foods fill full longer

Your schedule sounds very good. here is ours:

wake up: milk, 1 slide of raisin bread / banana bread. half bowl of whole grains cereal.
10 Am second breakfast: scramble egg (1 each), some saussage, steamed veggies.
snack: milk, fruit (strawberries, grapes, catalope).

nap: 2-3 hours
lunch: slided cheese, rice/noodles, shrimp (honey BBQ chic wings/turkey/..), steamed greenbeans/brocollies, sweetcorns. Yogurt
snack: a slide of bread/ wheat breakfast bar, fruit
dinner: simmilar to lunch.

My kids eat lot of carb. I guess its because they are half asian. their intaken crab usually: white rice, fried rice with egg, vietnamese soup with rice noodles (their fav), spaghetti, mac and cheese, bread, pancake.

Also, if you concern about their weight but dont want to change their diet. You can add some exercise time. like take them to park, let them run free. Get 2 tricycles, bring them to park. They will go crazy for 1 good hour. that will help them burn cals and build muscles. My kids can walk a good 1 -2 mile walk / day.They love taking a walk with us. Last weekend, we took them to park. They loved runing free everywhere. Then we took a long walk around the park. I would say its about 2 miles or more. If you still use stroller, i would minimize it as much as possible. We stopped using strolers around 14 months. My kids always walk and walk. its every hard to keep up with 2 toddlers walking to different directions. But you and they will learn eventually. My kids are over 90% height but its so hard for me to keep them over 30% of weight. If you ever see my girl eat, you would say "she eats like a man" but always skinny.

Another thing to concern is their metabolism. Some people have high metabolism rates, so they eat alot and dont move much, but still stay skinny. Other kind of people have low rate of metabolism. So its very easy for them to put up weights. Kids are the same. The only way to fix it is exercise.

Finally, dont stress too much. Your kids are over 90% for both height and weight. Its GOOD. If they were 50% of height and over 90% of weight, then yes you should be worried. Just enjoy them :). GL!