how much food is too much food?

just curious as to what typical meals look like for you.
for example:
breakfast - split a waffle with jar of food
lunch - 1 yogurt each

etc.
thanks so much.

 

I am a firm believer in having "free feed" children (a concept from dog-rearing, my only parenting experience pre-children. ). Basically, I have set times that I feed them, I offer them healthy/balanced food choices, and let them eat as much or as little as they want. I do encourage them to try things, but I let them decide how much they're going to eat.

Sometimes figuring out how much food to make is more of an art than a science; I have had to throw away food (or save it for later), and occasionally I make too little. But my rule of thumb is to let them lead and tell *you* how much they want to eat at each meal/snack! :good:

I'd say that at 12 months, my guys were eating about what yours are. Their tummies are still pretty small so they can fill up on 1/2 a waffle and some fruit. I try to offer a carb (bread, waffle, crackers, etc.), protein (milk, meat, cheese), and a veggie/fruit at every meal/snack. A well-balanced meal helps them feel satisfied and keeps them going until they next eat. Typical meals at 12 months were:

Crackers, cheese, fruit
Crumbled sausage, bread, zucchini
Shredded chicken, sweet potatoes, bread

I also "topped them off" with baby food/yogurt for the first few months after they turned 1 because they weren't pros at self-feeding yet and were super skinny.

Hope this helps!

 

My two were super skinny at 12 months too, so I did what Valerie also did topping them off with yogurt...
but meals at that age-
split cereal, shared a piece of fruit or fruit cup
shared a waffle, sandwich, yogurt, pudding

I tried to follow the guideline of a 1 tbsp of food as the serving for each portion of the meal but if they wanted more, I gave it to them.

 

this is what my LOs are eating and i'm wondering if it's too much or too little.
they are still eating puffs, cereal, etc when the food is done.
i also need more veggie ideas. they dont eat them really.

breakfast:
split an earth's best waffle
handful or so of cheerios
jar of oatmeal/fruit

lunch:
half a grilled cheese sandwich. (they eat a quarter each)
applesauce

dinner:
a couple of chicken nuggets, etc.

really need some food ideas. i feel like i haven't a clue, lol.

 

Wow mine are closer to two but east a ton more food than yours. I can't remember what they ate at that age but I'm sure it was less than they do now.
But these posts have me wondering, do mine eat too much (is that possible). They couple eat two regular sized pancakes, (not the mini - the mini they could eat several) for a meal, plus some kind of fruit. They could easily each eat an entire slice of pizza. They could eat Two yo-babies with some cereal. Is this too much?? it seems like about double what others have described..

Plus now for snacks, they eat chips, pretzels, cereal.. when it's something like chips, i have to stop them because i don't want them eating so much junk. same with cookies, they could go on and on. I need some healthy snack ideas, especially for taking on the go.

 

im also in the midst of weaning them from their formula to whole milk. they are still getting 4 7oz bottles a day. i cut down to 6oz this week. i hope im doing this right, lol.

 

[quote name='Nate and Jack's Mom' date='08 June 2010 - 06:50 AM' timestamp='1276005001' post='1646580']
I am a firm believer in having "free feed" children (a concept from dog-rearing, my only parenting experience pre-children. ). [/quote]

Obviously you didn't have labs :laughing: My labs would eat anything forever if we let them :rofl:

I totally agree with Valerie and Nancy! I offer as much as they are willing to eat and try to keep it healthy.
A couple veggie ideas that mine love are cooked soft but I dice them up and put them in the fridge and they love them cold--carrots, peas, green beams and zuchini. Sometimes if I'm running late and don't have time to prepare I just grab a can of soup and dump it in a strainer and rinse it under hot water for a minute or two. Then I just put it on their trays and they get veggies, noodles, and even some protien!
Good luck!

 

I've read estimates about how toddlers should eat something like 1 Tbsp of each food group per year at each meal, but my guys totally blow this out of the water, especially when they're going through a growth-spurt. If they're on a tear, they can blow through 3 hot dogs, a whole sauteed zucchini, sweet potato fries, bread and still ask for dessert. :faint: And on pizza night, they can eat more than 1 piece per boy (plus fruit/veggie and dessert)! If figure as long as I'm offering good food, and not pushing or restricting them, then they'll tell *me* how much the need to eat. :good: All kids have different metabolisms; my guys eat like lumberjacks and are barely on the weight chart, while other kids eat sparingly and are above the 50th percentile. ardon:

For snacks, I usually follow the same rules as for meals: a carb, a fruit/veggie and a protein/fat. Typical snacks are:
Crackers (goldfish, Kashi, graham crackers)
Bread (pitas, biscuits, etc)
Fruit (my guys won't eat almost any veggies so we usually offer them at meals and stick with pears, grapes, strawberries, craisins/dried fruit, etc.)
Cheese
Bologna
Milk (works for the fat and the protein portion)
Yogurt

What's weird is that I've *only* had labs! :blink: I have strange pets; they must get it from me.

 

My lo's are 13 months and they eat a ton in the morning, usually regular oatmeal(they try and feed themselves for a bit and then I take over)them I Make and egg for each of them and they feed themselves, then whole milk. Some days its waffles,or whole wheat pancakes or french toast sticks.And always some fruit. Lunch is usually leftovers from dinner or a ham sandwich,sometimes they wont eat the bread so they just eat ham or turkey, always some veggie but they pretty much will only eat green beans right now, more fruit,sometimes shells n cheese(all time favorite), dinner they eat whatever we are having. It is alway a protein,veggie and some sort of starch usually potato, more fruit for snack. one of their all time fav's is salmon.


For daytime snacks they have, cheeses, yogurt, cheerios, goldfish,graham crackers, etc. anything they can fit in their mouths. They just discovered mini vanilla wafers and they are a hit!
Mine pretty much want to eat constantly! They are about 20lbs for my DD and 24 lbs for DS