Hi Hetal,
Thanks once again :-)

Actually, I tried to search for Toddler cereal but what I found was the same mixed grain,oatmeal, rice cereals for Gerber.. Did u mean by Graduate Little Flakes Cereal?? Sorry, I know very little about these things :-( May be I am not a good Mom :(
please tell the name...

About her routine, she gets up by 7-7.30 and drinks 5-6 oz of milk. then she goes to day care by 8-8.15, she eats her BF there ..they provide bread,beagles,muffins,waffles with some fruits.
Its good but I am only worried how much she will eat there as she feels hungry by 9-9.30 !! and not at 8.30..but they have strict routine for each meal.

then Lunch at 11-11.30. they offer milk with each meal ..and water when they come back from play area. they give small glass for drinking so she treats it as a toy and wet all her clothes ..so not munch in take :(
by 12-12.30 she will have her nap for 2 hrs ..
then at 3 snacks time.
I will her pick her up by 5 and she is very hungry by that time ...I was thinking that she is not eating well there so feels hungy when she is at home. then I give her some snacks like cereal,banana or cake etc.
her dinner time is at 8-8.30 , but Hetal its really not possible for me to make soups and varieties every day :( I make only one dish ..its rice with all veggies or roti, daal or daliya with veggies sometimes pasta/mac cheese ..
it takes 45min-1 hr to feed her..she eats very slowly..and again by 10 she will fall asleep so I have to literally stick by the clock!! b;coz her sleep is also imp and she hhas to wake up by 7 !!
I know i messed her routine somehow ..but I dont know how to manage it with job/house work...
my husband helps me in kitchen but still we both are having tough time ..more b;coz she doesn;t sleep well in night so we also dont get good sleep...
I forgot to tell u that when she wakes up in night she will be on her tummy and fold her legs..is it a gas?? she plays enough before her sleep so I was assuming all gas will ge passed..
or she has any stomach pain ? please advice...

I will add more fruits and veggies to her diet so that she will have regular BM!! do u think this is the root cause of all the problems??

she is very active and wants to play every time..she can also scrifice her sleep for that :-)

Yeah, and I got your point about giving solids/measl after very 3-4 hrs that way its also easy for them to digest :-)
Also, I will avoid giving her milk during meal time .. I think morning and dinner time is fine?
wht do u think? when should I give milk?

I really appriciate ur time Hetal!!
We all feel very fortunate to have a friend like you :-)

hey, just 4 months to go for ur delivery!!
Take good care and rest!!

Shilpa.



Hetal replied. hi there,
yup its the graduate gerber toddler cereals...you can also give cheerios..some babies are ready for that too ! other is oats for toddlers,,often at whole foods or ne other speciality or green markets,,all of these are in differnt brand names,in different stores,,just make sure its for toddlers(most of the time, age is mentioned) and most of them are iron fortified,,except the oats one.,,check the nutritional values with good ingrediants,,gerbers graduates / toddler are the most known.see wat your baby likes,,there are many options in breakfast aisle.

if you think that the food that daycare providers are giving, is good and healthy(multigrain or whole grain bagels/bread,or muffins from a fresh bakery),,,,then give him milk of an ounce less( as it is they are giving milk at 1130), and ask the caregiver about the quantity your child eats...and then let her drink milk accordingly...
just tell them my dr has asked you to check on his diet !!
simple..
they will tell the exact amt in percentage,,or in proportion like 1/2 bagel etc...make sure your baby eats around 1/4th of ne of one serving(1/4th of bagel atleast or around,,or a bit more),,,,

and if you want to give her toddler cereal in breakfast time,,then you will have to reduce her morning milk feedd,,which will be like messing with her current milk feeds and she might not accept it, so start/try this on weekend saturday,,and see how she accepts it,,you have one more day, sunday,,,to watch her on that...

now at 1130 she is as it is getting milk,,if its their strict rountine,,you cant do much about it,,then you cant expect your baby to eat well in her lunch,,and on weeknds too she wnt eat much because of her daycare routine...and so,,let that time be her good feed of milk time,,,atleast if you give cereal to her before leaving,,you feel good that she ate something GOOD and then left for the daycare,,,and if this thing works, her bagel/bread snack will become her brunch time !!!! and she will eat dont worry,,kids do munch when offered with kids around !

