I get wearied sometimes by the number of doctors who need to know. I need to know how many calories she's taking in each day. I need to know how much water, how much whole milk, what's her totals. I roll my eyes and do my best to respond kindly so the doctors know that I'm competent, and that I'm not going to give in to their push.
The biggest frustration is that nobody asked me when my oldest daughter was eighteen months old what she hate, how many calories, how much milk, and how much water. I was given some guidelines. Some 'children of this age need this much milk' sort of suggestions. But nobody was ready to freak out over my daughter's water intake. Mostly, because if she chose not to drink, there wasn't a lot I could do to change that.
So, being the researcher that I am, I decided to compare what a day looks like in my Beauty's food and water intake, to that of a typical eighteen month old, who eats by mouth.
Beauty:
8 a.m. 4oz water.
8:30 a.m. breakfast blend. 308 calories. 20ml (1/3 of an oz) water flush.
11:30 a.m. 2oz water.
12:00 p.m. 2oz whole milk, 1/4 cup roasted chicken, 1/3 cup broccolli, 1/3 cup raspberries, 1/2 slice g.f. bread. 206 calories. 20 ml water flush.
5:00 p.m. 2oz water.
5:30 p.m. 2oz whole milk, 1 tablespoon sunflower seed butter, 1/4 cup peas, 1/2 slice g.f. bread, 1/2 cup frozen peaches. 271 calories. 20 ml water flush.
8:30 p.m. 8oz whole milk. 150 calories.
10:00 p.m. 4oz. water.
calorie total=935 whole milk total=16oz water total=13oz
18 month old who eats by mouth (I don't have times, but that doesn't matter so much).
1/2 peanut butter banana muffin. 113 calories.
8oz whole milk. 150 calories.
2oz. cheddar cheese. 228 calories.
1/2 chocolate graham cracker. 33 calories.
A few bites of grilled pork chop. Approximately 5 calories.
2 oven fries. 6 calories.
Low fat, mozzarella string cheese. 70 calories.
1/4 cup goldfish crackers. 200 calories.
8oz. 3/4 water and 1/4 juice mixture. Drank around 1/3. 10 calories.
calorie total=815 calories. whole milk=8oz. water=around 3oz.
The second child is growing, and has great parents. It's okay that he didn't eat tons. It's the plight of small children. Some days they eat. Some days they don't. There's not a lot you can do about it. However, my Beauty eats healthy, balanced meals everyday. She has no choice in the matter. So the next time a doctor decides to push me to count calories, I will kindly point them to this post, and tell them we are just fine, thank you very much. Feel free to do the same.
