Worried about the huge quanties of food that 2 yo ds is getting through.

[mawbroooooooooon]

I know, I know, I know, there are so many of you who are really worried about their toddlers living on fresh air, but I really am getting a bit worried about ds.

He was ill for around 5 weeks with a cough/cold then an ear infection, then tonsillitis followed by an awful diarrhoea bug which has left him with a dairy intolerence.

So, I have eliminated dairy entirely and he is back to his old self.

He was always a very good eater, but things have just got ridiculous!

He also has a severe egg allergy, so no egg and no dairy only seems to leave me with foods that are not that calorific. For example, rice, fish, beans/chickpeas, pasta, quinoa, fruit, potatoes, soup, ready brek (made with water), plain popcorn, crackers with pate (have to make myself as most have egg/dairy in), toast, hummus etc. He is asking for more of everything and sometimes even third helpings. Most meals, he is eating just as much, if not more, than me and DH.

He is now waking much earlier in the morning and doing the sign for hungry and he also wants any food that he sees, as well as asking for snacks many times through the day. We are still breastfeeding, so I am not worried about lack of calcium etc from dairy because he will get all that from the breastmilk, but now after he drains each breast, he asks for more milk, something he never did before. I know my supply is fine, so it's not like I've suddenly dried up or anything.

I am planning to keep him off dairy for a good while to let his insides heal. Looking back, he has had a low level intolerence since an awful D&V bug in May, and this recent bout has left him completely intolerent. I will possibly go down the goats milk/cheese route, but not yet as I feel it's a bit soon to potentially disturb his gut again.

Sorry this is so long. I just would like to hear if anybody else has encountered this with their toddler. Is he just catching up after being so ill? Will he slow down once he's caught up? I have been confident before that he was self regulating his food intake because he was exclusively breastfed to six months and then we did BLW, but my confidence in this theory is wavering a bit and would hate to think that I am encouraging him down the obesity road.

Thanks for reading all this!!

[Notyummy]

Is he actually fat?? I know that my dd goes through ages of eating LOADS, particularly after illnesses. She has never been a l.ightweight but has consisently stayed around the 91st centile since birth, regardless of what we tried to feed her (she was bf for first 6 months)

Tbh, unless he is actually overweight and oes lots of actibe things, I can't see a problem. It sounds like you are feeding him a very healthy diet within the restrictions of his allergies.

[bobsmum]

Hi Maw!

I got a great poster from Organix about children's fruit and veg portion sizes at different ages - it had photos which was really hellpful and a bit of an eye opener.

Found this www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/03/20897/55161 which (although talking about fruit again) suggests 2/3 of an adult portion for a preschooler - but that could include a 4.5 year old.

If your ds is eating as much as you in a day I think that's too much, but you've realised that too judging by your post.

Don't know anything about allergies unfotunately so can't help there, but if you don't get the right advice here - copy n paste onto the allergies board because some of the mums are more likely to have a nose there than behaviour.

There must be something "bulkier" out there he could munch on to fill him up

[Dontlookatmeimshy]

Hi Mb. Not got any advice, but if it's any consolation, ds is just the same. He constantly amazes me with how much he eats. He generally eats as much as or more than me of dh for breakfast and then keeps going through the day!! He always eats more after he's been ill too.

[Blueblob]

Both mine have gone through very hungry phases after illness and sounds like your poor son has been ill for quite a while. Did he loose much weight? My youngest was in hospital for a week and ill for several and he didn't stop eating for quite a while after.

Also I suppose many of the high calorie, high protein foods we commonly eat he can't have. My eldest was a huge fruit and veg eater and didn't like carbs much. He was like a cow and grazed all day as a toddler and pre-schooler

Added to that, there's all the growth spurts they have!

Sounds like he has a very healthy diet Do you do meat pate? Other option is lentil or broad beans spreads and pates.

[mawbroooooooooon]

Thanks for your replies. He is 86cm tall and weighs around 30lbs. He was last weighed after 36hours of breastfeeding alone when his tummy was really bad and he weighed 28lbs but of course his insides were very empty, so it wasn't really a true reflection of his weight IYSWIM. What I had noticed however is that clothes that I had previously though were getting tight had become very loose, so he obviously had lost round the middle.

Bluebob - I do chicken liver pate which he loves and I have also done my own hummus and other bean type spreads, but his favourite is just beans/chick peas on their own.

[Notyummy]

Although I have no height/weight charts to hand, that sounds fine to me. DD is 15 months old, and is 81cm and weighs nearly 26 1/2 pounds, so it sounds like he could lower down the range than her.

[bozza]

I agree that he sounds as though he is catching up following his illness. I am fairly sure that my DS was that sort of weight at 2. And as you have said most of the food he is eating is low calorie.

[ingles2]

I don't think you should worry really,...as other posters have said sounds like he has a great diet and children are self regulating at that age.Over eating as I understand it is learned behaviour. IIH's...my 2 ds's now 6+7 eat according to their growth spurts and always have. So they eat me out of house and home for a few weeks, they get a bit chunky, then they shoot up in height don't seem to eat so much and thin down.Then it starts all over again..so I would keep an casual eye for a couple of weeks and if he seems fine in himself don't worry!

[chankins]

Both my dds are the same - They are constantly asking for more. I let them have as much fruit and veg as they like and limit everything else so they don't get too used to overeating. If I let them they would snack all day, and I don't really want them to get into that habit of constantly having to be eating something. I think they just take after their dad, very skinny, but can eat loads! They are 3 and a half and 5 yrs.

[TheQueenOfQuotes]

my DS2 is a champion eater - and always has been - he was eating portions bigger than me by the time he was in his "2's". (to give an example he can eat 3 (thick) pork sausage, a fried egg, tomato, baked beans, mashed potato and mushrooms when I do a fortnightly "bangers and mash").......and sitll has space for desert.

As long as he's not getting fat because of it don't worry - DS2 is like a stick and people are always amazed at the amount of food he consumes.

[mawbroooooooooon]

Thanks again for your replies. Yesterday was a bit more normal foodwise and ds let me make his ready brek this morning without hanging off my leg wailing with hunger.

I am reassured to know that other toddlers eat like this as well, especially after illness.

Thanks