Advice please - time to prepare family meal

[rubadubadoo]

I've been cooking separate meals for my ds and my husband and I - causing two lots of mess and a lot of time in the kitchen (no dishwaher). My ds has just turned one and I am determined now that he should eat family meals so I only have to cook once in the evening. I'm not worried about whether he will eat the food as, like his father, he manages to eat anything and everything. My concern is will he let me have half an hour in the late afternoon to prepare the meal? He doesn't sleep much in the day and he hasn't got much patience when in his highchair or playpen. Is is OK to accept that initially he will cry and cry while I'm making tea and hope that he gets used to me not playing with him every secind of the day? How do other mums get the time to prepare meals?

[lilolilmanchester]

Does your DS eat at the same time as you? If not, he could eat whatever you'd had the night before, so he only has to wait for you to heat it up? Or if he eats at the same time as you, get into the habit of cooking the next day's meal the night before, after he's gone to bed. Or cooking at weekend and freezing.

[lilolilmanchester]

x posts minkvelvet!

[Tapster]

My DD sleeps for 1.5-2 hours each afternoon - found that at one she liked the routine of sleep.

Also I think with one child using the dreaded TV is an option - I decided i had to save my sanity and my DD watches teletubbies or ITNG (DVD/recorded on sky plus - not plonked in front of anything) for 30mins a day. It gives me 30mins to do stuff. SAHMs need some break.

My DD at 14months seems to go through phases of being happy playing on her own sometimes to always being played with.

Another trick is either at the weekend or when you can get somebody to come round and entertain him batch cook lots of meals and put them in the freezer.

Slow cooker another option.

Its not much fun all this daily cooking is its - and I used to love cooking

[Hassled]

Good advice re cooking in advance - when mine were little I tended to double up everything so would have one meal "spare" in the freezer. That at least reduces the number of times that cooking is an issue.
Only other advice is cook with mushrooms as ofrten as you can - they are soft enough that they can be cut with a plastic/play knife, and cutting mushrooms into tiny pieces kept my DCs occupied for hours. They would chop mushrooms even when I was cooking something completely unrelated!

[missboo]

im with you rubadubadoo i have trouble with meal times too, it makes me feel so unorganized, and the thought of cooking once My DS has gone to bed im shattered by then.

But i have vowed to get more organized this year.

[missboo]

sometimes but must admit a lot of it is my doing just cant get motivated hate being indoors.

[accessorizemybaublessanta]

I have a similar prob, I do understand where yo'ure coming from rubadubadoo. I have a very very small kitchen with a very hard floor, so it's pretty difficult getting anything done in the kitchen with both the ds's in there. I often have ds1 (4) on the worktop and ds2 (1) in his bouncy chair & feed him breadsticks or something for 15 mins. If it's a big kitchen, put him in his highchair and give him some toys to play with etc. They will get used to not being played with all the time, I made the mistake with ds1.

But I've found I just have to do different meals during the week, or prepare bits of it earlier during the day (e.g. cook the pasta, chop the veggies) or the night before. You do have to change the way you do things and that can be frustrating, I know!

It is really hacking me off at present as I'm starting to hate cooking. The kitchen is freezing at night and very dark and why should I spend my evenings cooking when I've worked all day (at work or with the kids). It does get more manageable later when you can leave them to their own devices. I had it working fine with ds1 before ds2 came along!

[jellyrolly]

If you have room in your kitchen you could try getting a little set of steps? I let my DS1 stand on his steps and give him something to do on the work top, it keeps him occupied, lets me get on with it and also, keeps him contained in one space. I got a good set from b&q for about £20 with a bar round. (He's now obsessed with his steps..)

[AMerryScot]

Let him loose on your wooden spoons and measuring cups. At one year old, it's time for him to fit in with your needs.

[scouserabroad]

Our kitchen is tiny so DD1 (18 months)has a playpen in another room & I leave her in it with a few toys. Sometimes she grumbles for a couple of minutes, then stops. She has toys that make her "think" (jigsaws etc.)just for the playpen and and she never stays there for more than 20 minutes/half an hour, and I pop over to see her every now and then. She does seem happy with this now, I know some people don't like playpens but it worked for me

[missboo]

oooh whats a funpod i like the sonud of that.

[missboo]

thanks for that psychobabble what a good idea.

[serin]

Wow, Fab idea, bet they are dead simple to make with some MDF and a few screws too!!

[rubadubadoo]

Thanks for all the advice - at the moment I don't really want to let ds loose in the kitchen as the floor is hard and the cat food and tray would be accessible to him. I'll try and do any prep during his short nap in the morning and either leave him in his playpen or sit him in the highchair while I cook - he won't like it but he'll have to learn to accept that there are things I need to do - like prepare food for him! It's just hard to get through the initial crying for attention. I've tried toys in the highchair but get fed up of picking them up from the floor and the ones that are supposed to stay stuck to the tray don't.

[Gemzooks]

rubadubadoo, my DS is 15 months. I also get fed up not being able to cook etc. However he has a nap and I do think if you tried to introduce a regular nap it would at least give you a break. I must say the hour and a half to two hours is a godsend to me... My DS gets up around 7.30 am and by 1 pm he is absolutely knackered..
anyway hope it gets better and there are others in the same boat!

[accessorizemybaublessanta]

You could try scheduling your prep time for his snack time and give him things that take a while to pick up and eat, like sultanas if he can manage them. They do have to learn a little patience though