since they are offering water in glass,,at home start teaching her to drink with glass,,,nevermind if she spills,,,let her learn !! this way down the line, she will learn to drink himself atleast !! teach her to drink slowly,,there are wonderful trainer cups are available or if nothin than the clear plastic disposable cups(made from plastic, are often very small in size and they have clear plastic that you can see thru,,,) these,, makes a greatt trainer cups nd a good playtime for themm,,

and at 3, when its her snack time,cant you ask your daycare provider giving your own sippy of juice,,if they can offer it your child ? check on that...if so, give them sippy of ne fresh juice/often 100% juice above 1 year...there are nice brands available,storing frresh might be tough for your caregivers..

if things are tiring for you, give him dal soup that atleast you can make ,,right,,you just have to add abit more water to it and include more vegies in your dal itself ( something like sambhar or vegie dal ),,its good for your family too. let her snack time be some fresh fruit or grapes,or prunes/fresh or dried,,,kids chew good at 15months,,give her raisins,,if she seems to be feeling too hard for her,,give her soaked ones,,,and alongwith that give her other things that you have been giving,,like cereal,or poha,or whatever suits you..
but let it be snack time and not meal time,,

if you offer her things like banana or cakes,,her meal time is going to be longer,,these are heavy and kids at this age are not good in digesting these,,they take time to digest these ! same applies for mac n cheese,,if its the snack..and start offering whatever you are eating,so that it becomes less tedious for you,,also, watever you make, add in gravies to your curries,dals...gravies arent that hard to make,,keep the things prepared ahead of time, like on weekends if that helps..
nothing wrong,,you are giving your family something better ! or if nothing is avaiable,,dal water is the best...

and if you think that at 530 evening she is badly hungry, make her meals a day ahead,,and freeze it,,and whenever at home,let it be her dinner time,,if she seems to be eating well at that time without ne fuss,,,,and during her dinner time,,give her brunch or snack or just boiled vegies..,,nothing wrong,,,,may be thats her schedule ,,

during my dd teething, her dinners are as early as 6 and then she will have something at her regular dinner time,,sometimes its just a couple toast or crackers and if nothing a piece of roti from our plates,,,,so you have to judge whats her good intake and at what time,,irrespective of the schedule we follow that dinner is at 8 only..not at all necessary !!! just be ready with her meal,,and feed her when she seems to be badly hungry.

this will help you not only to reduce your time spend after her meal but she will also eat well because she is badly hungry..
and teach her to feed herself,,see if that works,,and she learns to eat herself...most babies have shown their likes and interest when they ate themselves...give her some food like boiled vegies(you can pressure cook these ahead of time and store in antifreeze ziplock and freeze themm),,when you want to give,just defrost them or soak them in hot water for a while,,good to go !!

nothing wrong,,see if that works,,with growing toddler,,most of the times they fuss with their schedules and meals,,and only mom can catch whats the best time to get everything in her stomach nicely :)) there is so much going on with them,,,teething, growth spurts,,newly toddlers have just learned to cruise around so they get overtired,,,and all these factors creates a big fuss in schedule..

so see if that works,,it might reduce your dinner time...

abt milk,,,you are giving her 3 feeds of milk of around 5-6-7oz,,which is good and not more than this is required.in your first post i think you have mentioned that she used to take 4 feeds of milk,,thats y i mentioned,,cut it to 5-6oz / 3 feeds,,not more.
like,one is morning,second is at her day care and third will be just before sleep.

about stomach pain or gas,, if at all she is having,,she must have shown complete loss of apetite by this time,,but she is eating well, and seems to be hungry at one point of time,,kids start sleeping on their stomach from 8-9months onwards,,,its rather unexplained why they do that,,,but its seen mostly from 9months and onwards...whenever you see her sleeping on stomach,,just place her on back or on ne one side(either left or right),,she will be fine..many kids were often comfortable in sleeping sound,, on one of their sides than just on back,,so let her sleep that way..,,

sleeping on tummy is not a good habit so try to avoid it as much as possible..and if you still want to check on her gas or ne other stomach pain,,,,,whenever she does that, give a light pressure with your palm around the navel in a clockwise direction, using both hands.if she is having gas, it will soothe her and release it,,,if you do this very gently,,this will not disturb her and at the same time,,if at all she is havin ne other problem like pain or ne other uneasiness in stomach,,, she might show her uneasiness in that area and will not let you touch there, even in sleep..their reflexes are pretty strong when it comes to area where they are having pain.....
dont do this just in minutes,,after meals,,,might make her feel bloaty or uneasy..

