Anyone else got a 14 month old who eats LOADS?

[Marypoppinsbrolly]

DS seems to be obsessed with food! I mean, I get it, I love food too but I swear he would constantly eat if I let him.
He’s quite long and sturdily built with deliciously chubby legs but doesn’t have chunky little fat rolls anywhere else

• has a little barrel belly now though! - so although he’s up there on the weight centiles

he doesn’t seem to be overweight

A typical day is:
Banana porridge with a handful of baby Cheerios

Organix bar/homemade mini raspberry pancakes/ homemade banana and avocado muffin (no sugar) or sugar free savoury muffin and half a pack of melty puffs

Lunch is usually leftovers so something like a generous portion of risotto/pasta/casserole/curry with veg or a bits and pieces lunch like cubes of cheese, hummus rice cakes, a couple of soldiers of bread, chopped tomato etc
Plus a handful of berries with yogurt

Afternoon snack is usually homemade porridge fingers/lentil fingers/or baby biscotti biscuits/ puffs/crunchy wheels/breadsticks and hummus depending on what he had earlier

Dinner is (depending on what he had for lunch) generous portion of cottage pie with cheesy leek mash, sweet potato and carrot fritters with rice or couscous, scrambled egg toast and avocado, chicken bake, homemade curry, lentil and veg bake, risotto but a decent sized portion with fruit or yogurt

He has more fruit than I’d like as he’s not keen or any type of raw veg/salad/cooked veg batons so I end up putting it into his cooked lunch or dinners but keep persisting with it!

It feels like a lot! And if I’m eating anything he’s like a little dog and stands bouncing where I’m sitting trying to grab it!

Nappies all normal so no concerns but I feel like I’m constantly making good!

Anyone else got DC like this?

Mine both eat loads and did already around 14 months but they are also quite active. Some kids just move more than others. We also go to the park twice a day. Recently when I picked my son up on a Friday the nursery owner said ‘This week he’s only had an age-appropriate portion for lunch each day... we’re all a bit worried about him’ (turned out to be laryngitis). Apparently he usually has 4 helpings.
Mine are very clear when they aren’t hungry so I let them eat when they are. They are both in a healthy weight range.

Mine was exactly the same. He still eats for England now but is much more fussy- classic 2.5 year old! I wouldn't worry too much as they all have different appetites. Sounds like it's very balanced and nutritious.

Thanks @MySocalledLoaf he’s rarely sitting still he’s always toddling about the playpen or trying to climb things or bouncing 😂
So that’s probably got more to do with it. He rarely sits still!

Four helpings that’s a hearty appetite right there :)

DC2 was a good mouth. Tbh whenever she was complaining about anything we would offer food she had big rolls in her arms and when she went to the beach she got white stripes anyways now she's perfectly normal!

What do you mean with "generous portion"? With my 3/4 yo kids I tend to fill the child bowls about half or 2/3.

Regarding veggies I found that taking snacks out of the house is a good way to get them introduced. If they're hungry they'll eat :) maybe some cucumber sticks with fruit as a snack when you go to the park. Mine love eating tomatoes and tinned sweetcorn (without salt).

With the meals I find that you need to overcook the vegetables a bit. No small kid likes "al dente"!! That's conceited cheffy stuff

My LO 3now has always been a great eater- literally runs herself ragged (and me) from 6am-7pm though. I have mum friends who moan how little their kids eat, they also noticeably are the kids that sit quietly with a train set for hrs- I don’t have one of those!

Maybe increase his protein and decrease his carbs a bit

@Flippyferloppy any suggestions for increasing protein? He has a good amount of eggs and yogurt and cheese, also has quite a lot of fish beef and turkey mince but he won't touch chicken at the moment. Thank you :)

@grey12 oh it's always a kids bowl, 2/3 full of the wooden round one usually and the one with three sections, all three sections are always full at meal times!

I've got the toddler bowl so I don't know if that's any different, but I was speaking to a friend today and she said her DS was nearly on adult sized portions at this age, then it suddenly evened out at about 16-18 months.
He's really hungry at the moment but has not long started walking so I imagine the activity is adding to that!

