Dinner time and bed time

TJ1979

For those of you with LOs old enough that they eat food of some sort, what is your dinner time/bed time schedule like?  Do you feed the LOs and put them to bed then eat yourself?  Or do you all eat as a family? 
We have always done dinner at 7, then immediately after E gets a bath, book, boob, and bed.  And it's been working fine, we really want to do family dinners every night.  But the past week or so, after E nurses at 6, she whines and fusses from then until 7, and pats her high chair and signs food.  Maybe I'm not making as much milk as I used to at 6 so she's getting hungry earlier?  But it's not really feasible for us to get dinner finished any earlier than that after work and a long commute.  If we tried to feed her and put her down before we ate, we wouldn't eat dinner until 8 or later, and there's no way I would make that.  This week we've just been letting her snack while we finish cooking dinner, because she is clearly hungry and communicating that she is hungry.  But I don't want to teach her to snack before meals.
So what is the routine at your house?  How is it working?  Has it changed over time?  TIA!

Dragonfly1226

Before K&A were born we would all eat at 6ish. Eventually I really want to get back to family dinners. We will someday but for now DS eats dinner at 6 and DH and I eat after the kids go to bed at 7:30. It works for us with our craziness.

mcgeeva

It has changed over time as he went to be earlier. Once he was really eating solids he was starving come 5:30. I get home from work around 5-5:30 so I will get him set up for dinner ( husband doesn’t get home till 6) and I will eat with him most nights. Then let him play - take a bath - sippy cup of milk at 7:30 and straight to bed. Sometimes I will wait to eat with DH after he goes to bed but I keep telling DH the times he gets home before Brayden has eaten he eats 100 times better when we eat as a family. As if they want to mimic what we do. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

TJ1979

@Ducky719 I suppose we could, but we BLW so she usually just eats what we are eating.  So her food isn't ready either.  Knowing E though, she'd be happy to eat a full meal at both times!  That girl is such a piglet.  I don't know how she's so tiny.

mdiblasi10

We usually eat a family dinner together around 5:30 or 6. We do BLW as well, so he eats what we eat. I do sometimes give him a snack if for some reason dinner is running later that day. He goes to bed at 7:45/8 every night. If she is signing for food, then she must be hungry. Can you maybe give her part of dinner that takes less time to prep so she can start eating while you finish the rest of dinner? Just another thought

TJ1979

@mdiblasi10 How on earth do you have dinner ready so early?  We get off at 4 and 4:30, and can't have it done before 7.  What are we doing wrong?
We have been doing that some.  Should we put her in her chair and let her go ahead and start?  Right now she's basically walking around the kitchen begging as we are preparing.  Luckily it's mostly fruit and veggies she's snacking on. 

mdiblasi10

@TJ1979 We don't always have it done that early, but we try   DH gets off at 4 and I get off by 5, at the latest. Our commute is pretty short though, just 15 minutes. We start preparing dinner the minute we get home. What is the last time they feed her at daycare? Maybe you can push her late afternoon snack back a bit so she isn't as hungry that early. Food and feeding seems to be my biggest source of anxiety with being a Mom. I am constantly worrying about. Is he getting enough? Is he getting too much? etc., etc. Hopefully this all gets easier as they get older

TJ1979

@mdiblasi10 Her last school snack is at 3, but she gets a snack at 5 or 5:30 when she gets home from school, and nurses at 6.  I honestly don't see how she's hurting for food, but she sure seems to be.  She nurses at 6, has breakfast at 7:30, milk and snack at 9, lunch at 11, milk and nap from 12-2, milk and snack at 3, snack at 5, nurse at 6, dinner at 7, nurse at 8.  So I get what you mean about too much/not enough.
I'm sorry you are stressing over food.  I try not to let myself worry about it... I don't want her being obsessed with food like I am.  So I try to keep dinner casual and fun and let her do her thing.  But, she's still getting breastmilk 6 times a day, so I'm comfortable with her nutrition levels from that.  I've had lots of experienced moms tell me that a kid won't starve himself.  But with the abundance of obesity, I worry about that too.  Hopefully it does get easier.

ccam

Our situation is a little different because DS goes to be SO early, but could you possibly feed her leftovers of what you had that night before instead of holding off until you can all sit down together?  Then when you guys sit down for dinner, maybe she can have a little "dessert" so you're still doing the family thing. 

