Lunchtime woes for 13mo

[NicElua]

DS' swinging appetite at lunch is baffling me. His usual lunch time is 1130am. He is usually a good eater. He'll eat about 8-10tbsps of solids, which consists of soft brown rice, some fish and chopped vegetables. This will be followed by some fruit, usually a quarter of an apple/pear or 2 slices of papaya. He would take only 15-20mins to finish all the food.

Recently lunchtime has become quite a challenge. I suspect it is mainly due to ds' dropping of his morning nap. Now he no longer take his morning nap and would take only one nap at 1pm. But i noticed that he is not eating as well for lunch as before. He also seemed a bit more distracted and irritable.

Should i bring his lunch earlier by 15-30mins, so that he can go down earlier for his nap? Or should i put him down for a nap first at 1130am and feed him lunch later?

I'm worried that if i do not give him lunch he'll be hungry and can't nap properly. Besides his breakfast is usually between 730am-8am and he doesn't eat much. However, if i do not let him nap, he is fussy and would not finish his lunch...

hope someone has some ideas... many thanks!

Nic

[binxyboo]

When we dropped to one nap, it often started as early as 11:30 am, tried to push for 12 but didn't always make it. This meant that lunch had to be super early, often it was split in half, like a big snack before nap and another after. There is no way he would have made it to 1pm.

Riley also wasn't a great b'fast eater, and that worked to our advantage as he would take that big snack lunch and milk before the nap, so it worked out well.

[Seona1973]

my 20 month old still doesnt make it much past 12.30pm before needing a nap. when he first gave up the morning nap I played it by ear - on days he seemed more tired (or go up a bit earlier) I would give a mid-morning snack and then have an early nap 11/11.30am ish and then give more food after the nap.  On days he seemed ok I gave him his lunch around 11.30/12pm and then the nap afterwards.  He soon got the stage that he could consistently last till 12pm for lunch and then is put for a nap straight afterwards, which is what still happens now.

[RyansMum]

I used to put my son down around 12/12.30 and then after his nap feed him his lunch. I would also give him a snack around 11ish to see him through.

[NicElua]

hi all!

Thanks for sharing your experiences with me. I'm trying out some of the things that you have done with your LOs. Let's hope it works.

This is the second day my ds is refusing his lunch, even tho i pushed it 15mins earlier at 1115am. he was definitely tired but was not willing to eat at all. But the intake was better than yesterday.

I'll try to offer him some food when he wakes later.


Nic