I know I have asked a couple questions related to this already, but please bear with with me. This is my first child, so sometimes I tend to worry just because I've never been through this before. :)
She turned 2 at the end of January. I know the 2nd year can be difficult, but I am just wondering what is "normal" 2 year old behavior, and what could be something else. She went from eating everything, to being very picky, to most days not eating hardly anything. I've heard all the advice, from "she'll eat when she is hungry" to "as long as it is healthy let her eat it", but this is my concern - she simply will not eat much. IE Yesterday she ate applesauce for breakfast, a little oatmeal with raisins for a snack late morning, scrambled eggs for lunch, and then would not eat dinner.
My concern is not that she is picky or that I am worried about spoiling her. My concern is that what she eats in a day doesn't add up to even a meal. I spoke to her pediatrician about it and she said it was just a phase. This has been going on and getting worse for over a month now. Is it possible there could be an underlying medical condition? She has also quit napping. And now (for the past 2 nights) does not want to sleep at night.
We just switched pediatricians and she has an appointment with her new doctor on Monday. Should I try to get in before then or just wait? Is this a normal "phase" for a toddler? If you have any insight or advice, please feel free to share it. Thanks!
Don't worry it'll pass and she will eat when she's hungry! My daughter is 3 and there are days she doesn't even eat as much as you described!
She may be the extreme end of it, but I think it's normal. Both of my children went through phases like this. They ate like birds and sleep was impossible. I thought my son was simply growing out of his nap. Our pedi said to keep putting him down and see what happened. Sure enough, he went back to napping regularly. ANd they both went from not eating to eating me out of house and home! If you intuition is telling you something is wrong, I would mention it at the appointment. When I mentioned my concerns with my kiddos (who both struggled with gaining weight, so that added to my concerns), our doc checked a few preliminary things in the office and set up weight checks for a few weeks later to monitor them. Unless she becomes really lethargic, feverish or completely out of sorts, I would just wait until Monday rather than going in earlier. Hang in there mama!
I think this is very normal. All three of mine have done this. My youngest is 21 months and he's in that stage right now. He will gobble something up one day and want seconds, then just throw it on the floor the next day. So frustrating! I remember being so concerned when my oldest did this and our pediatrician said if you can get one good meal in them per day, you're doing fine. Another tip is to watch how much milk they're drinking. I try to not let my son have any milk before a meal. He tends to eat more if he's not full of milk. My son is also a terrible sleeper. Some days he'll take a 3 hr nap, other days none at all and then when he needs sleep the most, he'll be up half the night. I always think of my Grandma's favorite expression: "This too shall pass".
I think it's normal.
Their first few years they are growing so fast we get use to constant growth spurts but their rate of growth starts to slow down and they just don't need to keep pace with food intake like they did before.
Keep a food diary of what she does eat/drink (and when) and keep in mind her stomach is the size of her fist (so it's not really big and can't fit a lot in one sitting).
Also track how much sleep she's getting (how long and when she naps, etc).
2 is about the age when they start having nightmares or monster under the bed troubles - perfectly normal - their imaginations are developing.
She's fine.
My nearly-seven-year-old still gives me fits like this! She's extremely active and the "charts" say she "should" consume something like 1600 calories a day. I added it up and, on a good day, she gets 900. So I talked to a nutritionists who specializes in young kids and she said it's fine. My daughter is lean and muscular, full of energy (she can shinny up a pole), and does great in school.
I make sure that she has good foods offered (organic, whole, not processed, as much protein as she wants) and then I just let her be. I figure it's a gift to her not to force her to override her appetite. If she learns to listen to her body, she won't overeat!
(And the lack of sleep is just because she CAN stay up--both my kids did that at two. We still had "quiet time" in their rooms and sometimes they fell asleep. If not, they played quietly, which is a little break for them--and me!)
Very normal, don't worry!!!
It is amazing how little food toddlers can take in and still be active and healthy.
Go to the library and check out a couple of books on child development, specifically toddler development. I think after reading about what is "normal" you will be reassured :)
Do ask your new pediatrician to look in her mouth. Does she have swelling in her gums that indicate some new teeth (molars?) are coming in? Does she have any sores in her mouth?
Aside from the eating and sleeping problems does her behavior seem pretty close to normal? If so, then that itself should be reassuring to you so you can help control your worrying. Other than being a little more tired because of recent sleep problems, if her behavior seems off too, then your gut is probably right that there is something up.
Good luck!
both of my kids are like this and also my niece. i used to leave a bowl of fruit or some such laid out so they could "graze". some kids are grazers. they don't like to sit still and eat. also they do go through "growing spurts" where they go for weeks without eating as much. my son (who is 4.5) has not been eating but 2-3 bites at every meal for the past week or so. he's still running around acting like his crazy self. and now he's getting to where he is eating better. also you have to remember that a babies stomach is only about as big as their fist. it doesn't take that much to fill them up.
Your job is to serve the food, it's her job to eat it. If she chooses not to eat it gets taken away within a minute or so. Do not lecture, make comments, no faces, just be matter of fact and wait till the next mealtime. Do not give snacks. She will get the idea. Do not follow her with food and beg her to eat. That causes big manipulation problems in many areas of life. She will not die. There are two areas children can (and will) control. Toileting and eating. Disregard it and don't focus on it. It will pass. My girls ate less than that per day and they are adults now and have a healthy relationship with food.
