# How long should I wait between dinner time and bedtime?



## murungababy (Sep 28, 2007)

How long should I wait between my 21 MO DS's dinner and bedtime?

I just read this in the online Mothering magazine article that is linked to this forum;

"Don't feed your children right before putting them to sleep. Food requires time to digest. While sleeping, however, digestion does not progress in the same way it does when we are awake. It slows and even stops. The result is gas, cramps, and stomach pain. None of these conditions induce a restful sleep."

http://www.mothering.com/articles/ne...ep/fleiss.html

We usually start DS's bedtime routine right after dinner: story or two, teeth brushing, (this part is probably b/t 10-20 mins, depending on when he asks to nurse) then lie down and lights out, then nursing and sometimes singing while lying in between mom and dad. Sometimes he wants to be pushed in his stroller, which he will ask for.

It takes about an hour for him to fall asleep, sometimes longer. And he wants to nurse non-stop for most of that time.

Does this routine sound like its too close to dinner and could be the reason he wakes up every 2 to 3 hours at night?

What are non-stimulating activities (besides a bath) that we can do before bed?

How long should I wait between the end of dinner and the beginning of the bedtime routine?


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## mean_jeannie (Mar 3, 2007)

Ds is 2. We sit down for dinner bt 630 & 7. He is in bed at 830. So from my experience 1 - 1.5 hours seems sufficient.

I think the article means a shorter time than that. It sounds from your routine that maybe you do need to stretch some extra time in there.

I had a condition once called gastroparesis. When I went to take the barium test, the tech told me that most people pass food through their stomach in less than 30 minutes. Can you cuddle/read stories/wind down for that long before lights out and laying down?


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## narcheska (Jul 27, 2007)

The only problem I find with feeding little one so close to her bedtime is that within half hour to an hour after eating she gets a burst of energy from her food, and cannot go to sleep.

I believe it's true that the digestion system slows down during sleep, and that too full a belly in a bubby can be uncomfortable, but don't most books recommend dinner at 5pm, then asleep by 7pm? So your routine sounds close to that. And anyway, if he's nursing before sleep, that's a form of food isn't it? And he's fine with that, isn't he?


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## AugustLia23 (Mar 18, 2004)

We have dinner usually at 7pm is, then straight to bed for my 4yo, 2y9m old and 9 month old nights that they don't have a bath. They have a bath about 2 nights a week.

We have no issues with digestive upset, and they all go right to sleep. The older boys sleep in a room together, and the baby is in a crib in my room. The boys sleep through the night(95% of the time, when they do wake, it's usually because they have to go potty). The baby wakes up at 11pm and by 2am, he is almost always in the bed with me, unless he's restless.


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