14 month old eating too much (??)

[MyHamsterIsSmarterThanMe]

I'm a bit worried about my toddler. Since he's started solids he just seems to want to eat all the time. He was born on the 75th but since starting solids he's quickly moved up and remained at the top end of the centiles, currently he's on the 96th for weight. He isn't short but his height is only somewhere around the 70th so he isn't exactly proportional. He was combination fed till about a year when I stopped breastfeeding. At his one year review the HV told.me.he should only be having about 150ml of milk a day (but this seems to contradict the NHS advice which I think states.aomething like 400-700ml a day) and she said he should only have a handful of each food group at each each meal. His handful. He eats more like gorilla handfuls.

I should.probably keep a diary but rough this is his routine:

7am: 180ml of milk
8am: nursery breakfast
10am nursery snack
11.30 lunch
2pm snack
3pm tea
4pm snack (berries or some baby wafers)
5.30 dinner
7.30 bedtime milk (about 240ml)

If he's eaten less in the day then he will scream for more milk at night.

His portions seem huge as well. He eats more than my 6 year old. So for breakfast he might have one of those IKEA children's bowls full of muesli and a slice of toast and some fruit. He can eat several bowls full of pasta. I try to give him first lots of vegetables, e.g. a bowl full.of steamed vegetables, which mostly he likes as well but it doesn't seem to curb his appetite. He insists on feeding himself so it's not that I'm just stuffing food in his mouth either.

He had a hard time settling into nursery so I'm worried that he is associating food with comfort. He also seeks.to.have a.sleep.association with milk

Apologies. This post is very long and messy and I'm not even sure what I'm asking. Just maybe is it normal that young toddlers just want to eat all the time and how much they eat? He fits in clothes for 2 year olds now and looks permanently bloated. How can I get him to eat less? Should I? More fibre? I try to run around with him as much as possible when he isn't eating and thankfully he is quite active but still. I guess my question is should I he concerned or all all young toddlers little eating machines?

I don't know about all toddlers, but my 14mo would definitely eat all day if it were up to him! Apparently they start to become fussy eaters in the next year or two?

The weight/height ratio isn't anything to worry about right now - do keep an eye on his weight, but that difference is totally acceptable. Some kids just have big appetites.

Actually this last couple of weeks my boy has started to lose interest in milk, so I think he's finally starting to slow down on growing. He was taking 6oz in the morning (plus whatever was in his porridge) and 10oz at night. He's now on 5oz in morning and about 7 or 8oz at night.

Tbh I think 4 meals and 2 snacks a day is a bit excessive. My 18mo has breakfast lunch dinner and bedtime milk. Snacks are occasional. In your schedule he’s eating hourly in the afternoon - how do you have time??

I wouldn’t worry. Mine was the same at that age, they’re very active and growing a lot.

Mine would literally hoover up anything that was put in front of him. Now a few months later at 18 months he’s become fussy and doesn’t fancy most things I offer him, won’t eat meals, just wants snacky food. He eats less now than he did at 14 months.

The afternoon is a lot! If he needs 2 snacks plus tea, whatever that is, to get him through to dinner then lunch isn’t filling enough. What sort of food is he actually eating?

Four days a week he's at nursery till 4pm so I don't need to sort out his food till dinner. I sometimes give him a snack (usually a handful of berries) to tide him over till dinner because he screams for food. At least I think he does. I used to think he's just wound up and upset from being at nursery but he keeps pointing like mad at the kitchen and the fridge and screams till I give him something to eat. Even holding him and cuddling him doesn't seem to be enough. I do think he gets to eat enough at nursery. It was never an issue with DD who was at the same nursery.

Sorry the post above was in reply to this post.

Four days a week he's at nursery till 4pm so I don't need to sort out his food till dinner. I sometimes give him a snack (usually a handful of berries) to tide him over till dinner because he screams for food. At least I think he does. I used to think he's just wound up and upset from being at nursery but he keeps pointing like mad at the kitchen and the fridge and screams till I give him something to eat. Even holding him and cuddling him doesn't seem to be enough. I do think he gets to eat enough at nursery. It was never an issue with DD who was at the same nursery.

So I think at nursery he gets stuff like pasta bakes, chicken casseroles, pies, fish fingers, rice and curry, etc.

Can kids at this age comfort eat already?

