How close to bed time do you let them eat?
Eric lately has been wanting to eat so late, and it makes for a really rough night. He can't fall asleep, he gets the hiccups, and sick comes up and he just wiggles and wiggles, tosses and turns, and gets up a least a million times, no matter how tired he is when he goes to bed.

Eric does best when there is a good 3 hours after eating before he goes to bed, but I have such a hard time telling him "no" when he asks for food.
What should I do to help this?

What kinds of foods are easier to digest if he does eat before bed?

Is 3 hours too long?

What about really filling foods that I could offer before the eating cut off time?

Give me ideas people

We eat dinner about 6ish and bedtime is 8-8:30 so Mag has never really had much inbetween other than a popcicle.

I've been known to let Ava eat mini-marshmallows or a cracker in bed while we watch TV while she falls alseep...which has been as late as the 10:00 showing of Oswald. :oops:

People who don't understand reflux think I'm nuts, but I absolutely don't allow any food after dinner. The kids eat around 5 or 5:30 and they're in bed by 7pm. B can have something to drink, but food will make her puke.

Oh, and now that she's old enough to manipulate, she will cry and beg for food when others are around to watch (but I promise you she wouldn't eat it if I gave it to her--it's her way of stalling, KWIM?)

Anyway, I think that if Eric is really hungry after dinner, perhaps you could institute a set "snack time" between dinner and bedtime. Crackers, bread, water, etc.--nothing too heavy/filling, but enough that he feels he's getting something if he really is hungry.

OR

You could try telling him at dinner that he needs to eat now so that he doesn't get hungry before bed...and remind him how awful he's been feeling at bedtime.

I am a real meanie. :oops: :sad5:

K is usually in bed at about 7:30 or 8pm these days and I dont like her to eat anything at least an hour before bed... simply because she will end up having a rough night too and I'll end up trucking my butt up the stairs 4 or 5 times and eventually having to give her a Tums. We usually eat between 5 & 6 sometime and then she doesnt have anything after that... if she didnt eat well that day (which happens a lot around here lately!) Then I MAY give her a few Wheat Thins or some kind of bland crackers to give her a little something in her tummy (nothing fatty or greasy or tummy upsetting stuff though) because being OVERLY hungry can cause her to have some heartburn as well... but again if it's within a half hour of bedtime she either stays up a little later or doesnt get anything... thats my limit...

it's frustrating and hard to pick and choose but when your kid eats the equivilent of 1 piece of bread ALL day you cant just leave them to wither away at night, can you??? I just cant do it myself I just try to keep the food choices healthy and non-irritating as much as possible!!

Good luck!!

With Ava, I can honestly say that I don't think the little bits that she snacks on make a huge difference, kwim? She never eats enough of a volume to sit around in her stomach.

However, if I had a kid that ate normal portions, I don't think I'd let them eat for at least 2 hours before bed.

I used to, until a few weeks ago. Kefir with dinner, before bed, during the night. Catherine's ped told me to cease and desist as it was too heavy in her stomach and no wonder she cried all night every night. She now gets water from the time we get home in the evening and to take to bed. And yes, lo and behold, she's sleeping much better.

She will try to play the "I'm hungry" card to delay going to bed, but I tell her no and that's usually the end of it with a little whining. She usually eats nothing (like tonight) or a few bites of something between 6:00-6:30 and then is in bed, lights out, by 7:30. Her ped said to front-end load her calories and decrease as the day goes on because she cannot go to bed with much of anything in her stomach. This is how we all ought to be eating anyway -- the most cals for breakfast, fewer for lunch and small dinner.

Lesley,
That's exactly what I try to do, but when he has a next to nothing day and asks for something later, I almost always give in and regret it later.

Tonight It was a good 2 hours before bed and he still had a time getting to sleep, but it was better than what it has been.

And I did talk to him and reminded him that he needed to eat more during the day, so he didn't get sick at night time, and he listened. Tonight he didn't ask for anything before bed and ate a really good dinner.

Oh and water... He has been able to take water with him to bed for quite a while now, since he turned 2 I think and what a difference it made. He can help himself all night, and I could kick myself for not doing it sooner.

Thank you everybody
:hug:

What do you do, give them a sippy with water in it just to have in their room at night? Maybe I should start doing that for K...

Yeah, I put it in a no spill cup, and he usually finishes it every night.

It wouldn't be a bad idea. It's one of the best things I did for Eric that's for sure.