BLWers, what time does your dc go to bed? Do they stay up for your evening meal?

[TheSnickeringFox]

Just wondering...my ds (7.5mo) is currently eating with us, then bath and bed, falling asleep at around 8.30/9pm. Is this weirdly late?

We just switched our meal time and ate at 5.30pm.

During the week, I eat something small with Boy at around 5-5.30pm. DH not home til 6-6.30pm so he does bedtime around 7pm and we eat our meal around 8pm.

DH can't guarantee being home early enough to squeeze a proper meal in before Boy is too tired so we do it this way til he's old enough to cope.

At the weekends though, I try to make sure we always eat with him around 5pm.

If it works for you, don't mess with it!

Later bedtimes only become an issue once they start preschool / school.

Enjoy the flexibility for now

We have our evening meal around 6-6.30 and ds is in bed 7.30ish.

Eat 5-7 depending on dh work & dd1/2 activities. Dd3 has tea then bath , milk bed. Though is still going tonight and bouncing withdd2.

When DS was that age, during the week, he and I ate together at 545, and DH got a meal on a plate to heat up when he got home. I am now always ravenous at 545

If it works for you then keep doing it!

Our dinner times have cahanged as they have got older. They are now 2 and 4 and eat around 6. We eat together at weekends or when dh is working from home. If he won't be home until after they go to bed then they eat together and we eat later. When they were younger they ate earlier, around 5 as ds in particular would be fast asleep not long after so we didn't eat together. I used to save a portion of our dinner and they would have it the following day rather than cooking twice! Or if we were eating stew or spag bol or something then I'd make it in time for them to eat and then leave it simmering for us later.

Just read your OP again, if those timings work for you and your family, stick with it. Especially if your little one lets you sleep in later for having gone to bed later. I just found I wanted some time to myself in the evening as I hadn't really adjusted to having a child at that stage. If I have another one, I will be much more chilled about meal and bedtimes.

We do pretty much the same, my 1yr old has always eaten with us between 6-6.30 and he goes to bed between 7.30-8.00 it works for us. But I know what u mean, it does seem late when some babies are asleep by 6.30 but mine has never been a great sleeper and he usually wakes at 5 from his last nap so he's not overtired by the time we put him to bed.

We do the same. Eat at 7.30 and bed at 8.30

DH and I used to eat really late (around 9pm). I got fed up with cooking twice so that DS could have a proper tea, so now we all eat together at 6.30ish and DS is in bed an hour later. It's actually been better for us as it seems to free the evening up more.

We have tea at 5:30pm or 6pm till around 6:30pm, when my partner takes LO (9 months) for a walk (if weather permits), whilst I clear up and have a shower. They return in time for LO's bath/breastfeed/bed routine at 7pm. LO baths at 7 and is in her cot for about 8pm. Thought this was normal till a friend said it's late! Don't know how on earth we'd get her to bed earlier though - there's no time for anything else, and we eat our tea quite early! She sleeps through till 6am when we all have to get up for work anyway.

Thanks all, this is all very useful. I'm not sure how I feel about ds' current bedtime actually. He is definitively the worst sleeper in the world and I don't really have an evening at the moment as he's in bed late and then wakes up several times before going into a proper sleep around 11. Hmm.

At the moment, DD (7 months) has her meal at 4pm... she has to be in the bath by 5.30 latest or she's too tired to enjoy it, she's then in bed by 6pm!! I know this will probably change.. she has only been like this for the last 6 weeks, before then she was in bed by 7-7.30pm.

Maybe try bringing bedtime earlier by 30 mins every day see if it makes an improvement to wake ups? DD used to wake up at 10pm with a 7pm bedtime but now does 6pm bed and them 2am wake for feed.

Yes I think I am going to try and bring it forward a bit. I really want my evening back!

My DS is 10mo. He has his dinner at 5.15pm, ready for his dad to come home at 6pm for bathtime. I will have a cup of tea and a snack with him at that time, then have dinner properly at 7pm with my DH.

At weekends, we will all have dinner together at 5.15pm.

Boy went to bed at 6.15pm for ages, he just couldn't keep awake, but since starting weaning he's got a bit later, still ready by 7pm latest though.

Seriously, if its working don't fix it. Im sure it will change soon enough of its own accord and you will wish this settled point back again! ;0)

We never eat before 8.30/9pm but my DS needs to eat at 5.30/6ish. He just has whatever we had the previous evening, or if not suitable like tonight, he had a fishfinger, some potatoes, broccoli and sweetcorn, which was very easy and quick to cook.