Bottomless pit

I’m permanently amazed by how much food N can and does put away.  I shouldn’t really, given that I can put away a fair amount myself, and of course he needs a lot of fuel for all the running around he does.  Research says that toddlers cover around 2 1/2 miles a day, and I can believe that.    He does seem to be a bottomless pit when it comes to eating.

While a lot of parents worry about how little their children eat, we almost have the opposite.  It does make life easy for knowing when he’s not well as if he’s not fussed about food, we know there’s something wrong.  But if his appetite continues as it is at the moment, I can see my food bills getting ridiculous fairly soon.  Meal planning is going to be needed even more.

At nursery he’s still having 2 helpings at almost every meal – main, and sometimes for pudding as well.  That’s quite impressive when you think they also have a snack morning and afternoon.  Of course, they might just serve up really small portions compared with what he has at home.

At home it’s hard to judge what he can eat.  He’ll ask for more if he wants more so it does save on waste not overfilling his plate.  I know what amount of meat he’d be able to eat, and then for veg a portion being around his fist size is easy to judge as well.  But sometimes I see photos of other children’s meals and think N gets offered a small amount in comparison.  That is, until it’s Sunday roast, and then once meat, veg x2, gravy, yorkshire or stuffing is included, the plate can seem almost hidden…he can still put it away.

He’s not usually much of a breakfast eater at home (unless it’s hot cross buns) but at nursery he’ll have 2 bowls of cereal and maybe a bit of croissant.  It’s annoying in a way, as it means he’ll be quickly looking for a snack not long after.  This morning I wasn’t sure whether he’d be allowed at nursery as I reckoned he had slapped cheek so I’d given him breakfast at home…once we arrived at nursery though, he went straight over to the table, put on his apron, and started digging into the cereal choices!

Recently, he must have been having a bit of a growth spurt.  He seems to always be looking for more food throughout the day, and will sometimes ask for a second pudding after he’s already eaten a lot for his main and first dessert.  Thankfully a yoghurt or bit of fruit is easy enough to get hold of if required.  He is losing his roundness, and his body seems to be getting more streamlined.  I’ve noticed his trousers getting looser round the waists as I’ve less trouser leg to turn up.  He’s definitely a proper little boy now, and it was quite noticeable at the birthday party last week where most of the children were over 3.  There wasn’t much difference in height or width, so it just showed how much he’s grown recently.

Feeding children does seem to keep parents on their toes.  One day they’ll eat a certain way, the next week they won’t.