and about her bowels,,at first,,she is not constipated,,secondly if she is passing regularly only one bowel per day,,its not a worry,,you mentioned the word irregular so i was worried,,,but if thats not the case,,no worries,,so you decide..toddlers can go without bowels for upto 3-4 days,,
other than that, include as much as fruits and veggies in her diet, in dinner time or snack time,,it will atleast give her good health and good apetite,,and a big plus will develop her good eating habits,,as it in daycase she is eating all bakery foods...

also, after bowels,, if she seems to be fresh,she is hungry and passes them without discomfort,,then its just fine ! acc to what all you shared,,i dont think ne probs is about her bowels,,she seems to be fine,,just that in daycare, things are not taken care of personally so may be less liquid might be the cause...whatever part you can do, atleast you can try to do the best from yourself... and yes a couple sips of water before bedtime is a good habit,,so cultivate that,,but at the same time if she is sleeping drinking milk,,its not advisable,,,make sure the milk feeding time and water time(not more than 4-5sips) has some gap of aorund 15mins,,this might be the cause that she is waking at night,because of dry throat,,kids do that,,,and whenever she wakes at night, offer her couple sips of water,,see if that helps,,,
if massaging her is tiresome for you, before you give her good night milk,,give her a good bath,,that might soothe her,,to me her night nap times is only because she might be getng overtired,,,,nothing else,,whole day at daycare,,kids often face that.playing becomes their main actiivty and they forget to rest.

rest all is fine,,hope everything works out well..you have a wonderful time ! good luck Hetal replied. hi there,
yup its the graduate gerber toddler cereals...you can also give cheerios..some babies are ready for that too ! other is oats for toddlers,,often at whole foods or ne other speciality or green markets,,all of these are in differnt brand names,in different stores,,just make sure its for toddlers(most of the time, age is mentioned) and most of them are iron fortified,,except the oats one.,,check the nutritional values with good ingrediants,,gerbers graduates / toddler are the most known.see wat your baby likes,,there are many options in breakfast aisle.

if you think that the food that daycare providers are giving, is good and healthy(multigrain or whole grain bagels/bread,or muffins from a fresh bakery),,,,then give him milk of an ounce less( as it is they are giving milk at 1130), and ask the caregiver about the quantity your child eats...and then let her drink milk accordingly...
just tell them my dr has asked you to check on his diet !!
simple..
they will tell the exact amt in percentage,,or in proportion like 1/2 bagel etc...make sure your baby eats around 1/4th of ne of one serving(1/4th of bagel atleast or around,,or a bit more),,,,
as far as he is eat that much, he should be fine !
and if you want to give her toddler cereal,,then you will have to reduce her morning milk feedd,,which will be like messing with her current milk feeds and she might accept it, start this on weekend saturday,,and see how she accepts it,,you have one more day, sunday,,,
now at 1130 she is as it is getting milk,,if its their strict rountine,,you cant do much about it,,then you can expect your baby to eat well in her lunch,,on weeknds too she wnt eat much because of that routine...and let that time be her good feed of milk time,,,atleast if you give cereal to her before leaving,,you feel good that she ate something and then left for the daycare,,,and if this thing works, her bagel/bread snack will become her brunch time !!!!

since they are offering water in glass,,at home start teaching her to drink with glass,,,nevermind if she spills,,,let her learn !! this way down the line, she will learn to drink himself atleast !! teach her to drink slowly,,there are wonderful trainer glass cups available or just ne simple glass that has a good plastic works fine,,if nothin than the clear plastic disposable cups(made from plastic, are often very small in size and they have clear plastic that you can see thru,,,) these,, makes a greatt trainer cups,,

and at 3, when its her snack time,cant you ask your daycare provider giving your own sippy of juice,,if they can offer it your child ? check on that...if so, give them sippy of ne fresh juice/often 100% juice above 1 year...there are nice brands available,storing frresh might be tough for your caregivers..

if things are tiring for you, give him dal soup that atleast you can make ,,right,,you just have to add abit more water to it and include more vegies in your dal itself ( something like sambhar or vegie dal ),,its good for your family too. let her snack time be some fresh fruit or grapes,or prunes/fresh or dried,,,kids chew good at 15months,,give her raisins,,if she seems to be feeling too hard for her,,give her soaked ones,,,and alongwith that give her other things that you have been giving,,like cereal,or poha,or whatever suits you..
but let it be snack time and not meal time,,

if you offer her things like banana or cakes,,her meal time is going to be longer,,these are heavy and kids at this age are not good in digesting these,,they take time to digest these ! same applies for mac n cheese,,if its the snack..and start offering whatever you are eating,so that it becomes less tedious for you,,also, watever you make, add in gravies to your curries,dals...gravies arent that hard to make,,keep the things prepared ahead of time, like on weekends if that helps..
nothing wrong,,you are giving your family something better ! or if nothing is avaiable,,dal water is the best...

