Oh, where do I start with this one. My beautiful blondie, my sweet darling mischevious 4 year old, Ambria. Now, that girl keeps me busy, I will tell you that much. Lately, I cannot get over her obsession with FOOD. It baffles me really. I don't remember having much of an appetite as a child to be quite honest. I mean I would come in for dinner when my mom would call me, but sometimes I would play so hard, I would forget entire meals.
When Ambria was a baby I unsuccessfully tried to get her to eat baby food. She really didn't mind the fruits, but when you tried to get her to eat any of the vegetables she would gag and cringe. So, for the first two years of her life, she basically lived on milk. I really worried that she would never develop an appetite and eat real food. I even talked numerous times to the doctor about what I could do to get her to eat.
Finally at about age 3 Ambria started eating. She was and still is a picky eater- macaroni, cereal, anything with sugar, but still very unfond of vegetables or anything healthy. Over the last year or so I have started to pay attention to her eating habits a little closer than I have in the past. At one point (a few months ago) she started asking when we were going to have meals and seemed very concerned that we might "miss" one. I really didn't notice in the begininning but she began to develop an obsession with food.
After finishing a meal she would ask what else she could have to eat. It was like she was never full. Then, I noticed her portions were twice the size at dinner then mine, or Nick's were. I thought, maybe she was going through a growth spurt, but this has been going on now for well over a year. She is a tall girl, yes, but right now she out weighs Nick's 6 year old boy by 15 pounds! She isn't what you would call fat, but she is solid, dead weight.
A few weeks ago Nick and I ran a few minutes after at work and picked up the kids late from Chrissy. When we got there Ambria was eating dinner with their family. After we got home and Nick and I were heating up something to eat, Ambria was extremely distraught that she didn't get to have dinner with us. I mentioned to her that she had just eaten a few minutes ago with Chrissy's family and she seemed upset. The next day when she got to Chrissy's house she told Chrissy "Chrissy, the next time I eat dinner at your house, could you please tell my mom that I haven't had dinner yet, so that I can eat dinner at our house too?"
If I let her, she would eat non stop the entire day. I feel bad, but a part of me feels like I have to limit what she eats or how often she eats, because if I don't, it could really get out of hand and be a bigger problem as she gets older. So now when I tell her she can't have something, or that she just ate and will have to wait, she will say "ok mom, but the next time I can eat, I should eat ______." or "maybe for dinner I can have ____ and _____". I just don't get it! What do I do?
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Food Glorious Food!
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WAIT, this said it was post at like, 3:30. So you wrote this BEFORE I text you all that stuff about how she says that I don't feed her???
I struggle with this, too, since I watch her ten hours a day. Almost all of what she eats every day is at my house. My rule of thumb that I stick to with her is, I give her the same thing and the same portion as I give the other kids. Plus, when she asks for anything to eat, I make her drink a glass of water first, because sometimes dehydration can feel like hunger.
I don't know what to tell you. Well, the weird thing is, when I started watching her it was the opposite for a little while. It was like pulling teeth to get her to eat. I'd never make her finish, I'd just say, "Ok, honey, you can be done, but if you get hungry you have to come back and finish the rest, I'm not going to get you something different." Then it was like overnight, BAM! She has a never ending pit at the bottom of her stomach!!!
But honestly, Carter is kinda the same way. It seems like he's hungry all the time. But he's HUNGRY, not OBSESSED! And the difference between them is, Carter eats kids' portions. Plus, when Carter asks for a snack, he's happy with carrot sticks, a banana, or an orange. When I offer those same "healthy" foods as a snack to Ambria, she gets on the verge of tears and begs for chips or fruit snacks. I have no problem when Carter eats a ton of fruits and veggies, but Ambria hates that kind of thing. She'll go from "I'm starving!!!" to "Oh, carrots? I'm not hungry anymore, unless I can have something else. Then I'm still hungry." Plus, everything she does during the day revolves around "food time". She won't play longer than a half hour without asking "When is lunch? What are we eating? Can I pick it?".
I don't really have any advice, though. Sorry. My first instinct is to tell you to limit her portions. But to what? What's normal for a kid her age and size to be eating? As babies you know they're eating what they should because they make it very clear when they're hungry and when they're full, but as they get older, they eat because stuff tastes good.
So I'm at a loss, too. But who knows? Maybe this is totally normal. My neice, Jordyn, is the exact same way. She can throw down an adult size portion at any restaurant with no problem. She'll finish an entire salad from Cafe Rio all by herself. She's nine!!! She's got the same build as Ambria, too. Even as a baby, she's always been really tall, and really solid. Not fat, just solid, pure muscle.
Wow, I think this is the longest comment I have ever wrote on someone's blog. You should feel very lucky. :)
My daughter is SOLID muscle not even an ounce of fat (you'll see when you meet her) but she is technically underweight.
Brooklyn goes through these spells where she will devour everything and anything for days. Then nothing.
How long has she been doing this? Maybe she is just growing? That's what everyone says, right?
Good luck... hmmm.. good luck to me too I guess. Haha
She's been like this now for well over a year, I'm thinking maybe it's NOT a phase anymore. YIKS
And that was the longest comment I have ever seen, like ever!
WOW...that is a tough one! In my opinion, I would just say it's the age. My daughter, at that age, was doing the same thing at her babysitters...always asking for "a snack". The babysitter was such a pushover and gave it to her. Of course we found out and put a stop to it.
Now she's 8, and food just isn't such a priority now. She'll ask for candy quite a bit though, but it only takes one time of saying no and she'll drop it...at least for that day. So she may just grow out of it. But I would make her eat some healthy stuff before she gets any sort of sweet thing. Maybe that would get her mind off always wanting to eat because then she'd know she wasn't getting sweets.
I don't know really...I just like to pretend I know what I'm talking about, when really, I'm totally clueless :D
I think she is just going through a growth spurt. but look at her dad. he is a big guy! and he has a big apetite!
I WIN! My comment was the longest! Ha ha.
And, uh, Leslie? I WAS THE BABYSITTER WHEN KAYLA WAS AMBRIA'S AGE. Are you talking about me??? :)
No Chrissy, isn't Ambria 6? At 6 she was at her babysitters when we first moved to Bountiful. Makayla had this woman wrapped around her finger.
Ooohhhhhh, Ok. No, Ambria's only four. She looks 6, hence this post! Ha ha.
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