Can I have your thoughts on my 2 year old DS's eating and milk intake/schedule please?

[boredbuthappy]

DS is turning 2 in 2 weeks. since he was born, I was very good with feeding schedules, weaning, transition to cow's milk etc. Lately though, I have completely lost the movtivation to continue to transition him from one stage to the next ie he still has his milk in bottles. This is what his typical day looks like:

Milk in a bottle on waking
Breakfast at around 8:30 or 9
lunch around 12
milk in a bottle or snack around 3 after waking from nap
supper around 5:30

Should I cut out some milk? Should he be eating more frequently?

I'm lost here, but my gut is telling me I need to change something because he's had this schedule since he was around 10 or 11 months...

I know I need to get him off the bottles, but with the tantrums, refusal to sleep, hopeless potty training, and countless other things being dealth with, I cannot imagine how I might achieve that.

Would love some advice or examples of what your 2 years are doing feeding-wise.

[nextphase]

21 months here.

Shortly after waking: slice of toast and cup of milk (we didn't do bottles, so no advice there, sorry)
8.30 - bowl of cereal
(snack if hungry)
11.30 lunch
3 snack and water to drink
5.30 tea and pudding

Is there any way he would stop the morning milk, and you could have breakfast then a snack mid morning?

Not big milk drinkers tho - the 4 of us get through 4-6 pints a week total.

Nowhere close to potty training!

[bigkidsdidit]

My 2.1 yo has:

7am cup of milk, ss now, about 6oz I would guess
7.30 breakfast
10 small snack
10.30-12.30 or 1 nap
1.30 lunch
5 dinner

No other milk than his morning cup

I would add in a snack.

I'm very impressed about the potty training, I'm not even going to contemplate that for 6 months yet!

[ihearttc]

DS2 was 2 in November-

5oz of milk (still in a bottle as well!) at about 7am
7.30 Breakfast-cheerios,weetabix or shreddies with milk.
10ish after school run-snack of either brioche/rice cakes with some fruit
12pm-lunch-beans on toast/scrambled egg etc Yoghurt and a banana
3pm on school run-snack of breadsticks/apple etc
5pm-tea of spag bol,casserole,roast etc followed by small cake or desert and some more fruit
7pm-8oz of milk before bed...and yes still in a bottle

He is tiny as was premature but can eat loads as is very active and just burns it off so very quickly so he does eat quite often.

I was a dental nurse for many years before children and there is nothing wrong with having milk in a bottle if its drunk quickly and then teeth brushed etc...problem is when they walk round with it all day long. I know if I stopped it in the bottle he wouldn't drink it at all like DS1 did but cause he is so tiny he needs all the calories he can get!

[ihearttc]

Oh and totally agree with the potty training...nope not even going to attempt that for at least another 6 months! He needs to be able to talk first which is proving rather difficult!

[patchesmcp]

I think you're over thinking things. What's wrong with his schedule? Is he healthy, and a good weight? Does he eat his breakfast, lunch and tea? If so, what's the problem?

The only thing I'd try and work on is the bottle, but I wouldn't beat yourself up over it.

[LittleMilla]

Sod the bottles. Ds is 21 mo and I am just not worrying about it. He only has one in the evening tho.

This is what our day looks like (he's at nursery 4 days a week).

Breakfast at 7am (two weetabix and more if he's allowed )

Snack of breadsticks or rice cakes at about 10am

Lunch at 11.30 - they normally have a proper meal iykwim

Sleep 12.15-1.15

'Tea' of wraps, fruit and cake at 3.30

Supper with me at about 6pm

Bed and bottle at about 7.15

It seems to work and we loosely follow this on non nursery days. He's a chunky little boy which is why I started to cut down on milk aged about 1?

Hope that helps?

[BeaWheesht]

Dd was 2 at the end of September.

She doesn't have bottles anymore but only because she had norovirus 6 weeks ago and didn't want them so I didn't reintroduce them.

