I have a 17 month old girl that loves to eat! Whenever I feed her she won't have even finished what is in her mouth and is already crying for more. I have tried to let her feed herself, but she stuffs large amounts in her mouth. I feed her what I think she needs but she screams for more. I am so worried that I am overfeeding her and it might cause her to gain a lot of weight. She will eat anything so I give her lots of healthy options, I am more worried about the amount she is eating. She goes to a daycare during the day so I am not sure exactly the amount of food she is getting during the day. I tell her sitter to monitor it. It just really worries me that she wants to eat all the time. Other people have made the comment that she is heavy baby, but I won't know what her percentile she is until I go to the doctor for her 18 month appt. She just started walking so I don't know if that will help. I just want to be a responsible parent and make sure I am not overfeeding and causing her to gain weight. Any advice would be great!
Try not to stress - continue to offer her healthy choices and see what the Dr says. ALSO, when they begin to walk, they do slim down : )
1- I read 'over reacting'... derrrrr.
2- At 17 months, you hardly have to worry about over feeding. This is probably a growth spurt. My kids are always going through growth spurts; they grow up, then out, then up, then out...
3- Ask the daycare to log what/when/how much she eats so you have a better idea of what to tell the doctor.
4- If she's walking, she's burning more calories, and needs more fuel.
My son eats alllllll day, but he eats like a bird! He burns off a handful of whatever in 30 minutes and needs more. I think this is pretty age appropriate :)
You didn't mention if your husband or you have weight issues. If you don't, I wouldn't worry. She's probably going through a growing phase. I was told that my oldest son was borderline obese at 18 months (he ate healthy). Since both my husband and I are tall and thin, I said I didn't think I had anything to worry about and blew it off. He's now tall and thin (12 years old) and very active. He still loves food and will at least try anything. Be happy that you don't have a picky eater (I have one of those, too). If she's eating healthy and is active, she'll be fine. Those are the keys to good health.
I would mention it to your doctor at the 18 month appointment. If she is seriously overeating, there may be some stomach issues that are causing it. Babies don't usually overeat though. If everything is normal, I would limit her protein and carbs, but let her eat all the veggies and fruits she wants. Is this a recent thing? A lot of kids increase their eating habits before a big growth spurt and she sounds like she may be at that age. My son grew a whole lot at 18 months. I hope that helps .
My toddler likes to shove food in her mouth and then she chokes, so we give her little bites and only a few at a time. It slows her down so she doesn't choke and it helps her stomach catch up and say "I'm full now". If you are concerned, you can call your pediatrician and discuss it. There are also days when DD eats everything and days it's hard to get her to eat, so I try to look at her overall consumption. If you let her graze (say with a snack cup of cereal), don't fill it all the way and see if she stops when it's empty. Could she be in a growth spurt or learning a new skill (which requires energy)?
As long as you are giving her health options then she is fine. I have two boys (20 months and 4 1/2) they consistantly out eat me and they are "string beans". Sounds like a growth spurt to me. Are you still spoon feeding her? Have you tried giving her the spoon and see how she does? If she is putting to much in her mouth at once move her plate away and tell her to slow down. She will get the hang of it.
If you fed her a low-sugar vegetarian diet, she could eat all day and be perfectly fine. Her appetite is only likely to increase as she is now mobile and burning more calories.
So as long as she is starving for food, make it fresh fruits and veggies only and there will be no weight problem, ever.
I was going to ask a very similar question. My son eats non stop. I try to keep it healthy, but he is at daycare and so I can't control it there :( I can't wait to see your responses.
She may be going through a growth spurt. When kids are growing they eat like crazy. Keep offering her more fruits and try to keep the junk (cookies chips ect) out of her diet as much as possible. Since she is walking now do as much asyou can to keep her active. The fact that she is walking now could also lead to the overeating, she's using more calories now.
I wish I had a good answer. My son (age 3) would not stop eating, ever, if I did not make him. I give him only healthy foods (no juice or crackers or anything with no nutritional value). He has never had fast food or soda, but he is still considered obese. I have given the daycare/pre-school strict guidelines on what is appropriate for him to eat but I think they stick to my guidelines loosely and give him large quanitites of food. We have put in a swing set in our yard, bought him a bike and got him involved in two extracurricular activities that are based on exercise. He asks for snacks constantly and it is wearing to say the least. He has been tested for an endocrine disorder and had his hand x-ray to determine bone age. All normal. Pediatrician states it is a learned behavior but he was this way at birth. I feel bad for him. At this age we are responsible for him but I am out of ideas. I feel like we avoid fun things that have food involved as to not have him associate happiness with food so it means our life is a bit limited (no marshmallow roasts, no having going out for dessert, no snacks at the carnival or sporting event, etc). I feel like people look at my child and think I am a lazy parent feeding my child soda and fast food all the time. Even his great-grandfather looked at him and told him, "you eat too much". Boy I wish I had an answer.