and if you think that at 530 evening she is badly hungry, make her meals a day ahead,,and freeze it,,and whenever at home,let it be her dinner time,,if she seems to be eating well at that time without ne fuss,,,,and during her dinner time,,give her brunch or snack or just boiled vegies..,,nothing wrong,,,,may be thats her schedule ,,

during my dd teething, her dinners are as early as 6 and then she will have something at her regular dinner time,,sometimes its just a couple toast or crackers and if nothing a piece of roti from our plates,,,,so you have to judge whats her good intake and at what time,,irrespective of the schedule we follow that dinner is at 8 only..not at all necessary !!! just be ready with her meal,,and feed her when she seems to be badly hungry.

this will help you not only to reduce your time spend after her meal but she will also eat well because she is badly hungry..
and teach her to feed herself,,see if that works,,and she learns to eat herself...most babies have shown their likes and interest when they ate themselves...give her some food like boiled vegies(you can pressure cook these ahead of time and store in antifreeze ziplock and freeze themm),,when you want to give,just defrost them or soak them in hot water for a while,,good to go !!

nothing wrong,,see if that works,,with growing toddler,,most of the times they fuss with their schedules and meals,,and only mom can catch whats the best time to get everything in her stomach nicely :)) there is so much going on with them,,,teething, growth spurts,,newly toddlers have just learned to cruise around so they get overtired,,,and all these factors creates a big fuss in schedule..

so see if that works,,it might reduce your dinner time...

abt milk,,,you are giving her 3 feeds of milk of around 5-6-7oz,,which is good and not more than this is required.in your first post i think you have mentioned that she used to take 4 feeds of milk,,thats y i mentioned,,cut it to 5-6oz / 3 feeds,,not more.
like,one is morning,second is at her day care and third will be just before sleep.

about stomach pain or gas,, if at all she is having,,she must have shown complete loss of apetite by this time,,but she is eating well, and seems to be hungry at one point of time,,kids start sleeping on their stomach from 8-9months onwards,,,its rather unexplained why they do that,,,but its seen mostly from 9months and onwards...whenever you see her sleeping on stomach,,just place her on back or on ne one side(either left or right),,she will be fine..many kids were often comfortable in sleeping sound,, on one of their sides than just on back,,so let her sleep that way..,,

sleeping on tummy is not a good habit so try to avoid it as much as possible..and if you still want to check on her gas or ne other stomach pain,,,,,whenever she does that, give a light pressure with your palm around the navel in a clockwise direction, using both hands.if she is having gas, it will soothe her and release it,,,if you do this very gently,,this will not disturb her and at the same time,,if at all she is havin ne other problem like pain or ne other uneasiness in stomach,,, she might show her uneasiness in that area and will not let you touch there, even in sleep..their reflexes are pretty strong when it comes to area where they are having pain.....
dont do this just in minutes,,after meals,,,might make her feel bloaty or uneasy..

and about her bowels,,at first,,she is not constipated,,secondly if she is passing regularly only one bowel per day,,its not a worry,,you mentioned the word irregular so i was worried,,,but if thats not the case,,no worries,,so you decide..toddlers can go without bowels for upto 3-4 days,,
other than that, include as much as fruits and veggies in her diet, in dinner time or snack time,,it will atleast give her good health and good apetite,,and a big plus will develop her good eating habits,,as it in daycase she is eating all bakery foods...

also, after bowels,, if she seems to be fresh,she is hungry and passes them without discomfort,,then its just fine ! acc to what all you shared,,i dont think ne probs is about her bowels,,she seems to be fine,,just that in daycare, things are not taken care of personally so may be less liquid might be the cause...whatever part you can do, atleast you can try to do the best from yourself... and yes a couple sips of water before bedtime is a good habit,,so cultivate that,,but at the same time if she is sleeping drinking milk,,its not advisable,,,make sure the milk feeding time and water time(not more than 4-5sips) has some gap of aorund 15mins,,this might be the cause that she is waking at night,because of dry throat,,kids do that,,,and whenever she wakes at night, offer her couple sips of water,,see if that helps,,,
if massaging her is tiresome for you, before you give her good night milk,,give her a good bath,,that might soothe her,,to me she is overtired baby,,nothing else,,whole day at daycare,,kids often face that.playing becomes their main actiivty and they get overtired..

rest all is fine,,hope everything works out well..you have a wonderful time ! good luck