Working Moms

WWYD--late snack issue (a bit long)

I mostly lurk over here but need some advice/insight.  DS was a preemie and so one of our main goals medically has been to pack in the calories as much as possible to help him gain weight.  He's been in less than the 3rd percentile the whole time until today--he creeped up onto the growth chart at right around the 3rd percentile.  Yay!  but also likely only b/c we don't let him go more than about 3 hours during the day w/out eating either a meal or a snack.  We average 3 meals a day with 2-3 snacks.

He just moved up from the infant room into the 1 year old room at daycare.  The handout they gave us welcoming us to the toddler room and explaining how they do things said they do morning snack at 8:30/9am, lunch at 11am, afternoon snack at 2:30pm, and a late afternoon snack at 5pm.  Well apparently they don't do a 5 pm snack--I won't go into the whole story but bottom line they don't do it anymore.

I talked with them about my concerns about DS going from 2:30pm until dinner without getting any food/calories--explained the whole preemie thing and trying to help him gain weight.  We pick him up at 5:30ish and by the time we get home and get dinner prepared it's somewhere in the 6:30 to 6:45pm range for dinner.  *I* don't go from 2:30pm until dinner without eating anything! lol!

They agreed to give him a 5pm snack if we provided.  Fine, sure--not a problem!  Well, it's been hit or miss with DS actually getting it and it hasn't been well communicated to us on his take home sheet. We've addressed it twice but still not much improvement.

Questions for you:  is it unreasonable for us to expect them to do a 5pm snack for DS?  I do realize they have to pull him from the room since no other kids are getting a snack then (which seems bizarre to me anyway but that's another issue). What is your DC's schedule for snacks in the afternoon? Other thoughts? 

 

Kim

Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

Re: WWYD--late snack issue (a bit long)

  • She eats breakfast at 7:45, lunch at 11 and her snack is at 2:30/2:45.

    She is pretty hungry when we pick her up.  Although, not a preemie, she has stayed in the 5-10% for weight, so a little munchkin.  Whoever is picking her up (around 5:30) takes a snack and sippy cup to work with us and then we give her the snack on our way home in the car.  So she gets a snack about 5:30 in the car, we get home around 6 and dinner is around 6:30.

    ETA:  We have done the snack in the car deal since she moved to the toddler room.  Might be worth a try for you.

  • Snacks are at 9:30 and 2:30 - no late snack. DD *always* eats in the car on the way home. Either something leftover from her lunch or goldfish or fruit snacks.
    - Jena
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  • I would plan to have a snack available with you so he can eat in the car: cheerios w/ raisens, a banana, string cheese.  It is a long time, although not having a snack around 5 has been standard in the 2 day cares we used w/ #1.
  • My DD wasn't a preemie but has never been on the charts.  She's pint-size. 

    Couldn't YOU bring a snack when you pick up your DS and he can eat it in the car? 

  • E CE C member

    I do think it's asking a lot, considering they have to separate him from his classmates.  It probably means they need an extra staff member in the room for everyone else.

    I agree - take a snack in the car.

  • Thanks for the feedback ladies. Sounds like no late afternoon snack is pretty normal unfortunately. I guess since it said in their info to us welcoming us to the room that there was a 5pm snack we were really diappointed to find out there isn't.  Yes, we can bring a snack for him although we have never tried feeding him something in the car.  I imagine food and sippy getting thrown everywhere but oh well I guess--he's got to eat something! :)
    Kim

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • Our daycare does a 5 pm snack but I know on some days I get annoyed b/c if he's eating snack at 5 pm, i'm not sure if he'll be that interested in dinner.  I'm imagining that might be why your daycare stopped.  If you pick DS up at 5:30 anyways, maybe put a little extra for the 2:30 snack and then bring a snack in the car for the ride home to keep DS full until dinner.  I think it's reasonable for you to ask them to do the 5 pm snack but realistically if they are in the middle of an activity, this might not happen as easily as you would think.  So it might just be easier to give DS the snack yourself as soon as you pick DS up. 
  • imageflamencogal:
      I imagine food and sippy getting thrown everywhere but oh well I guess--he's got to eat something! :)

    If he is hungry he will not throw it. If he does throw it then maybe he just doesn't need it right then.

    - Jena
    image
  • My DS was a preemie too, and I feed him 3 meals, 3 big snacks and 5 bottles a day. My DS gets another bottle and a snack in the afternoon (b/t 3:30 and 5pm) at daycare everyday. They feed him whatever I want whenever I ask for it, but DS goes to a daycare for medically fragile children, so I think they may be more accomodating to parent's requests, input, etc.
  • I understand your concern but also understand where daycare is coming from.  4 to 5:30 is crazy at my daycare because that is the main time that kids are getting picked up and the staff number drops between 4 and 4:30 as the kids leave so having someone to take a child into the office or a different room to give them a snack would be a hard one.  My center gives the kids their afternoon snack at around 3 and then they have a snack basket near the front door where they have anything from apples, bananas, crackers and sometimes cookies and the kids are welcome to take one with them for the ride home.  I find that letting my kids eat this on teh drive home (which is only 5 mins for me) helps hold them over for dinner.  I have at times brought Cheerioes or things like that with me - before my kids were old enough for some of the snacks school provided.  Can you try doing this rather than leaving it up to the daycare?  The extra 30 mins of waiting should not be that big of deal vs waiting all the way to dinner which is a really long time.
    Jenni Mom to DD#1 - 6-16-06 DD#2 - 3-13-08 
  • Yep, I think that's what we'll do--snack in the car and see how it goes.  I am bummed the daycare isn't doing the 5pm snack anymore but also understand that it is a royal pain in the arse to try and feed one kid a snack but not the others.  At the same time I don't think the daycare gets it that I'm not asking for a snack just b/c I think DS might be a bit hungry--it's about getting calories in him to gain weight.  He can only eat so much in one sitting, so we need to feed him throughout the day.  But I think the only way to reliably get those calories in him is to do it ourselves.  Surely if the rest of you do snacks in the car on the way home DS will get the hang of it too!
    Kim

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • dpdwdpdw member
    You might also consider increasing his calories in the earlier meals. 
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