[jroc]

Alek is 18 months now (home since Christmas). I posted a while back about him wanted food RIGHT AWAY when he was hungry. We got passed that little issue easily. It took a few days of me heating up the food with him in my arms so he could see that it doesn't magically appear at the table. So since then, he has learned the signal for "more" and of all things, he went to town yesterday on LIQUID! Let me preface by saying that I usually give him a bottle of water mixed with a little (and I do mean little) bit of apple juice first thing in the morning. Breakfast is within 25 minutes of that. I had given him 1/2 whole milk and then 1/2 almond milk. He had this in a cup and signed "more". No biggie, I got more. Then "more" again, so okayyyyy I got more. Then "more" again! I was worried he was going to explode. Then "more" again!!!! This was in his little belly including the breakfast of Quiona and fruit. Yikes! FINALLY he signed "all finished" and the lesson was over. Needless to say, he never signed "eat" until lunch time.
Did any of you have this happen with the Liquids? I know in the orphanage drinks were limited. When he drinks, he chugs! I mean CHUGS the liquid.

PS - He never did upchuck. ha!

[blueprints]

Yes!!! Both of our children were starved when they first came home...... Could not eat enough. We went through a bunch of bannanas at a sitting, they would eat mansize meals 5 or 6 times a day. And drinking..... To this day I have to remind them to slow down, they tend to want to chug the entire glass without coming up for air. Imagine how terrible, they spent the first 3 years of thier life dying of thirst! Most likely if they stopped drinking someone may have taken the glass from them.

I would just allow him as much as he feels he needs, and what I did with my children..... I kept taking them to the fridge and showing them that we have more of everything and they can relax. Hang in there, eventually he'll slow down.

[proudmommyof 2]

Tommy still drinks a huge amount of liquids. I think at first, it was because he couldn't chew and swallow, and it was helping to fill him up. Now? I think he just likes to drink. He would drink so quickly that he would gag and sometimes throw up. We started to put his drinks in sippy cups that would cause him to suck harder, or give him drinks with straws and pinch the straws when his eyes would start to water because he was drinking so fast.

We don't have to regulate him any more with his speed, but he still drinks a lot!!

[Javalita]

I'm not a doctor and know very little, but my instinct tells me that if he isn't throwing it up then he isn't getting too much. He must need it.

How many ounces is your first bottle? My son easily drank 24 ounces per day at that age, but probably more.

[Annabell]

Hi!

In Moscow and at home, DD was a huge drinker. (She was dehydrated all the time due to tummy troubles). Could drink an astonishing quantity. Pediatrician had her on Gatorade for a long time due to electrolyte imbalance and she'd easily (at age two) go through a whole bottle in a day -- in addition to milk, water, juice, and tons and tons of food.

I took the tack that the little ones know what their bodies need.

Good luck! (glug, glug, glug)

[Provost21]

Sounds like Nate! He will be home for 1 year in April and still always has to have his "juice" which is usually just water but he still drinks just a ton a day! If he cannot see his cup on the table, he definitely will "remind" me that he needs juice! I know with Nate they didnt give them very much water at the orphanage at all. They didnt have running water so to him, this is definitely still a luxury I think!!

[Mykidsmom]

My little one came home at 13 months (different EE country) in 2002. He still to this day, at the age of 5,drinks large quantities of milk, juice, water etc. He is very lean and very healthy. I always say he flushes the germs right through him. He has never had an ear infection, flu that went through our house and his school has past him by, he had the sniffles (cold) one time. I have never taken him to the doctor other than scheduled check-ups.

[RBSVARCHER]

I'll just say we spent ALOT of time on the potty!!!

Susan

[Aphi86]

I will say this is the case for us too. It is almost alarming how much she drinks. My g/f suggested maybe diabetes, but she had her glucose levels checked and passed. I am amazed each day. On the other hand she soaks her diapers through and through.

[GCS]

when we first brought Girlie home at 5 months she did nothing but cry for a bottle. At one point she was up to ten 8-ounce bottles a day (yes, 80-ounces a day). I was really worried. Her doctor had me move her to baby food right away and we tried to fill her up with cereal. Turns out she's a really tall girl in a little undernorished body. She grew more than 2 inches and then started tapering off. She's still a good eater, and she's solid now at 2 and a half. And she's really tall - 95%tile at last visit.

So it could be he's going through a growth spurt. Our doctor told us that they gain weight first and then their organs grow and then you see a jump in their height.

[happy-g]

It was neat to see this thread since I just had my daughter at the IA doctor for a check up today. During our appointment I mentioned to the doctor that both my kids drink lots of liquids and that my youngest is still a HUGE liquid drinker. She told me that when she was in Russia several years ago, visiting orphanages, that she noticed the children drank ALOT of hot/warm watered down tea. Even infants and toddlers. Perhaps to fight off hunger since actual food, formula, etc. is often minimal. She was in Moscow, Sakhalin Islands, Novosibirsk, and Vladivostok.

[randloar]

Our little boy was licking the condensation off the windows on our trip 1 (while being held up to it to look out), and that was our eye opener to how much they are lacking on liquids. It was so hard for us to see that, know how 'dry' he was, then leave him each day...... After seeing that, we brought water for him each visit and he couldn't get enough.

Seems fair that allthough he has been home a few months, he is still calibrating to the fact that he can have enough liquids and will settle in at some point! Hearing that he slowed down on the food implies that he will with the water and is just needing the liquids now!! I would keep giving it to him, but what do I know!!