13.5 month old is small- fatty food ideas.

My 13.5 month old baby weighs about 17 pounds, maybe bit more. he eats normally but is small. I am running out of ideas to feed him. This is what he has on a day to day basis.

Breakfast- oatmeal with soymilk or soy pudding
lunch- veggy soup, bean soup, lentil soup- wtvr I have. or cousocous with a tofu stir fry, chicken and rice.
Supper- wtvr we have for supper.
Snacks- a little fruit, doesnt like it too much, corn pops, organic baby cookies, puffed rice cereal

I never started him on dairy and don't plan on it anytime soon.

op again- otherwise he is doing everything right, crawls, stands up, etc

Avocados are great. French fries, obviously deep fried. fry with butter.

He doesnt like avocado and have been adding oil to everything I can, per doctor advice.

Platinum Member Joined: Jun 22 2008 Posts: 6465

scrambled eggs
egg salad

You're offering foods and snacks that are fat free, it seems. Is he supposed to be on a healthy diet or a fattening up diet?

Peanut butter and milk products are fattening, and without those two, it's a struggle.

I would make sweet pot pie, or pumpkin pie, or any variation thereof, without crust, and add extra oil and eggs.

Gold Member Joined: May 09 2010 Posts: 2158

is he small meaning undersized/underweight for his age and height? Or is he just a petite kid? he's eating what seems like a pretty healthy diet, including healthy fats.

I'm curious why no dairy? if there are allergies in the family, or you're vegan, ok, but otherwise I'm not sure why you'd bother holding off. And cheese/butter/whole milk are good sources of useful fats.

otherwise, try using coconut oil in baking, nut butters (peanut, almond, cashew, sunflower), maybe edamame?
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Platinum Member Joined: Aug 12 2007 Posts: 20597

More food isn't going to make him bigger; it will just make him fatter. What do you think is wrong with him if he's doing everything right and eating well?
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op here- My husband and I are both small. I don't expect him to be big. I was just wondering if anyone had any more food ideas. I feel like I keep giving him the same stuff. I wanted ideas. He does everything right and his doctor is NOT concerned at all. I am holding off on dairy because I don't believe its good for him. I grew up without it and I am not allergic. I don't expect him to not eat it but didnt want to start him on it yet. As far as peanut butter- he loves bread and things like that and does eat peanut butter sandwiches.

Some good ideas here

14 lbs at 16 months. Ideas?:
http://www.imamother.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=190734&highlight=months

Sounds fine to me then. I wouldn't worry about variety unless he complains. Some kids find comfort in familiar foods. I'd give a PB sand every day to a thin child.

If you're going to increase his fat intake with oil just keep an eye on his fiber intake b/c all that fat can be constipating. That happened to my skinny kid that I tried to fatten up.

Honestly, just make sure he has a healthy well balanced diet and that's it....that's the most important thing you can do.

Active Poster Joined: Apr 22 2005 Posts: 89

I second the eggs idea. A doctor also once recommended I cook veal for my baby.

Gold Member Joined: May 09 2010 Posts: 2158

try waffles and pancakes for breakfast maybe? it's easy to load those up with things like tofu, oats, and fruit (or do veggie latkes). you can make a big batch and freeze them, or there are some healthy brands out there. same with muffins.

you can try whole grain pasta, fish, eggs, quinoa, other cooked grains like barley.

seriously though, it sounds like he's got a good diet, and is doing really well on eating real foods, not just baby/kid stuff. that's awesome!

Where to start.

AFAIK, too much soy is not healthful. I would think that two servings a day -- in the form of soy milk or pudding, and tofu -- would be too much for a 17 pound child.

For breakfast, you could try scrambled eggs or other kinds of cereal in addition to the oatmeal. Pancakes.

Unless your soups are more like stews, I wouldn't give them to him, especially not on a daily basis. He's filling up on what is mostly water. I would not introduce peanut butter, which is an allergan, so young, but if you have, then that's OK. Couscous with something not soy. Lentil salad. Rice and beans.

