Somehow DH, LO & I have gotten into a routine of eating breakfast and dinner together everyday at the kitchen table without trying too hard. It took us about 10 months after LOs arrival to get into the routine. Before her arrival DH & I did not eat at the table so we didn't have good habits to get back to.
For those of you with 2+ LOs, how did the second baby's arrival impact your meal routine?
honeydew / 7283 posts
J is only 3 months, so it's not really a family meal, but we've continued to "eat family" as my 2 year old says. When J was first born it was a little hard to predict if he'd be nursing or napping during dinner time - so DH always still ate at the table with M even if I was nursing the baby nearby. Now that his schedule is a little more predictable I try to nurse him right before dinner time so that we can all eat as a family. He usually sits in his bouncy chair or if he's fussy we'll take turns holding him and eating. I'm really looking forward to him starting solids and maybe I can distract him with some cheerios or something. It'll be nice to actually eat together!
It's been nice to keep some of the routines that M is used to. You can't always do it, but I think it's given her some of the consistency that was missing in the first few weeks after J was born.
grapefruit / 4213 posts
My LOs are 15 months apart. LO1 is still in the highchair, DH and I still sit at the table, and now LO2 is either in the swing or in one of our arms if she's getting a bottle.
pomegranate / 3604 posts
Lo2 was either in our arms (if fussy), napping, or chilling out in his swing (in the same room). If I had to nurse during dinner it would mean game over for the toddler, unfortunately.
Now at 6 (almost 7) months he sits with us in his high chair for most nights unless he's napping. we do BLW so meal times become a repeat of telling Lo1 that he needs to eat his own food instead of giving it to lo2. It's awesome. *roll eyes*
pomegranate / 3643 posts
This is one of the reasons I say number two is easier! With number one, we had no routine in life - are most of the meals in front of the TV and at no set time. But with a baby you are kind of forced into a routine. When number two comes,
you just fold them into that.
That being said, meal times are a bit of a wreck right now because LO2 can't decide if he wants to drop his evening nap and just screams from 5-7. We are trying by to get him on solids and to eat dinner with us.
pear / 1614 posts
We have always put our babies to bed pretty early during infancy. LO2 was usually in bed when we ate dinner around 6-630 but that made it kind of nice for us to have some time to just focus on the toddler. Breakfast, we never eat together because everyone wakes up at different times.
grapefruit / 4712 posts
Meals with two is more fun I think. My toddler is in a booster at the table and my little guy is in the high chair. N is almost 29 months and E is almost 13 months. We eat as a family for as many meals as we can or N won't eat. E has some feeding issues but we are starting to over come them. Now we spend a lot of time telling N to eat the food on his plate that his bubbie doesn't need it. 
When E was younger he usually slept in the swing or fussed during meal times. I just know it gets easier.
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
LO 2 was always asleep around 6-6:30for the first few months.
grapefruit / 4400 posts
With #1, we always ate all meals on the weekend at the table, as a family. When the hubs was at work, I would try to put C in the high chair and eat with her 95% of the time for breakfast and lunch.
With H, our breakfasts are usually in the living room while the kids are playing, and my mom will feed them while they tinker with Duplos and such. Lunch is still at the table, and so is dinner, but H fusses a lot, because I think he prefers to not be confined while eating.
blogger / clementine / 750 posts
With a 2 year old and a 2 week old, we've been wondering this very same question! Just this week we started back at having meals as a family at the table. Right now, the littlest one sits in her carseat on the floor and sleeps during dinner, but I'm looking into getting a cheap bouncy seat or something.
honeydew / 7917 posts
We eat every meal together as a family since LO2 started solids. The hardest part for me was getting LO2 on our eating schedule. I didn't feel like serving meals twice.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
We still eat together as a family, although LO2 is usually either chillin' at the table watching us, or napping. But some days I have to nurse LO2 when it's time for dinner, so we can't eat as a family. Those days, my husband will feed Xander and then him and I will have dinner later.
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