need some advice about quantities of food/milk

Hi ladies,

I know this topic has been brought up again and again but I just wanted to get your opinions. My gut instinct is that I should maybe cut out some of their milk intake. Honestly, I know they say if a kid doesn't want food they won't take it in but it just seems like all they do ALL day long is eat, drink sippy, eat, drink sippy and a little play thrown in there for good measure :laughing: I feel like we are cleaning up only to start again.

So here is what our day looked like today and you tell me what you think:

up around 7 am
milk 4-5 oz milk
breakfast (around 7:30-7:45)- fruit, pancake (1/2) and baby oatmeal
play
nap (9-10ish)
play
10:45-11:00 am milk 3.5-4oz
play
lunch 11:45- today my mom made them a veal stew and buckwheat, they ate what was supposed to be enough for them and me all by themselves!!! and had some blueberries for dessert
play
nap (2-3:30pm, today not usually so good)
3:30 snack- cheese, yogurt, cracker with avocado (thin layer on top) and grapes (pieces)
play
5:00 milk ~ my DS had around 3 oz and my DD had 4oz
5:30 dinner- pasta with meat for both and my son had some vegetable soup plus grapes for dessert
play/bath/story-time
6:55 pm- pre-bed bottle with just under 3 oz of milk
7:05-7:10 pm sleeping

DO you think having meat or fish at both lunch and dinner is too much? I make all my own food, so it's all very healthy.

I think everything is ok, my kids just like to eat. I mean they are healthy and growing. I just wondered if I should cut out some milk at this point b/c they do get their dairy daily by other means.

Looking forward to hearing what others are doing.

BTW, we had our 12 mos WBV and DS is 25 lbs and 5 oz @ 31 inches. DD is 22 lbs and 5 oz @ 30 inches.

 

I don't see an issue with it. By the time mine were eating full meals (about 12-13 months of age), I stopped measuring how much liquid they were getting. I prefer to offer milk at mealtimes, and watered down juice the rest of the day. But if they are still eating good then I wouldn't worry about.

But if you want to condense the milk into their mealtimes, and leave a sippy of water or watered juice out for them the rest of the day, then it might not feel like you are constantly cleaning from a meal

 

Looks fine to me. I dont measure their milk anymore, I just give them a cup with each meal. If they dont finish it, I give it to them while they play to finish up. The only thing I would do it drop the bedtime milk, but that is just me. My guys havent have milk before bed in ages. They dropped that at about 8 months.

 

Mine get an 8 ounce cup of milk before breakfast and before bed. They have either milk or water with meals and have a sippy of water available to them all day while playing.

Personally, I would move your sippies of milk to mealtime or combine them into just two sippies. I think that would reduce the number of times you are feeding them throughout the day.

 

That's about the only change I would suggest. Your schedule throughout day looks really good and it sound like your two are eating great and doing great! I don't think there is anything wrong with meat or fish at both dinner and lunch, if the kids will eat it, then go for it.

 

My day is almost the same except that they wake up earlier and are only napping once. In terms of milk/food it looks almost exactly what my girls are eating/drinking. They were both around 22lbs at their 12 month check-up (they didn't use the baby scale so I don't know the ounces) and both 30 inches. I feel like all I do is prepare food and clean up from one meal/snack to the next! We've also started letting them use utensils so it's gotten MESSY again!

I also try to do protein at each meal (meat, fish, tofu, eggs, etc) so I don't think twice a day is too much. Looks good to me but only because it's what I'm doing too .

 

I understand how you feel about it seems like you are always feeding them - I feel that way, too! The one thing I would suggest is maybe try to combine the morning milk with breakfast. I just started doing that, so it's one less time to get them in the highchair, etc. Now in the mornings, they get water and I throw out a handful or two of Cheerios. That keeps them happy until their breakfast, which is about an hour later. My guys are getting around 16 oz. of milk, which is what the pedi recommended for them based on their sizes (25 and 23 lbs. at their year checkup).

I give them meat twice a day as well. Haven't given them fish, though, because I don't like fish myself and I just can't bring myself to fix it. The smell makes me sick.

 

Ditto! We started giving milk just at meals when the boys turned one, and stopped measuring. I did find that as the months went by they really started ramping up on the food and scaling back the milk all on their own. We were buying almost 3 gallons a week at 12 months and now we go through less than 2.

I don't see any problem feeding meat at 2 or even 3 meals. Nate is such a carnivore, he'd eat meat 6 times per day if I let him! It's important to have protein, carbs and fat at every meal and snack; milk is a good source of both protein and fat (if you serve whole milk), but meat can be good for that too. :good:

Honestly, I think your LOs sound like they're doing great!! My guys turned into starving wolves as soon as they turned one (literally they can eat as much as I do at some meals) and they haven't stopped yet! :laughing: It amazed me because they're under 50% for height and each less than 27 pounds at 2 1/2 years old; I wonder where on earth all that food goes! :shok:

 

So I have been putting their milk in sippies and giving it to them along with their meals. They are doing pretty well but just not taking in the same amount of milk. DD is taking in about 13-14 oz/day and DS is only taking in about 12-13oz. Is that ok? He is eating well and doesn't want anymore milk. I feel that is ok but everyone talks about the 16-24 oz mark for 13 month olds.

 

I think that is fine as long as they have a well-balanced diet and are getting protein, calcium, etc. from other sources, too. Gabriel usually only drinks about 13-14 oz. a day, and our pedi said that was fine for his size and weight.

 

At our 12 month check-up I was told 14-16oz was OK.