I'm really worried that my 18 month old daughter is not eating enough?

as long as she is getting variety she should be fine. chances are when she decides to go on a growing spurt she'll eat more. just keep trying like you are. my nephew had the poop problem also to the point where it would get so hard he would hold it and then cry when he finally did go. sometimes he would hold it as long as 4 days and then do what we would call the poopy dance where he would run from one end of the house to the other screaming and crying( not kidding) I got to poop. Finally after many go arounds they told us to give him a half teaspoon of miralax in his juice. Did the trick. he is 4now and doesn't have a problem but sometimes he needs to have some more of the medicine( which by the way you can purchase over the counter at your grocery/drug store)And i agree get a different doctor. really no reason she can't see a general practitioner. My kids did at that age.made doctor visits so much easier.

If she is not underweight, then she is getting enough. Nutrition isn't about having all the necessary nutrients in every meal, it's about balancing things out over time. I understand your frustration though, my son is almost two and for about the past year or so he will have periods of time where he eats everything in sight, and much longer periods where it seems he hardly eats anything at all. There have been nights when he goes to bed having only eaten a bite or two of his dinner, and then only if we manage to trick him into it. There are even rare occasions when he goes to bed without eating anything at all (though we really really try to avoid that). I know he knows how to scream when he's hungry, and yet he seems happy and active and content. He also isn't waking in the middle of the night (something I also know for a fact he has done in the past when he has been hungry). So I try not to worry about it. A friend once told me that he mother looked it up when she went through a not wanting to eat phase and it turns out that a toddler can live on as little as two tablespoons of food/day without suffering ill effects. Two tablespoons sure doesn't seem like enough, but after some of the days when my son eats practically nothing I'm starting to believe it.

1/2 cup of yogurt is actually an appropriate serving size for a child her age. 1/2 scrambled egg or 1/3 waffle seems like an appropriate serving size as well. Remember, a toddler's serving size should be 1/2 of what an adult serving size is and an adult "should" only eat 1 cup of yogurt, 1 waffle, etc (frankly I think it's a bit silly to scramble only one egg, but realistically a single egg is a single serving for an adult too). I think every mother throughout history has probably worried that their child isn't eating enough. But you also have to keep in mind that average serving sizes have become ridiculously large in the last 20-30 years. I think many children are eating more than they need to, which is supported by the rise in childhood obesity.

I'm also right there with you on the poop issue. It's not "normal," but it's not really quite abnormal either. My son has had issues with constipation since he was a newborn as well. Sometimes his stools are not only hard little balls, but slightly bloody as well and he sometimes screams because he's in such pain. We used cloth diapers until he started soaking through them and he managed to clog the toilet twice before his first birthday! What I have found to help is to increase the amount of produce (especially fruits and fruit juices) in his diet. If he's having a particularly hard time, I will give him 1-2 ounces of prune juice until things are moving again. And if it's really really bad (which thankfully is rare) we do have miralax on hand.

Toddlers tend to be very small eaters. They often seem to live on nothing but air and 2 goldfish crackers ... and the grow and thrive.

If you're worried about her nutrition she can offer her a multivitamin, but odds are good that she's getting what she needs nutritionally, even if it doesn't look like it. (Portion size for toddlers is also very small.) Be sure you're offering her a varied diet, and let her appetite dictate how much she eats.

Also be sure that she isn't filling up on milk. Some toddlers will guzzle several cups of milk each day, which leaves little room for other foods. So limit milk to 16-24 ounces a day.

As for the constipation -- are you offering mostly foods that are less binding? (Whole grains? Fresh fruits and veggies?) My daughter had constipation issues at that age, and what turned out to be a miracle drug for her was natural apple cider. (NOT apple juice -- cider is made from uncooked apples, and that's what makes it laxative. Cooked apples are binding.)

Well I dont know about the bowel movements but my daughter is picky like that too eating small meals BUT it came to my attention that what a serving size for us, is much much smaller for a toddler...

Toddlers need about 1400 calories a day so you could keep track for a little awhile.