Think of incorporating hummus and yogurt (I know, its dairy) into his diet.[/quote]

op here- He doesn't like eggs- I have tried a bunch of times. My soups are filling thick soups. NOT veggies with water, they have beans, barley,veggies, meat sometimes etc. He eats rice and beans too. I give him lentil soups too sometimes as well as split pea soup.

Platinum Member Joined: Feb 20 2009 Posts: 7944

It seems like he is small because he is genetically programmed to be. In which case, I don't know why he has to become fatter.

If youre looking for variety, give him everything you eat Smile

unless you're picky, that should change things up enough.

For snacks, you can try ww pretzels, Israeli salad, homemade apple sauce (or strawberries, or wtvr), cheerios.

I would not give a child soy products on a daily basis.

Gold Member Joined: Feb 13 2007 Posts: 1310

The stuff you serve him sounds delicious and very healthy but too lean for his age. If you don't want to do dairy, then do more red meat (and not the lean version)--meatballs, a rich meaty stew, that kind of thing.

Also would recommend asking someone knowledgeable about the soy issue. I eat mostly vegetarian but avoid soy except for occasionally. My gut feeling is that it's better to give your kiddo dairy milk than soy milk. But I could be wrong.

Most kids his age are eating full-fat dairy--yogurt, cheese, etc.--which makes it much easier to ensure they're getting enough fat.

Also--the option your doctor is recommending, of adding oil to everything, seems a bit off to me. That's normal advice for a mom whose baby is on a typical diet and still isn't gaining enough. But your kiddo's diet isn't high-fat enough for his age. It makes more sense to add in more high-fat foods and see how he does. I mean, which is healthier: a vegan bean soup with oil dumped in to fatten him up, or a food with naturally occurring fats, like a rich beef stew, or a full-fat yogurt, etc.?

Having a high-fat diet is so important for toddlers' proper brain development.

Many of the snacks you mentioned are not so nutrient-dense, here are a few alternatives:

--little individual veggie kugels or quiches made in small muffin tins (shredded potato, carrot, zuke, sweet potato, lots of eggs, etc.)--these freeze well

--healthy whole grain muffins, pancakes, etc., you can use apple juice concentrate rather than sugar to lightly sweeten them (watch how your kid reacts to the fiber--I find my toddlers have done better when I use about half white and half whole grain flour, otherwise it's hard for their bowels to handle). I use ground almonds sometimes to replace part of the flour, and this would help add healthy fat. these freeze well too

--smoothies (strawberry-banana-coconut milk is so good!)

--homemade hummus made with lots of techina--toddlers love to dip pita etc. into it

--coconut milk yogurt http://www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com/products/coconut-milk-yogurts/blueberry

--wheat germ and ground almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc. are good for sprinkling onto other foods (but be careful it's not too much fiber for your little one)

Also, just a note that peanut butter is a choking hazard, so please be careful giving it. Make sure not to give spoonfuls of any nut butter, and when they're having nut butter on toast, make sure it's spread thinly and that they drink in between bites so the nut butter doesn't build up on the roof of the mouth ch"v.

Gold Member Joined: Aug 19 2011 Posts: 2314

I didn't read through all the posts I'm giving my 0.02$ both my kids are small my baby is smaller though. when SD was 15 months old the Dr told me to hive her mire fatty foods to help her gain weight (not that I wad concerned) the ideas they told me was ice cream, sour cream... the kid lived on sour cream sandwiches lol and ate eggs, chicken, befits, fruit ... she wasn't a big barbs eater though potatoes, bread, rice... those are the food that make you fat and gain weight not healthy and well. with ds who is 22 months and weighs 21lb no one is concerned he eats lots of food his hight and weight for himself is good he is active does everything he should (besides talking words he can add some to his dictionary as he tries saying way more than he can lol) I make sure he eats and that's that. stuffing a child with food just because he is below the chart age wise (which my ds is) is not fair to you or him ad it van only lead to other problems.
good luck and enjoy your kid as is Smile