We definitely would love to do family dinners but with DS in bed by 7pm, the latest!, it's not possible right now.  But I know eventually he'll be going to bed after the sun goes down   So DS and I are home by 4:15, we play for 30 minutes and then I heat up DS's dinner and he's eating by 5.  I sit at the island with him while he eats and DH usually walks in the door then.  While one of us puts DS down to bed, the other starts dinner and we're eating a little after 7. 

pb_bride

@tj1979, can you give her a bigger snack at 5pm?  Offer more water?

Our routine hasn't changed since M started eating. M nurses around 4:30pm. DH gets home at 6:30pm and I try my best to have dinner ready the moment he steps in the door.  M eats with us. Afterwards, I clean up while DH does storytime and then play with M. M nurses around 7:40p, then bedtime routine at 8p. He is usually asleep around 8:20pm. 

This is working for us so far and M doesn't seem to get hungry before dinner. In fact, he doesn't eat much at dinner usually, I feel like he gets most of his calories in the morning/midday. 

TJ1979

@pb_bride I'll try a bigger snack at 5, especially since my milk supply seems to be dropping oh-so-rapidly.  I wonder if she needs more calories during the day?  She almost always eats "all" of the food she is given, but I have often wondered what a serving size looks like.  Your routine sounds nice!  That's what our goal is, but we are usually running behind.

Saraevh

Ours is dinner around 6/6:30pm as a family, baths or a walk/playtime as a family after dinner until about 8pm, then upstairs for some books and bed by 8:30pm at the latest.  

That is just what we've always done and it has worked for us so I guess I'm not much help!  

pb_bride

BTW, I know it takes time to prep for dinner.  I was doing that when M goes down for his first nap in the morning, but I have so many other chores to do during that precious hour!  Since yesterday, I started prepping the veggies the night before (washing/chopping etc).  DH does M's bedtime routine by himself, so I use that time to prep the food.

ETA: I just remembered that you are trying to drop that after-work nursing session, right @Tj1979?  Gosh, looking at E's schedule, it seems like she is eating all.day.long! (10 "meals", right?)  I don't know what the answer is for E. Can she have milk with her 5pm snack?  Can you tell if she's hungry for food or if she's thirsty?  Eventually you'll either have to replace the 6pm nursing session with snack, or just skip it altogether, right?  Is there anyway you can get dinner ready by 6:30 or 6:45pm?  You'll have to find ways to cut the time to make dinner - either making a big batch on weekends and reheat it for weeknights, or crockpot meals, or use whatever time-saving tricks...  GL!

ELF4321

I would really love to sit down and eat together, but DH often gets home at 6:30 or later, and we usually start DD's bedtime routine by 7:00, so I end up feeding her at 6 so she has a little time to spend with DH before bedtime.

RoseHQ12

Our routine has evolved over time & will change again as they get older. At this time we feed them around six & bed is between 6:30-6:45, we eat after that. When they are older we will plan to have family dinners together, but for now DH & I just crash on the couch & eat while watching trashy TV

TJ1979

@mg0202 I really need to be better about crock pot meals.  We've actually put them together several times, then either 1) forgot to pull it out of the fridge in the morning or 2) forgot to plug in/turn on the crock pot.  Ugh, wasted food!  MH cooks almost every night, and I feel like a real B if I'm rushing him, like I'm unappreciative.

TJ1979

@RoseHQ12 How are your babies almost 2?!?!  That doesn't seem right.  What time do they get up in the morning?

kaf7

Hi TJ FWIW my guy has a bottle at about 5 pm. Then we eat. Then he has solids at 7-7:30pm then bath and story and last bottle by 8:30 and is down by 8:40. I am keeping the later bedtime for now because he is up between 4:30-6am to eat again and it allows me to have time with him where I am at work from 7:30am and home at about 6pm. When I go part time in a few weeks we might have to rearrange our schedule a bit as I think he is wanting to go down a little earlier.

