Question about cheese

Ok, so as many of you may know, I recently transitioned them from bottles to sippy cups. Well, needless to say, they still do not drink that much (although Lorien does a little better). So I have been trying to give them dairy/calcium through many other foods. Arwen LOVES LOVES LOVES cheese. It seems to be one of the very few things I can get her to eat consistenly lately other than the other basics of pasta and bread and the sort. She doesn't like any cookies or cracker type foods which eliminates a lot of snack items. Since she is not really drinking very much milk (maybe 10oz/day, maybe??) I'm wondering how much cheese is healthy for her to eat vs. being just fattening and unhealthy. Today, she ate 2 slices of cheddar cheese (not a rediculous slice, just normal) and is now eating a slice of meunster cheese and will probably want more later. Should I give her lower fat cheeses or does she still need the fat at this point for brain development? (I mean they still want them on whole milk, right?) What do you think? It's just such a great source of her missing dairy yet I think it's a bit more fattening? Or is it? TIA

 

There's no need to worry about fat at this point -- the primary concern with cheese is that it is a top-5 poop stopper-upper! But as long as you keep an eye on her for constipation, and make sure she's eating at least some fruits & veggies & grains, she can have as much cheese as you are willing to give her.

FWIW, Amy was like that about cheese at your girls' age, but has cooled towards it since then. She still likes it, but will eat other things even if there's cheese within sight. So don't worry (at least not yet) that she'll eat nothing but cheese until she's 21. (OTOH, I'm still pretty much like that, and it hasn't hurt me. )

 

I agree about the constipation from cheese. My two love cheese- we give them hard cheeses: cheddar, mozzarella, etc. I can tell by their diapers if they are starting too get too much.

 

Cheese is fine, it will just make constipation an issue... (I am the mother of a cheese addict too!)

 

There is something about cheese?? I can't remember much right now? It's something about if you digest too much, too quickly, it can make you really sick. But it's like a whole lot, or a certin kind or something. There is something about your legs getting really sore and stiff and not being able to walk? If I remember right??? It eventually goes away, but is supossed to be really painful.
Make sure to call your pediatrition and they should know more.

 

My twins LOVE cheese, as do I. I never knew that it could cause constipation - definitely not a problem for us. We generally go through an 8 oz bar of cheddar a day, in addition to assorted other types of cheese (they also love Wispride - spreadable port wine cheddar, and cottage cheese). They also eat a lot of yogurt, and I just discovered that they love sour cream (MIL gave it to them!) so they get a lot of dairy other than their milk (oh yeah, and ice cream!) My personal feeling is that low-fat versions of cheese just aren't worth eating (mine only eat good stuff - I don't think they've ever tried American cheese!) I don't think the fat content is something to worry about at this age, and hopefully by the time they get a bit older they'll be more interested in a varied diet.

Good luck,

Rachel

 

An ounce of cheese = 8 oz of milk. I think that equals 1/4 c. shredded, 1 slice roughly the size of a cd, or a 1 inch square cube. Full fat would be the best choice for her at her age. Also cheese does cause constipation in some kids (and grown ups too) so make sure everything is flowing correctly.

 

Mine love cheese too and I Love giving it to them. Next to no mess and it gets gobbled up. To me, we don't do low or no fat anything for the babes because they need it for their brain development and the calcium is also great. Too much of anything is bad though so I would still try to give a little of everything else. The only problem with cheese is it can give them big hard stools so keep checking the diapers to make sure they aren't having troubles in that department.

 

Thanks ladies for all your responses. I feel much better about cheese being her main calcium intake now (not to mention her only staple food. She has become such a finicky eater <_< )