Her routine is:

6am ish wakes up
7am ish - very small bowl cereal and yogurt, sometimes fruit.
9am (after school run) - second breakfast of a crumpet / pancake and grapes / banana
Sometimes a biscuit or something at toddlers
1145-130pm - nap (wish this was earlier but it isn't!)
150pm - lunch eg today - large spoon of beans on toast and yogurt and a biscuit
330pm - usually has babybel / few crisps because she likes to join in with after school snack
530pm - dinner eg: small plate pasta and custard for dessert was today's.
7pm - bed

Drinks vvvvvv weak squash, semi skimmed milk, occasionally a smoothie, milkshake or apple juice.

[BeaWheesht]

Also he's very young for potty training IMHO.

With ds (now 6) I tried at just 2 and it was a disaster at about 2 y 6 m he took his nappy off one day and that was him potty trained

[FunnysInLaJardin]

DS2 was 3 last week and still has a bottle in the morning and one at night. He is very attached to his bottles! He is also half potty trained and eats normal food at normal mealtimes

[boredbuthappy]

Thanks for all your replies. I think I may try and cut down on the milk, maybe jsut give him one at bedtime.

The potty training I'm not too worried about, I know it's still very early, but he tells me when he's about to do a poo so I thought I should at least give it a go. It's not going well though, I'll just leave it at that.

He eats well normally, and is healthy but I do feel as though the quantity may not be enough and we may be caught in a catch 22 with the milk.

Maybe we'll try breakfast first tomorrow...

[fififrog]

I just give DD (23months) milk if she asks for it (shock!). This all started at 14 months as I was BF first thing and in the evening but she was teething and got bitey in the evening so one day I'd had enough and didn't offer, just left a cup on the side which she started off having most days and gradually started ignoring to the point it was beteer she ask for it than I pour it out and waste it. Same thin happened with the morning feed at 18 months, though she never replaced breast with cow at all really for that one.

I agree with the others, if it's working why change it? Re the bottle though, you might be interested that We dropped the morning feed after I said "you'll soon be a big girl and have milk in a cup" to which she replied "yes" and the very next day stopped demanding to be fed. Maybe talk to him about big boys having a cup?

Anyway, to add another routine to the mix:
Up at 6.15
Breakfast 7.15 cereal/porridge + water and a sip of my juice
On nursery days second breakfast of rice crispies + toast at 8.30
9.30 snack eg crackers/banana + water at home or milk at nursery
12.00ish lunch (pasta or soup or sandwich plus yoghurt or fruit)
3.00 milk and biscuit (or on nursery days something like ravioli!!)
6.00 dinner (pasta or curry or fish fingers, sausages, omelet etc plus yoghurt/fruit)

Once every 3 months she will ask for milk first thing, usually at the weekend when breakfast tends to be later and we have toast in bed)
About once a fortnight she'll ask for milk mid-morning. If she's ill she drinks gallons of it.

[tangledupinpoo]

This'll make you feel better, bored, my 3 yo DS2 still has milk in a bottle first thing, and at story time! I feel the same as Ihearttc - he drinks it down in one go; cleans teeth afterwards; it's milk not ribena. Meh, how bad can it be?! Your schedule sounds fine. Two-year-olds are still little.

[tazmo]

Do take care - my dd2 used milk as comfort and she was starting to demand milk about 6/7 times a night and hardly ate food. She now gets a bottle at night and milk with cereal only. She's put on 5 lbs since doing that alone! Dd is terrible eater!

[mewkins]

At 2 we were still on a morning and evening bottle. For some reason we just switched to a beaker at night and she is fine with that. For a year or so we were using a hard teat on the bottle though- Mam make some which fit Avent bottles etc and are a good halfway hpuse between bottle and beaker. Though st two I would be inclined to explain that he is big enough to not need bottles and that big boys use beakers. If he refuses for more than a week assume he doesn't need the milk as such and just focus on invreasing dairy via yoghurt, cereal etc..