DD3 is like this, the only time she moans is over food.
Re protein she has Skyr yogurts with 10g protein vs normal kids yoghurts. Turkey is really good for protein though so good he eats that

Mine kids are adults now but ds1 was like this.
My mum was horrified and kept saying she had never seen a child eat so much!!
He grew out of it and became a fussy teenager!!
Ds1 was never and still isn't fat (despite my mum warning that if he carries on eating he would be huge and have chronic health problems!)
I think if he is having balanced meals it is fine. The only advice I would give us to go easy on the fruit due to the sugar. However it all sounds good.

I quite fancy a lentil and veg bake for tea now!

Would you switch to normal unsweetened porridge? And I’d stop the baby Cheerios.

@nimbusoats It’s normal oats I make it myself and add a tiny bit of mashed banana in with it as he has his vitamin drops in and it disguises the taste which he loathes! But yes I could switch to just oats and milk

The Cheerios don’t seem to be too bad sugar wise but he DOES have too much ready made I think in terms of snacks - been relying too much on melty puffs and hoops and things lately so trying to find some
Better snacks that actually have some
Decent nutrients in them and just save those for when we are out and about

Thanks for the yogurt tip I’ll look it up!

@notacooldad reassuring! Veg and lentil
Bake is a firm favourite here.
Yes I do worry about the fruit, he tends to have it with each main meal so I give him little portions each time so it’s spread out.
I also don’t love the amount of Ella’s kitchen and organix he gets as snacks but that’s purely due to time at the moment -
I’m hoping to work on that this week and bake more savoury muffins and pancakes to go in the freezer so they are easy to grab and heat

I find it so hard to work out if he’s getting enough of everything he should be

Marypoppinsbrolly
If your kid is like mine and many other teenagers in a few years time you will find yourself saying 'what's wrong with lentil bake? You used to love it!' Or 'toast and avocado was your favourite'
Then by the time they are 20 they are making it for themselves acting like they've discovered it for the first time!!!😂

😂😂😂 can’t wait that sounds wonderful and not at all frustrating

My son was a huge eater around this age. Used to have a smoothie on waking, weetbix for breakfast, porridge when he got to creche, toast&fruit creche snack, cooked creche lunch (curry etc), afternoon snack at creche, fruit/veg when he got home, dinner, then porridge before bed. It was crazy. I was literally all day feeding the kid and he would eat whatever I put in front of him . Now he's a 2. 5 year old who won't eat anything. Yesterday he had two apples and a bowl of porridge...despite me offering all sorts of things....i wish he would eat like he used to..

Is he feeding himself? He sounds just like my little one. He will keep going if I keep feeding it to him. However if he feeds himself with his hands or fork he starts to throw it off the high chair once he’s had a decent amount then I take it away and he is content.

Sorry I meant 17g protein.
I'm enjoying it whilst it lasts, DD3 currently eats better than DD2!

There's loads of recipes online to make the equivalent of the baby flapjack snacks etc. Though I do find the organix ones good for in a rush.

Re veg mine loves cucumber and carrot in thin ribbons.

Cutting the veg into ribbons is a great idea thank you I'll try it - do you cook them or leave them raw?

@motherchicken yes he feeds himself :) He's never sick so I don't think I'm overfeeding him

My DS was like this - he would eat from the minute he woke up to the minute he went to bed. But he was always on the go! When he was hungry was the only time he played up and he would eat virtually everything. He is now an adult with a big appetite but is not over weight.

I love little ones that eat well and really enjoy their food.

Yes! Dd2 (turned 15 months yesterday) eats for England. Almost equals her 5-year old sister some days.

She’s always been like this, ever since we made her wait for 6 months to start weaning as per nhs advice, and she practically bit our hands off when she finally got her hands on food

She was born 99th centile and is still up in the high 90s. At her one year check (the only time a HV has seen her due to covid) she said she was quite happy with that as she’s tracking on her line. It is gobsmacking some days how much food has gone into such a little person.

Does he have milk ? My DD is a similar age and if she has a bf before a meal she won't eat, if not she'll eat absolutely loads. She is very erm chunky though, with a big tummy.

He was formula fed and now we’ve cut down to one bottle in the evening. He has a cup of wholemilk during the day but that’s all he will take

No but I wish she was! Desperate for her to eat more.