Cows milk and breakfast

[ChittyBang1987]

Hi all.

Hoping someone can help and offer some advise me please.

My lo is 15 months old and lately hasn't been Interested in breakfast in the morning.
Her food routine:

730am breakfast. Cheerios, porridge, multigrains, weetabix
9am slice of toast or crumpet.
920am nap till 10am
1015am ish apple
11am couple crackers or ella biscuits or something else. Fruit thingy.
12pm to 1230pm lunch depends when she's hungry
1pm nap
330pm wake up if not awake
4pm snack. Though not always interested.
530pm dinner
645pm bowl of dry cereal loves cereal
730pm and 745pm milk can take up to 9oz but generally takes 6oz.

Sometimes doesn't eat well at other meals, but not often. I wondered if it's time to stop or reduce cows milk? As she's not eating breakfast? We have tried leaving a bit in morning but doesn't make difference.

Any advise is appreciated 🙏

I’m old, can you explain why it’s necessary to stop cows milk? Is there new research or evidence that I’ve not heard of is really my question.

Genuine question as my youngest is 9 and drinks gallons of cows milk, always has.

You seem to be giving food all day
Do they just have 1 drink of milk? Why would you want to stop it?

My almost 4 year old doesn't eat anything like this much, maybe she's full?

I think you need to keep the cows milk (why cut it down? My 4yo is allowed to drink as much milk as she likes, as is my 9yo, usually a couple of cups a day.)

I think she's probably not doing well with some of her meals because you're offering food all the time, chances are she's not getting a chance to actually be hungry.

A drink of milk at 7.30pm won’t be putting her off breakfast 12 hours later. The morning routine sounds like an all you can eat buffet- you’re serving food 5 times between 7.30 and 12, so she’s probably not interested because she’s constantly snacking and has learned there’s always something else on offer. My 15MO is on one nap but it’s breakfast at 7 usually cereal and fruit, snack around 9.30am like a small yogurt and toddler biscuit, lunch at 12, then his nap.

Ok so there’s no new info re cows milk! Thank Christ, panicking that I’m doing something else wrong in my parenting stumble through. .

I get that it fills them up which affects appetite, doesn’t seem to affect my kids. They are always bloody hungry it seems.
Just been asked what’s for tea mum while they are eating breakfast! 😊

You need to space the food out so that she has the chance to get hungry. Constantly grazing isn't good for her. She needs to digest what she's eaten, feel hunger and eat again. No more than 3 meals and two snacks.

At that age, mine had:

6:30 / 7am (on waking) - small beaker of milk

7:30-8am breakfast (porridge / cereal / toast / fruit / yogurt), a variety but small portions of each so that she eats it in one sitting.

10am - Snack. Couple of breadsticks / raisins / fruit and some water in a sippy cup.

Midday - Lunch. Sandwiches, veg (cucumber, tomatoes etc.), yogurt and fruit. Water to drink.

2:30-3pm (after nap) - Drink of water or milk with a biscuit.

5pm - Dinner. (Usually a small portion leftover and reheated from whatever DH and I had the night before plus a small pudding of fruit and custard, jelly, rice pudding etc.). Water to drink.

6pm - Beaker of milk before bed.

That's a lot of food.

My two had

7: wake up and milk in a cup / breastfeed
8: breakfast of weetabix and a slice of toast and marmite
10: snack
12:30: lunch
3:30: snack after nap
6: tea with the family
7: bed with milk or breastfeed.

She only has milk at bedtime as that's what she wants 🤷‍♀️ she dropped her milk pretty quick and hv said it was fine. As she was screaming at me when I offered it to her, and pushing it away. She's always been a milk hater I thought about stopping as she isn't hungry at breakfast 🤷‍♀️ hv even said to me that having no milk at 12 months was fine as long as getting else where. Why I questioned it too 🤔

I give her snacks like this as she hasn't eaten breakfast, so I give a slice of toast at 9am ish and by this time she's hungry. She's literally shouting at me cause she's hungry. So I would call that breakfast.