4 meals seems a lot

we did at that age
7am wake
7.30am breakfast
8.30am milk
10am snack
12pm lunch
bottle if didn’t eat much lunch/ trouble napping
3pm snack
5pm dinner
7pm milk and bed

Oh so he’s getting his evening meal at nursery, then he’s getting an extra snack and another dinner at home, is that correct? I get the need to feed him again, as the nursery meal is early, but does he need quite that much? I used to give mine a slice of toast.

Also, my 20 month old knows where the snacks are kept and did go through a tantrumming phase about it! He just wanted biscuits (or whatever), I knew he had had enough to eat, and I dealt with it as you would any other tantrum- presuming you don’t give in to every request for a new toy in the shop!

So do most kids when they come home from nursery not have a full evening meal if they've had tea at nursery?

The problem is if he doesn't eat enough at dinner time he demands milk in the middle of the night, then does a massive poo and it's just all a mess. I'd rather give him a bit more for dinner.

Mine would have an egg and soldiers or hummous and veg sticks, not a full dinner. Do you have any idea of portion sizes at nursery?

Honestly I wouldn't stress too much at this age. My ds ate similar at that age, its only the last couple of months (he's 22mo) he seems to have gotten really fussy and is definitely eating much less than he was at 12-16mo.
Obviously keep an eye but I dont think its possible for babies/toddlers to comfort eat so young.

Mine has tea at nursery at 3.30, then dinner with us at 5ish, and then rice pudding at 6.30.

I know it seems a lot, and he’s been less hungry recently (now 18 months), but around 14-16 months he was literally constantly hungry.

You can’t not feed a hungry child. Some of my friends toddlers didn’t have this super hungry phase, but some definitely do. And at that age they can’t wait till the next meal time - if mine is hungry he leads you to the kitchen and cries till you feed him!

When they say tea I think they mean sandwiches (so maybe two of the little ones, quarter of a full adult sandwich I think) or crumpets, spaghetti hoops or jacket potato. They said he eats plenty and sometimes has seconds. I think their portion sizes are decent. DD never complained and I haven't heard anyone else comment on it either.

Yes, that sounds exactly like mine!! I'm thinking of just giving him dinner at 4pm or whenever we come home so we can cut out that pre dinner snack (though it's just a few berries).

I say it's just a few berries but he can for instance finish an entire punnet of berries, eg 150g of raspberries. Is that normal? I don't even understand how that amount fits into his stomach. Have I somehow expanded his stomach by constantly overfeeding him? Sometimes he has two slices of toast in a single meal plus some other stuff. Is that normal?

My 15 month old has hallow legs I'm sure😂
he has milk with breakfast
toast
breakfast at nursery toast and or fruit
lunch
snack
dinner and pudding
if I don't give him enough he's up overnight looking for food😳
he eats large portions too, he's a little beanpole tho😂defo doesn't get that from me😂😂

My 14 month old doesn't eat that much and I was always worried cause online says about having 3 meals and 2 snacks.
She'll have whole milk when she wakes, breakfast about 30mins to an hour later (either porridge, toast or pancakes)
Sometimes a snack which will usually be a banana.
Then lunch could be anything pasta, omelette, sandwich with an orange
Then dinner
Whole Milk before bed.
Times vary every day depending on when she gets up. Some days she won't eat a huge amount at all and just picks throughout the day instead but I'm just going with what she needs. She never cries out for food or anything so I'm guessing she's eating enough.

I had very similar concerns with my daughter. She was born on the 25th centile and ended up on the 98th. I was so stressed about it, even when told not to worry. At nursery (at a similar age to your child) she was being given 3rd or 4th portions as she was still hungry. She just never stopped eating. I really wish now i could have stopped worrying so much at the time. She started slimming down when she went to school and is now a very slim but tall 11 year old, is perfectly healthy, but still loves her food. I think all you can do is offer a healthy, balanced diet (which it sounds like you do) and accept that some children just have bigger appetites. Try not to get too hung up on it (like i did) as it will really spoil these years with your child xx

Is Mumsnet in the grips of some kind of weight-based breakdown? What is going on? Every other thread...

That does seem like a helluva lot of food for a 14 month old, and as he’s piling on the weight I think you’re right to be concerned. I would mention it to his health visitor or doctor and see what they think.