RoseHQ12

@TJ1979, yes my babies are almost 2 we are up by 6:30, nap 12:45 til 3. It's crazy how quickly all these LO's are growing & now we have a new wave coming through again

amandaleigh1

I think you have already gotten great advice. We have been really rushed with getting dinner on the table as well. We tend to prep a lot on the weekends and then eat/reheat leftovers as much as possible during the week. 

I really want us to have that meal together as a family, and it is tough since MH gets home between 6:15-6:30 and he is the one that typically cooks. After we eat dinner, I clean up while DH bathes and puts D down to bed.

I am surprised by how much E is eating! D doesn't eat nearly as much as E from the sounds of things, and he is a huge guy-- about 25 lb + now. He does love protein and consumes probably too much dairy, 24 oz of milk plus as much cheese and yogurt as I will let him! I am really trying to get him to eat more vegetables these days. He loves to reject them

CarrieB.

I get home from work at 5. Dinner is sometime between 5:30 and 6 depending on what I make. I let DD snack while I prep and if she isn't super hungry when dinner is ready, that's okay because she's a toddler. I'm not going to stress out about it.

Then I clean up, we might go to the park or play something, bath time, pjs, snack, tooth brushing, books, songs and bedtime between 7:30 and 8.

TJ1979

@amandaleigh1 E is only 18 lbs. she has milk 6 times a day, so somewhere between 18 and 24 oz. But her solids intake is mostly fruits and veggies, plus some meat. No yogurt, cheese, or packaged foods. So she probably isn't getting a ton of calories even though she eating a lot and often.
Thanks for sharing your routine.

laura1

We have 3 different dinner times in this house...not exactly ideal, but it works for us now.  DD#2 eats at 5 while I am prepping DS and DD#1's dinner.  The older 2 are SOOO picky, so I make them their stuff while DD#2 eats her purees and finger foods.  5:30-5:45 ish, DS and DD start eating and I give DD#2 a bath in the sink, then put on her jammies and get her bottle ready.  6pm she eats her bottle and is in bed by 6:30.  DH usually walks in the door at 6:15ish, so he either takes over DD#2's bed time or takes DS and DD#1 to the bath/get ready for bed routine.  Then DS and DD#1 are in bed by 7-7:15.  Then DH and I will eat (although some nights I will go to the gym after the kids are in bed, or DH will go for a run, then we will eat by ourselves).  

The kids are SO tired that they need the early bed time, especially during the school year.  We are hoping as they get bigger to have family dinners eventually.  No idea when that will happen though!  For now I am just looking forward to when DD#2 can eat the same food as DS and DD#1!

kbeach82

Dragonfly1226 said:

Before K&A were born we would all eat at 6ish. Eventually I really want to get back to family dinners. We will someday but for now DS eats dinner at 6 and DH and I eat after the kids go to bed at 7:30. It works for us with our craziness.

Yep. Pre S & B, we all ate together around 6:30. Post S & B, V eats at 6:30, but DH and I don't eat until after he goes to bed. The twins go down at 7:00, but V stays up until 8:00. I usually cook twice a week (at least one of which is usually made in the crock pot), but each meal lasts us 2 or. Of days. That way, all we have to do is heat something up after we put V down. This is the best solution for us at this point.

TJ1979

Thank you all for sharing your routines and suggestions!  Last night she had pita chips and a whole applesauce pouch, and nursed a little bit longer and seemed to be doing okay.  Until she busted her face on the dishwasher.  Then she had to have 3 graham crackers to deal with the pain.  And still ate a full meal.  We will try again tonight, hopefully without the drama.
Oh, that's a lie.  We're going out to dinner tonight with my BFF and E's future boyfriend.  Hopefully it goes well.