She's a very tall 15month old in 2 to 3 clothes if not bit bigger on occasions. No where near overweight. Skinny little bean compared to other kids her age except tall 🥴 I seen other Los at nursery....

She feeds her self 🤷‍♀️ I'm not even eating except the toast and dinner side. And she will demand food. She's always been a foody girl. She doesn't always have the snack at 11 ish. Depends on the day tbh.

I didn't mean to panic anyone 😕 🙃

That’s a lof of snacks. Why so many? She needs 3 meals and 2 snack and maybe supper too. She seems to be eating a lot of wheat (not bad in itself self) and hardly any fruit and veg.

At this age milk should be in a cup not a bottle.

I would just focus on having meals rather than lots of snacks in the day.

How about pushing breakfast to 8 and just have a drink when she wakes.

Try to eat her meals with her. Then she will learn when it's meal times.

She does have plenty of fruit and veg. Her lunch always consists of fruit or veg. Sometimes both as has cucumber mixed in a pasta salad and she eats lettuce and tomatoes. With some peas and sweetcorn chucked in.

Her dinner again large portion of veg.

She has fruit puree with her 730am food. Mixed on sometimes on the spoon. She only likes fruit puree at breakfast. Which I see it as well she's eating fruit, and loves it in her porridge.

Apple in morning. Raisins mixed in some days. Also organix fruit bar that's literally fruit. She eats any veg. Fruit she's bit fussy on but is getting better.

She does have a supper as again she's screaming at me she's hungry and will walk to kitchen demanding.

I question myself now as I looked at old threads and seemed the norm except an extra snack of 2 crackers or so. I know not all Los have a supper. But she does.

I dont see much protein on there. Does she eat meat/cheese, etc

Yep she eats sausage on occasions which have highest sausage meat in there. She has chicken, ham, even chewed on my steak. Mince. Every meat I have she eats. Which I'm not fussy. I had a goat curry the other day and she ate it 🤷‍♀️

Cheese she has mixed in with pasta. She had babybel or cheese cubes for a snack I kind of alternate the snacks and differs on and of. Or she has it as an add for lunch or dinner. She has yoghurt and custard as per the feeling of the day. She has mash and cheese only way to get her to eat potatoe atm. Lots of milk in the mash. And butter.

I do eat dinner generally with her, but I'm not always home as working till 730pm. My oh has breakfast with her at 730am and makes zero difference. I eat toast with her on my days off as I probably wouldn't eat otherwise, not a breakfast fan and never have been. I have lunch with her on my days off.

@ChittyBang1987 My DD is now 22 and has been a skinny little thing all her life. She “grazed” all day as a toddler and also refused milk at 12 months. I made sure she had dairy in other forms, yoghurt, fromage frais, cheese, etc,. She went on to eat normally through her childhood and still does as an adult. She continued to graze but all her snacks were healthy ones. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.

Thank you @StottyCakeandJam 😊 🙏 I was having pure panic of what I been feeding my lo then. She's telling me she's hungry so I feed her.

It was just the refusal of eating breakfast that makes me wonder to cut down the evening milk 🤔 to make sure she's hungry.... as she wakes about 630am and plays in her cot for 30 mins or so.

I know she shouldn't have a bottle but the dentist is fully aware and happy with her teeth. We always offer in her cup first, but I pick my battles..... tbh I think she just loves it with a bottle as she will only take it with me and loves that time. I have done the same process with the cup but currently not working.

Can you not just make breakfast a bit later

Yes i can on my days off but on nursery days 4 times a week she's not able too. So trying to keep it in a routine if that makes sense as she's not a great eater at nursery. Nursery can offer breakfast though 🤔

My DD always had a little tub of dry cheerios first thing in the morning. She’d then have a piece of toast later in the morning.

Nobody needs to eat hourly?!