My nearly 3yo dd is hungry ALL the time...

[notevenamousie]

... and she eats loads, really, and is still around the 10th centile for weight and height. She is 3 next month, very into making things as well as physical things like riding her bike, etc.

She has had a steady stream of infections the last two months since starting a new nursery. She has 3 healthy meals - 1 big, 2 smaller at nursery, plus a small breakfast and a big tea at home. I go for balanced and healthy as well as calorific so lots of protein and starchy carbs to balance the snacking-on fruit and veg.

With all the bugs she has been coughing for weeks (about 6+) and not sleeping well for the same sort of time. She's had a course of antibiotics for the cough and 3 GP visits. She used to sleep through. She now wakes up starving sometimes.

I don't know if I am over or under reacting but I would be grateful for any help or ideas or thoughts. Thank you.

Anyone? Sorry for being a bit needy

hi mousie, my dd is 3 but going to be 4 next month, also a bottomless pit when it comes to food, regular waking at midnight for what dh has now come to call her "midnight feast", and despite all good intentions and good advice it is atm a whole lot better just to feed her a bowl of cereal and a milkshake and put her back to bed - that way we all get relatively undisturbed sleep
I have to say one other thing though, she has always confused tired and hungry - in both directions iyswim. Only when I know for certain that she's tired rather than hungry do I insist that she stays in bed. And she's below average weight and height so can't actually complain at her eating.
My dd also has asthma and has had a cough for a similar length of time, which we're dealing reasonably well with inhalers, but not quite well enough to get rid of it...
what's your biggest concern? keep posting!

Hi. What is her general metabolism like? Is her heartrate faster than usual for example? Just wondering as my DD at 2 became very hungry, thin and unable to sleep and this was because her thyroid was overactive. It could be worth asking your gp to test for it.

Have a closer look at what she is eating, a healthy diet to us is often different to a 3 year old. They need fats as well and food that takes longer to digest. But it sounds like she is just an active child who is naturally going to be slim, are you or her dad also slim.
Does she actually eat everything at nursery, and is she may be thirsty especially with all the coughing. Perhaps she is about to have a growth spurt. I would just keep an eye on her weight and growth and also get her thyroid checked.

Thank you all so much. It's no different at the weekend, and I try and ensure she has toddler appropriate meals with the right fats, such as shepherds pie or a pasta bake with full fat creamy sauce and mince and vegetables, etc.

I am worried that the sleep issues are not good for her. Or me.
And that the hungry all the time indicates there is something wrong.
And that my (solo) parenting is lacking here and this is just something to demonstrate that.
Thank you for asking me the question, gigglewitch.