When your dp works late, what about family dinners? - Page 2

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by PadmaMorgana

Plus if DH is in charge of baths and jammies, I get to pee by myself for once.

I didn't know that moms could pee by themselves. What is that like? :LOL

Actaully DH is off this week remoldeling our bathroom. Since we are using the downstairs one- dd dosen't venture in there as much so I can actually get some privacy- what a concept.

[lula]

We do bedtime snack together which is usually dh eating dinner while dd has a bedtime snack at the same time. I usually do a dip type snack (strawberries & yoghurt most often) because it keeps dd occupied longer. This way we are all together just not all eating. (I usually just have tea and eat after dd goes to bed) Yes, we all EAT at different times but we have a routine family tabletime. This works for us.

[onlyzombiecat]

My dh wakes up around 11:30 AM, leaves for work around 2 PM and gets home around midnight.
Sometimes we have family lunches... not every day though. We spend a lot of time together as a family on dh's days off.
I don't stress about feeding dd if she is hungry before dh is ready to eat. She will usually come to the table or be in the room anyway.

[LuvMyBabos]

5:30 seems to be the magic time to eat in our house. If DH isn't home yet and I wait much longer, then both the kids & I are frazzled. When he is late, we usually hang out at the table with him. DH is also able to come home for lunch sometimes, too, so that helps make up for it.

This past month, DH & I have made a few dinners for us after the kids have gone to sleep. That's been REALLY nice!

[heldt123]

Well, my husban's schedule is erratic at best, and sometimes he is coming home around dinner time and other times he is leaving at dinner time, etc...so we really don't have family dinners, we just eat when we are hungry and use non-eating time for family bonding.

You could try having some sort of family time that doesn't center around food. Perhaps you could have a short circle time before bed where you talk, sing, and/or read a book (depending on attention spans of course). That way your mealtimes won't be hectic and you still have quality time together.

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by LuvMyBabos

This past month, DH & I have made a few dinners for us after the kids have gone to sleep. That's been REALLY nice!

Thats like getting a free going out for dinner date! Sometimes we plan to go out for dinner when we know dd will fall asleep on the way there. We call it the built in babysitter. We eat and she sleeps on the booth next to one of us.

[polka hop]

*

[skueppers]

When I was a kid, my dad came home from work around 7, and we usually had dinner at 7:15. (Obviously, my mother generally cooked it!)

This was never a problem for me and my brother -- I think my mother just adjusted the rest of our meals/snacks so that we'd be ready for dinner at that time.

My daughter is still too young for us to be having family dinners, though she does sit with us at the table while we eat dinner. I definitely plan for us to all eat together, once she's ready for table food.

[UUMom]

My dh prefers to eat late, and it is rare that we eat before 7 or 7:30. When the kids were little and dh communted over an hr each way, I'd feed them early and put them to bed. If they were still up at 7 or 7:30, and in were in good moods, they'd sit with us for a few minutes, but didn't eat, or maybe had a little night time snack with us. I don't consider little tiny kids eating at adult times to be a goal of mine. Kids should eat when they need to.

My youngest child is a night owl, so she has always eaten late with us. Dh works in town now, but we still eat late. My kids all get a bite to eat- fruit, veggies, some protein etc as they need to at around 4.

[KariM]

I miss my DH horribly!

We see each other for about 1/2 hour in the morning before he heads out to work and then for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours in the evening before I have to go down for the night with DD.

We eat dinner at 5pm because DD needs to go to bed at 6:30pm (some nights we can keep her up a bit later before she melts down).

I seem to live for the weekends and lately DH has been taking some 1/2 days so we can see a bit more of him (he has a lot of banked vacation time but his work responsibilities don't always permit him to use it).

There are some nights where he has evening programs or the semesters when he teaches night classes where we just have dinner without him. Since I have a 13 y/o I at least have a somewhat adult companion for the meal.

--Kari

[4cornersmamma]

Family dinners?

We used to have family dinners, now it's usually just me and the kids.

DH is working on a project and gets home at about 8:30-9pm, oh yeah, he leaves at 5:30am.

[Goldenlover]

Originally Posted by MamaMonica

When dh works late I usually save some for him in the fridge- but the kids and I need to eat a reasonable time so we do. I really hate missing a family dinner- but what can you do?

this is how we do it..........it sucks but is life kwim

[4cornersmamma]

I usually feed the kids at around 6pm and then make up a big plate for DH (who eats about 4x what I eat) I cover it and put it in the oven at the lowest temp for awhile and then turn it off. When he comes home the food is still warm and he eats while I tell him about the day.

[MaryCeleste]

We don't have family dinners during the week, but we have family breakfasts -- usually eggs, toast, fruit, milk, coffee, and tea. This works out well, since DD (17 mo.) has a good appetite in the morning, but gets pickier as the day goes on. It would be rather frustrating if DH sat in rush-hour traffic just so we could enjoy a family dinner, and then DD wanted to leave the table after eating 1/3 of a banana and a few bites of yogurt. :LOL