Nourishing Your Toddler

The last time we visited Kirstin's Pediatrician for her check-up, the Doctor asked if she's eating good still. Apparently, there is a sudden change of appetite once babies become toddlers. Oftentimes, the infant who once ate well becomes the toddler who shows little interest in food. The reason for this is that the child's growth has slowed somewhat. But that's not the case for Kirstin. I guess she's still growing like crazy...she'll probably grow just like her father! Oh no! I'd be left out! Haha!

He warned us though of the iron deficiency anemia, which is very common to toddlers. And because we weaned her from bottle to sippy cup, we stopped giving her Enfamil (which has lots of iron). So, we try to make up for it by giving her iron-fortified cereal or iron rich food sources.

The nice thing about this age is we don't have to feed her. She finds it exciting that she's able to feed herself so she won't allow us.

Here's a tip to foster feeding skills for toddlers:

1.) Provide foods that are soft and easy to chew, cut up in bite-size pieces.
2.) Cook foods that tend to stick to a spoon, such as oatmeal and mashed potatoes, to help your toddler master using a spoon.
3.) Small portions are the best - your toddler can always signal if he/she wants more
4.) Make mealtime a pleasant experience. This is often a challenge for parents who worry that their child isn't eating enough. As a result, some parents might become very pushy about food, and a toddler will learn quickly that he can gain control of the situation by refusing to eat. This situation often can be avoided by taking a few precautions: Make sure that your child is seated properly for ease of eating (a high chair works well), and reduce distractions from the television or house traffic to avoid overstimulating him. When possible, eat with your child so you can model how to eat and expose your children to new foods.

My 18-month-old baby

Language is the most obvious progress babies are making at this age. Kirstin is discovering the power of words and has begun commenting on things in her environment just for the joy of sharing and talking. She started blabbering when she's 16-month-old at our Christmas party but now, for me, it actually sounded like a conversation. She'll point to the things around her and say what it is that she's pointing at. Oftentimes, she'll get it right. Sometimes, she doesn't know what it is and she'll ask us "What's that?" We usually encourage these conversations, and give her lots of help when she gets stuck on words she's still struggling to get out. When we get home from work, we will always ask her how her day goes and if she had fun! It may still sound Greek sometimes, especially when she talks very fast and tries to string words to form a sentence that we don't think makes any sense. But if we think of it hard enough and long enough, we have a good idea of what she's talking about! Haha! Wow, we're having a conversation!

What amazes me also is that she can read the alphabet! The toys that kids have now are really very helpful! And it also helps that she's intellectually curious. I guess Auntie Florence, our next door neighbor, had influence on that regard because from the very beginning, she would read to her books and since she's a good story teller, she's always interested! She bought her alphabet refrigerator magnets that she always play whenever she spends time with her in her house! Too bad she's not around anymore but we truly misses her and she misses her too, I bet! Aside from reading the alphabet, another trick that she learned is her numbers. She recites the numbers 1 to 10 not only in English, but also in Spanish. The numbers probably don't have any meaning to her right now but it's a good start!

Also, we have noticed that Kirstin has a very strong personality. If she's tired and wants to rest, you cannot make her do things without throwing tantrums. Mood swings and transition times are common now, signs of how much she wants to be her own person, so we need to brush up on our disciplinary techniques! Haha! I feel like she's already having the terrible two syndrome! Yikes! It might get worse when she turns two...remember, the terrible two's? Oh no! On the upside: Though the blowups may be more dramatic than they were six months ago, they're also fewer. And usually by staying consistent about telling her what she can and cannot do, she'll run for a big hug right after a big storm. Life is an exciting up-and-down adventure at this age! Good thing I'm fond of roller coasters! Hehehe!

By the way, she said bye bye to her baby bottles! It was hard but it has to be done. Took her 3 days to forget about it.

It's time for her check-up once again and the doctor said that she's doing good. She's above average for her height but just normal for her weight, which is what he likes it to be, especially with the onslaught of obesity in children. Keep it up Kirstin!