When your little one transitions to solid foods, he will begin eating three meals and two snacks a day. To ensure that your baby is eating enough food, try to plan a regular feeding routine corresponding to your family’s regular mealtimes.
If everything goes well, you would be able to share your little one’s dinnertime with your other family members.
How long before bed should the baby have dinner? In general, there should be a considerable time between dinner and bedtime. If you eat too late or close to bedtime, you may feel trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
Continue reading to learn more about the ideal dinner time for your baby.
Table of Contents
How long before bed should the baby have dinner?
The best time to give dinner to your baby would ideally be 2 to 3 hours before giving the nighttime bottle and their regular bedtime. In this way, your baby will be hungry enough to finish the bedtime bottle. For example, if your baby usually goes to bed at 7 p.m., try to give him dinner at 5 p.m. You want to make sure that your baby has digested their food before they go to sleep to prevent tummy troubles or getting hyper before bed. Dinner will act as a trigger for your little one that the end of the day is approaching and should be served two hours before you say good night. It will give food a considerable time to go down, energy to be worn off, and a relaxing routine to be implemented.
Recommended timing for dinner for the baby
Having dinner too close to bedtime may disturb your little one’s sleep, particularly if it is a large meal. The general rule that nutritionists will tell you is to wait for about two to three hours between your last meal and bedtime.
It will give some time for food to get digested and the contents of the stomach to move into the small intestine.
Eating also triggers the production of insulin, the hormone that enables your body to use the food for energy. This process can alter the sleep-wake cycle or circadian rhythm of your body. Food can trigger wakefulness in the brain and impede your ability to fall asleep.
For instance, if your toddler’s ideal bedtime is between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm, the ideal time for serving them dinner is between 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm.
RELATED===>When should I stop giving my toddler milk before bed?
How long after lunch should a toddler eat dinner?
It is also good to know when your baby ate lunch so you can decide when they will require their dinner. A good rule of thumb is that babies should have their dinner 4 hours after lunch, with an afternoon snack midway between. Thus, lunch would be served between 12:30 pm to 1 pm.
Toddlers still have small tummies and burn through their energy very quickly, so you may find your toddler hungry every 2 to 3 hours. Plan your meals so that there are a couple of hours between your last meal and bedtime to lower the possibility of heartburn and other problems that disrupt sleep.
Conclusion
How long before bed should the baby have dinner? To support a better night’s sleep, you should plan your dinnertime to allow 2 to 3 hours between dinner and bedtime.
You may have to perform trial and error with the schedule to ensure that your little one is getting enough to eat. If your little one goes to bed at 7 pm, try to offer them dinner at 5 pm.
It may not be feasible for you with other jobs and family responsibilities, just do the best you can and try to be consistent.
READ ME NEXT===>Can we give an apple to the baby at night?