"If you were to take all the food your toddler needs day, it could very easily all fit on one normal sized plate. This is especially true depending on the food choices you make. For example, just 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese counts as a full cup of milk. That fulfills half of your toddler's milk requirement for the day. Add to that one slice of hard cheese and your toddler's milk requirement has been met with foods that are more dense than 16 fluid ounces of milk, which would also fulfill the requirement. If you chose cottage cheese instead of ricotta, it would take 2 cups of cottage cheese to equal just 1 cup of milk. It would take 4 cups of cottage cheese to fulfill the full milk requirement for the day. If you have a light eater, picking foods that are more nutritionally dense and take up less room in the tummy can be key toward meeting these nutritional goals. "

Your baby is constipated if she has firm or hard stools that are difficult to pass. The frequency of bowel movements is not a reliable sign of constipation as some babies go several times each day while others only go once every few days. Bottle-fed babies become constipated more often than breastfed babies, and the introduction of solids can lead to hard stools in both. Fortunately, there are many options for softening your baby's stools at home to ease her discomfort.

Step 1

Offer your formula-fed baby a few ounces of water each day to help soften her stools. Do not add extra water when mixing her formula, and do not give her so much water throughout the day that it interferes with her regular feedings.

Step 2

Give your baby a couple of ounces of undiluted apple juice once each day to loosen stools, or put 1 tsp. of light Karo syrup in a bottle with 4 oz. of water. Dr. Alan Greene states that Karo syrup and apple juice will soften stools in infants.

Step 3

Offer older babies prune juice, preferably with pulp included. Prune has a natural laxative effect on the body. If your baby does not like the taste of prune, try mixing it with another food.

Step 4

Eliminate newly introduced foods from your older baby's diet. If you've recently introduced new solid foods, one of those foods may be causing your baby's constipation. Remove those foods from your baby's diet for a week or two to see if her stools become softer.

Step 5

Feed your baby foods that help soften stools, such as pears, peaches, plums and apricots, and take a break from constipating foods, such as bananas and rice cereal.

Step 6

Give your older baby 1 tsp. of flax oil by mouth each day. Flax will not only help your baby move her bowels, it is also a good source of omega 3 fatty acids.

i would get a new pediatrician. a babys poop should be soft. it sounds like if her poops are hard she could be a lil constipated. try giveing her more veggies and fruits lots of water. and her eating is probally fine kids know when they are hungrey and full. plus at that age they tend to get very picky on what they eat

some dogs are actually not great little ones-fans. Nina ought to get frightened around Lilian. Or like others have reported under she may be jealous of Lilian. Rottwielers are commonplace for agressiveness. it must be that Nina is not sure what to make of Lilian. From own expierience, i be responsive to that my aunt had a chihuahua named chum, whilst she had a infant, chum did no longer be responsive to what to make of Preston (my aunt's infant). The dogs did no longer be responsive to if the unusual new creature substitute into solid or if Preston substitute into an enemy. subsequently chum substitute into frightened of him. Everytime my aunt had Preston and called chum over the chihuahua could flatten his ears and growl on the newborn. After a sprint getting used to, chum have been given used to Preston. yet another factor must be that Nina isn't o.k. socialized. To her, somebody she would not be responsive to must be infultrating her domicile and she or he would not very very like it. You stated that Lilian growls decrease back at Nina. this may be a concern. you in all probability be responsive to that when a dogs bares this is the teeth, this is an indication of agression. If Lilian is growling and baring her the teeth, then Nina in all probability thinks that Lilian is being aggressive in direction of her. you will desire to end this habit of Lilian's immediatly. If Nina feels too threatened then she would sense the would desire to "look after herself" by potential of attacking Lilian. so which you will desire to get her to end baring her the teeth at Nina, previously issues get out of hand. the main you will desire to do is get Lilian to end baring her the teeth and growling at Nina and spend a sprint greater high quality time with Nina. The dogs ought to sense skipped over and elect your interest. attempt socializing Nina with Lilian by potential of giving Nina a handle whilst she behaves appropriate along with your daughter, so Nina learns that being great to Lilian brings rewards.

get a new pediatrician or at least see a different one for a second opinion!