I know that it is undeniably true that “every kid is different” but Jonah – Jonah seems to be a different species entirely than Joshua and Sophie sometimes.
For one thing, he eats. A LOT. Joshua and Sophie up to the age of five both ate “barely enough to stay alive” as I used to say. Sophie’s still that way! And she is SO picky!
But not my Jonah. He is the definition of a bottomless pit. He eats meals, he eats snacks, he whatever he can get his hands on whenever he can get it. At his two-year check up last week (in which he weighed in at only 27 pounds, 45th percentile) his doctor asked me how many snacks he ate a day. “I don’t know,” I said, “Probably 3 or 4.” The doctor then said, “I’m gonna ask you to cut back on that to one snack a day.” AND I LAUGHED. “It’s all GOOD stuff!” I protested.
Despite my penchant for sugar, I give Jonah healthy stuff. Yesterday he consumed two whole apples, three whole bananas, a bowl of plain yogurt with a strawberry mixed in, countless grapes, a bunch of diced ham, some Rice chex, countless plain raisins, and countless dried pineapple and papayas.
The one thing I cannot get him to eat is VEGETABLES, of course. But we are working on it. I can get him to eat corn…mixed with beans and canned tomatoes in one of our family favorite recipes. It’s too bad, he used to eat EVERYTHING but he has become picky in that regard.
We’ve also decided to take Jonah gluten-free, and this is day five of that venture for us. The reason? Well, for one, I have to eat GF and my husband is eating GF with me out of solidarity. So taking one more person off gluten wasn’t that hard in-house. But the real reason is that recently Jonah has been waking up from both naps and in the morning PISSED OFF. Just mad, mad, mad for no reason, and throws a big long crazytown fit that boggles our minds and usually lasts about 30 minutes.
Since I know that a gluten intolerance can manifest itself in this kind of way in kids, I decided just to try it. We took him off gluten on Sunday, and he hasn’t thrown a fit since Monday.
Could be coincidence, but I’m going with it for now!
So anyways.
My kid eats a lot. And now eats a lot gluten-free. So PLEASE SEND dollar bills or grocery gift cards to the Jonah Appetite Satiation Fund of America!
(Not really, peeps. No one sue me.)
Do you have big eaters in your family?
FYI: there may be tax benefits for your family for eating GF… but it may only be if you have been officially diagnosed with Celiac. Just an idea.
And, I heard that ALDI has some amazing GF chicken nuggets.
The tax “benefits” for gluten free is ONLY if you are diagnosed with celiac disease and it is a long and arduous process to be approved (and it isn’t all that much, but does help). We are gf in our home because of celiac. Sorry, I just wanted to clear that up before Jenny’s bank account got all excited about that 🙂
And, in case you don’t have it, Cooking for Isaiah is the best gf cookbook out there. You should buy it. Today.
Thanks Bethany! I’ll check it out!
Shelby was dang nigh anorexic at six, and remains picky. Donovan is picky, but drank a gallon of milk a day…still does!
I have been accused of being a picky eater, but that is not the case. Even my Mother-in-law says, “He’ll eat anything you put in front of him.”
Case closed!
UP
Just one little snack a day for a growing baby? Their bellies are so little! I’d kick that doctor in the shins and call him a meanie. 🙂
My son was a non-stop snacker at that age, too. Watermelon, grapes, raisins, carrot sticks, bananas, yogurt — sometimes it felt like my life consisted of trips between the refrigerator, sink and kitchen table. And our doctor said the same thing, “Cut back on the snacks to one a day. He’ll eat more at mealtime.”
I wish now that I’d listened to him. My son is almost 13, so he’s old enough to fix his own food now, and he does. But, wow, that kid can empty the cupboards and fridge in ONE day. I’m not sure where he puts it, but I’m also not sure how much longer we can afford it!