Extended BFers - when your toddler eventually weaned....

[georgimama]

did he or she turn into an eating machine? Or is this just coincidence?

DS has never had a huge appetite but would (if allowed) nurse all night. Since he has given up the boob he has become a one toddler formation eating team. I can't fill him up!

Breakfast:

1 weetabix
1 piece of toast
cup of milk
2 x bananas

Still claims he wants more food!!

Is this normal?

How old is he? I'd say it was normal, yes!

DS is 21mths and I've just started weaning him off. Breakfast is the same as yours but swap bananas for raisins and dried apricot with his weetabix and an apple! He also has a mid morning snack (now increased to more like a mini-lunch!) and then a proper lunch. I used to do a platter type lunch for him but now have resorted to a mini dinner like pasta or jacket potatos as he seems to have hollow legs!

I'm sure they will level out or finish this growth spurt soon but I've always assumed any of his eating patterns to be normal. They'll eat what they need so dont worry.

22 months.

He had an absolute breast obsession, would have gone on for ever given the chance (I wanted to stop at around 2 and I expected some resistance hence starting at 22 months - actually the second night I didn't offer breast he didn't ask for it either so really he must have ready anyway) but it just didn't occur to me that breast milk must have had that many calories in it. Dim of me I know!

Same here georgiemama - total boobmonster! We are only stopping as DC2 is due in 6 weeks but I would have liked to go to 2.

Yesterday we went out for lunch with some friends. I took his tuna pasta with me so he didn't have to wait too long for his food, then he ate loads of pepper sticks and cucumber from my salad, olives, crusty bread, some of my popadom, and some vanilla ice cream to polish off. He ate about 3 x as much as my friend's four year old!

He has has always hovered around the 25th centile (was born on 50th but dropped at about 3 months) but now weighs 27.5 pounds. I'm just worried about him putting on too much weight - I'm being silly aren't I? He eats a healthy diet, it's not like he's on crisps and fruit shoots.

Spotty, I'm glad it's not just me.

I never knew that a child of over a year would just carry on nursing as much as they did at 6 months given the opportunity. I am an accidental extended BFer - I went back to work FT when he was 9 months so I carried on partly because it made me feel that we had a really close physical bond when I am away from him all day, and also because I was too tired to deal with the howls of protest!

georgimama, my 3.2yo ds hasn't weaned yet and feeds morning/night/once through the day/couple of times at night and he still eats in the quantities that you describe.

However, a few months ago he was dropping all his favourite foods one by one and hardly eating anything and all of a sudden he is back up to monster helpings.

I have concluded from this that their requirements vary at different times and you have to trust them to self regulate their intake. He probably won't eat like this forever.

HTH, and well done for feeding so long.

spottyshoes - you don't need to stop just because of the arrival of another dc, unless you really want to. Having a toddler to ease any engorgement in the early weeks can be very useful!

I'm an accidental one too, intially said 12mths. We both love it and he has always had loads - When he was very little he used to sleep with my nipple in his mouth at night and howl if I moved

I know Cantsleep but I really dont want to tandem feed. The way I feel is that I gave it to DS exclusively so I want to do the same for this one.