Toddler Seems to Eat like a Bird Some Days...

Totally normal. Sounds like he's getting a lot of nutrition in those bottles. Two or three 8-oz bottles is a lot of formula at that age. You might consider cutting back or giving him milk so he's not drinking so many calories. He might be more intersted in food.

It's pefectly normal for them not to eat a lot. My older kids were the same way I wondered how they grew..lol although they did not get bottles of anything or drink formula past a year old. He knows what his body needs. We eat because it tastes good and babies and toddlers eat to fill their bellies.

I post this a couple times a year... because Yup!! Totally normal. When we're allowed to, we all go through different phases with our eating. Being forced to eat when we're not hungry doesn't really make a lot of sense (esp since many people spend the rest of their lives trying to only eat when hungry). But here's a laugh for you :

THE TODDLER DIET

People are always on the lookout for a new diet. The trouble with most diets is that you don't get enough to eat (the starvation diet), you don't get enough variation (the liquid diet) or you go broke (the all-meat diet). Consequently, people tend to cheat on their diets, or quit after 3 days.

Well, now there's the new Toddler Miracle Diet.

Over the years you may have noticed that most two year olds are trim. Now the formula to their success is available to all in this new diet. You may want to consult your doctor before embarking on this diet, otherwise, you may be seeing him afterwards. Good Luck !!!

DAY ONE

Breakfast: One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly. Eat two bites of egg, using your fingers; dump the rest on the floor. Take one bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and cloth.

Lunch: Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and a glass of milk (three sips only, then spill the rest).

Dinner: A dry stick, two pennies and a nickel, four sips of flat Sprite.

Bedtime snack: Throw a piece of toast on the kitchen floor.

DAY TWO

Breakfast: Pick up stale toast from kitchen floor and eat it. Drink half bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.

Lunch: Half tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick and a handful of Purina DogChow (any flavor). One ice cube, if desired.

Afternoon snack: Lick an all-day sucker until sticky, take outside, drop in dirt. Retrieve and continue slurping until it is clean again. Then bring inside and drop on rug.

Dinner: A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up your left nostril. Pour Grape Kool-Aid over mashed potatoes; eat with spoon.

DAY THREE

Breakfast: Two pancakes with plenty of syrup, eat one with fingers, rub in hair. Glass of milk; drink half, stuff other pancake in glass. After breakfast, pick up yesterday's sucker from rug, lick off fuzz, put it on the cushion of best chair.

Lunch: Three matches, peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Spit several bites onto the floor. Pour glass of milk on table and slurp up.

Dinner: Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips, some red punch. Try to laugh some punch through your nose, if possible.

FINAL DAY

Breakfast: A quarter tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap, an olive. Pour a glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes, add half a cup of sugar. Once cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed cereal to dog.

Lunch: Eat bread crumbs off kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Find that sucker and finish eating it.

Dinner: Drop pieces of spaghetti onto back of dog, insert meatball into ear. Dump pudding into Kool-Aid and suck up with a straw.

REPEAT DAYS AS NEEDED!

My ped actually warned us about this at my daughter's 18 month check up. She said that you have to focus on their overall diet (over a week, not just one day) and if it looks okay from that viewpoint, they're probably okay. She called it the toddler diet, where they'll eat one (two if you're really lucky) good meal a day and other than that they just sorta graze all day. Still, it's really frustrating and gives us Moms just another reason to worry about them! If you're still worried, you could try figuring out what his best meal of the day typically is (my daughter's is dinner) and give him as many options (nutritionally) during that meal. Yes, it might mean you're offering him a veggie at breakfast, but at least you know he's getting some at some point that day! Or let his lunch/dinner become his snacks throughout the rest of the day. Your son will probably hit a growth spurt around age 2 and he'll eat everything that isn't nailed down.

Perfectly normal. But since there is starting to be some good evidence that being open to new flavors/tastes (being an adventurous eater) is a pattern set very early, you might consider discontinuing the toddler formula in favor of a wide variety of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, fish and meat (if you eat it). Best of luck,

my 2 year old daughter is just like that. she will eat a ton one day, and the next few days barely eat a thing. but i've found her appetite is very linked to her BMs. she tends towards very constipated, and if she hasn't pooped, she won't eat. but if he's pooping fine, he's just being a normal toddler.

I always worried about my son but we have to remember their tummys are TINY! Kids eat when they are hungry--they are soooooo smart!

Some kids are grazers and eat little bits of food the whole day through. I would put a bowl of food out and see if he likes different things. May be baby carrotts,slices of red pepper. He is now going to be more interested in the world around him and playing. I would not worry about it as long as he is eating and growing.

One, the phrase "eating like a bird" is a misnomer since they actually eat their weight every day. Two, it's normal for your little guy. :)

When I was worried about my youngest daughter doing the same thing, the doc told me to write down what she ate over an entire week. For children that's a much better way of doing it because their nutritional needs are so different from an adults. If, over the week, you can see that yes, he's getting plenty of grains, dairy, fruit/vegge and some meat, than that's pefectly normal. And if during a week or two you might notice he's eating more of one group than another, that's ok too because they may be needing something from that group more (such as a particular vitamin or other nutrient). As long as they're not losing weight, it's perfectly fine.

My daughter is still like that. I specifically make her plate with smaller portions with the knowledge that she could go back for more and often does. This is also a child that can eat a whole quart of yogurt by herself (she doesn't often do this; only on the days I'm super distracted/busy such as cleaning days and she's able to sneak off in her little play house with it.).

My 4 and & 7 1/2 year old boys still do the same thing now. They are growing like they should and are perfectly healthy so its nothing I or their doctors worry about.
No advice for you but you're not alone.

They do that! But if he's not going to eat much, I'd make sure what is put in front of him is optimal nutrition. Eggos, juice, and chocolate almond milk are all nothing but processed carbohydrates. Sounds like he's getting the bulk of his nutrition from toddler formula, which is not balanced enough for a 18 month old. He needs more fruits and veggies! Call your pediatrician and check with him about his diet.

Kids, or anybody, should eat according to their body's cues. Not per emotion or boredom.
So if hungry, eat.
If full, stop.

That is how my kids are. I don't make them eat a certain amount or everything that is on their plate.

Appetites, in kids and in adults... DO fluctuate. Fluctuating is normal.
No one has the same exact appetite every day.

Just let it be. No battles.
He is healthy and sturdy.
He's fine.
I would not worry about it.