Growth Spurts

I remember when my oldest child had his first growth spurt. I was breastfeeding him. He ate so much! I thought for sure there was no way my breasts could produce enough milk for him!

Babies on average triple their birth weight in the first year. *Your Child's Growth

Usually when a baby gets sick they do one of two things: They don't want very much milk at all, or they breastfeed out of comfort. My boys did both. The times where they didn't want to breastfeed, my supply got really low. When they were on their upswings, they went through a growth spurt. Again I felt like I didn't have enough milk for them. Somehow a woman's body seems to compensate for their baby in need. It's so common to worry about not being able to produce enough milk.

After the first year I was expecting my children to still grow rapidly. They still grew, but their growth slowed way down.  It seemed like small growth spurts with a big one thrown in every now and then.

Now my children are older. Isaak is now 3 and Mica is 6. My 3 year old is going through a growth spurt. He is eating everything we give him and then some! One thing my husband noticed is that Isaak wets the bed when he is in the midst of a growth spurt. Our other son did this to. They consume so much throughout the day and go to the bathroom like normal. The fluids in their food have to come out of their bodies somehow. We go from many dry nights to accidents like crazy, then back to being dry again. It's a cycle that a child can not help.

A few things you can do to help: 

• Limit liquids in the evening or at night.
• Take your child potty right before you go to bed. We take Isaak potty around 10 pm.
• Don't go back to diapers. Keep your child in underwear or panties. If you are not wanting to change the sheets; put a diaper on the outside. Gerber sells plastic training pants that we put on the outside of underwear. You want them to feel that they are wet. We also have padded blankets that we put on his bed; this way we don't have to wash all the bedding if he does happen to leak. 

A Taste For Whatever

• I hear a lot of people say that their kids will only eat SpaghettiOs®, Mac and Cheese or PBJ's. I'm fine with all those things in small doses. I just don't want my kids to get locked into eating only one of those and wanting it all the time.
  
• I've never had this problem with my kids. Sure sometimes they are cautious about eating something that looks different. I think that's pretty normal.
• We put a little of everything we are eating on their plates and we expect them to try everything.
  
• Our kids love a few odd things compared to most kids. They like red peppers, humus and Lima beans. They'll eat any kind of fruit. Isaak (our two year old) is not too fond of bread (which the rest of us like) and he likes curry in things, which is a little odd for someone his age. Now...both kids love ice cream and chocolate, so we're not by any means perfect eaters.
  
• Studies have shown that if you want your child to be more of an adventurous eater...start initially at the breast. They get flavors of whatever their mom is eating.
• As a mom, try and eat a variety when you're pregnant and nursing. Your baby will be more open to trying new things if you are.