Mumsnet Talk

My DS is one and has just started nursery. She has snack at 2.30ish and tea and 3.45 which is about an hour earlier than she has her tea the other 2 days a week. I collect her about 5ish and she is normally in the bath for 6.00 and having her milk (BF) at 6.15ish and asleep by 6.30pm I started not giving her anything when she got home as she's had a proper lunch, snack and then a tea like baked beans or soup but she woke a lot in the night and it seemed a long time to go until 5/6am ish when she wakes up and has another B/F before we get up. So I now give her a yoghurt and a biscotti. Just wondering what anyone else does? I know it sounds silly, but I don't want to overfeed her, but neither do I want her to be hungry! Thanks!

DD is 11 months and at nursery full time. When she's there her schedule is:

7am - Milk (at home)
8:30am - Breakfast (nursery)
11:30am - Lunch (nursery, main meal type thing)
2:00pm - Milk
3:30pm - High Tea (nursery, usually a sandwich or beans or something on toast followed by fruit)
5:30pm - Second Tea (home, as above).
7 - 7:30pm - Milk

At weekend's she just fits in with us, but might have a snack mid afternoon with her milk. And to be fair she's starting to drink less milk too so might need to replace the afternoon one with fruit or something when she wakes after her nap.

I hadn't thought about giving her tea when she got home from nursery but a friend did with her two so I tried it and she's always well ready for it.

HTH

DD is at Nursery 2 days a week and has a similar schedule to you both. I usually do give her a snack when we get home @ 6ish. Usually a yoghurt, fruit toast or something quick. Then she has 120ml of milk before bath time @ 6.30 ish, then bath and bed.

It seemed to me that 3.45 to morning without food (even when we were still night feeding) was a lot to ask.

On nursery days my DC (3.5 and 1) have:

Breakfast: 7.30 ish at home

Then at nursery:
Mid am snack: milk and biscuit

Lunch (midday): a rolling menu including 'main meals' e.g. fish, potatoes + veg, chilli / curry and rice, tuna pasta bake, sausage, mash + veg, cauliflower cheese + veg, pizza.

Mid pm snack: sandwich or crumpet or fruit +drink

When we get home they have dinner at 5.30 / 6ish and I'll do a lighter meal e.g.omelette, beans on toast if they've had a fish or meaty lunch or will give something like chilli + rice or meat and veg type dinner if they've had a lighter lunch.

Mine are both greedy gannets have healthy appetites and would be ravenous if they didn't have an evening meal.
They do eat according to their appetite though and will turn down or leave food (obviously not puddings or sweets) if not hungry due to bigger portions or snacks at nursery, so I'd be led by your DD.

HTH

Mine has nursery tea at about the same time as yours. She then has a snack at about 6pm with her milk when we get home. It used to be a breadstick or a few rice crackers. Now it is often fruit. Just depends what we have around. How much she has depends on how much tea she has eaten. So today she only ate half of her nursery tea so I gave her half a banana, a handful of grapes and a microwaved scrambled egg as the banana and grapes disappeared really quickly.

mine has afternoon tea between 3:30-3:45 at nursery - hot meal so only a small snack required about 6:30 before bath time and bed....

I would feed her before bed - though maybe something like porridge rather than a biscuit?

yes, would offer her something when she gets home. I do with DS. Cereal, banana or yoghurt. Though DH will do him a whole dinner

I don't know any nursery children that don't have something to eat when they get home. The meals are early at nursery and it's a long time until morning if they don't have something when they get in.

ditto chocoroo, rita and chippingin.

DS always has something snacky when he gets in, like hummas and pita, cold cooked chicken, or sometimes fruit. DH makes a point of asking how DS has eaten, because on days he's eaten everything they've given him, DS doesn't want much when he gets in, other days he's just not fancied what they've offered so is hungry in the evenings.

Thanks everyone. It seemed a long time to last to me so I think I'll definitely try more substantial things and she how she goes.