My little one has decided her new bedtime should be 6pm. Sadly, that's not possible without missing dinner. She has refused dinner 6 days in a row. She's just exhausted and wants to go to bed. I know she hasn't been feeling 100%, but will this become a habit? Should I force her to eat before bed or just go with her cues and let her go to bed? She's falling asleep in the car on the way home from daycare.
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What about feeding her before you leave daycare? Gerber graduates were a big hit in our house.
I guess she's young enough she doesn't need the family dinner type thing every night. DH likes eating with her because otherwise he doesn't see her all week. I've been packing snacks, but I think I will just pack her a dinner and we'll hang out an extra 15-20 minutes before we head out so she can eat a regular meal. Then if she falls asleep, all she misses is bath.
DD only goes to bed at 7:30pm, but when it comes to supper, She very rarely can wait for hour supper. Usually she wants something around 4:30. That's when she IS hungry most of the day. Some days, I manage to give her a snack and that will hold her up, but most days, it doesn't work. So I usually make sure that theirs always left over from the day before.
I second Jenn-Matt. Maybe you should try giving her a snack before leaving the daycare, or even in the car. That may keep her from falling asleep. I always have a cup with those fishy crackers in it when we are in the car. Maybe that will help.
Is she's sleeping throught that night? What time does she wakes up? Also how long is her nap during the day? Maybe she doesn't get enough of a nap?
She is used to sleeping 3 hours in the afternoon, now that she is at my daycare, she is limited to 2 hours and even then the noise level only allows her to get about 1.5. She is definitely tired. We have decided to keep a box of ritz crackers in the car so she can nibble a few on the ride home to tide her over. She still can't wait until we make our dinner so she eats left overs from the night before while we cook today's dinner. We'll just save the family dinner's for the weekend.
going from 3hrs to 1.5 is a big difference for a child. So now that she snacks in the car and eat left oer, is she able to last later then 6?
Poor thing...If your car ride wasn't so long it might not be so bad...sadly b/c it gets dark so early it probably doesn't help her on the ride home.
I think giving her dinner at daycare might be the best way to go for her..maybe if she has something in her belly she might only have a cat nap on the way home and be rested to hang out with your DH before she has a snack and hits bed for the night
Good luck!
I'm with the other girls - for now, until her body adjusts to the lack of lengthy nap, and the early darkness, she should be fine with just some extra healthy snacks. Is she normally a big eater, or if she eats some veggies, crackers, etc, will it be equivalent to a meal for her more or less?
Good luck, I'm like her - I'd like to eat supper at 4 and go to bed at 6 or 7 some nights too!
Kat, you and Mia would get along great!!! She is usually a big eater unless she is tired so a snack woudl pretty much equal her meal later on anyway.
Send her down
Kat, some days I am tempted....