Growth Spurts... I THINK that is what is going on

Zach has been going through a growth spurt which means in the last week he has grown out of about half of his pants and now his shirts are skin tights. It’s cute. Luckily for me, he has been in between sizes for a while now so the bigger size (2T) now fits well and the smaller size (18 months) is now being packed up.

Our signs of a growth spurt (in memoriam because I never notice a growth spurt until it’s pretty much over):

• Increased clinginess
• Sleeping more and more willing to sleep
• Generally warmer body temp
• Eating like an ox

 And when I say eating like an ox, I mean eating more than Matt and I combined at times. It is unbelievable. One (particularly healthy) night he ate 10 McDonalds Chicken Nuggets, half of a large fry, and two apples (we were out and it was all we had- don't judge). With that, I will say that I like to use these times to introduce new foods and encourage healthy eating because he is just so willing to eat that he will pretty much eat whatever I give him. So I beef up his intake of green veggies and lean meats (not that night). Woo Hoo!

I also notice that Zach is a lot more sensitive to nap time during this process. Whereas, usually, he isn’t too affected by missing a nap or rest time, during the growth spurt he becomes unbearable if he misses it.

Now, growing pains are controversial. Some people believe they exist and are associated with growth and others think it’s hog-wash. I will say that Zach had a few points over the last couple weeks where he was inconsolably whiney and seemed to just be achy and unhappy so it definitely seems plausible to me that it could have been associated with the questionable “growing pains.” For us, it meant extra cuddles and lovin’ which is always welcome in my house.

Growth spurts: yet another mystery of raising children.