Down To One Day Sleep - How To Organise Dinner?

I am experimenting with putting DD on one day sleep a day. She WILL still have two if I let her but it means she often doesn't wake from her afternoon nap till 6.30 - 7.00 which has a run-on effect and means she's not in bed till 8.30-9.30pm. Which also means I only get another half and hour to an hour and time for my bed too. Don't like that.

So ... in many ways it seems easier to just keep her up and put her to bed between 6.30-7.00. That gives me 3 hours to do a few things around the house or chill or whatever.

My problem is if we've been out to the park/walk and get home, I find I need 20 mins or so of peace, to get my head together, work out what's for dinner and then start preparing it. But what to do with DD? I don't like putting her in her highchair because she's going to be in it for dinner. I don't like putting her in her cot because well that seems a bit cruel (though she really is happy enough when she's got a few toys in there - it's just that I'M not happy).

So I got a child gate to put on one of the bedroom doors which is sort of her playroom. I only got it today so it's early days but she screamed the house down because she can't work out how to open the gate and I couldn't distract her to play with something else. The reason I got the gate is if I leave her in there on her own she will sometimes shut the door and then will cry too. It's not that she hates being in there, just that she's obsessed with things that open and close!

So what do you suggest? How do I get her used to the childgate? What do you do when you need to think about/prepare dinner? I don't really want to use the TV babysitter.

forgot to say - this is only an issue when DP is on afternoon shift and I'm on my own. Obviously when he's home, it's a no-brainer and we take turns to entertain DD/cook dinner.

why not prepare your evening meal while she's having her sleep through the day? I tend to do this when Mateauz is a sleep and Vyolett helps me get everything organised.

if thats not an option...you could put her int he high chair with a few toys and sit her near you so she can see what your doing. then whilst tea is cooking, take her out and play with her inbetween checking ect.

I was going to say the same thing as Maz - prepare whilst she is sleeping - then she can just keep you company whilst cooking if need be.

if I run out of time during the day, I sit DS on the kitchen bench and prepare dinner in front of him - so he sees me cut up stuff - sometimes he even takes bits of vegies or will eat other things that he spots on the bench ie, bread, crackers whatever.

Since he is a small eater, I don't mind this... cos it means he will actually eat something#!!!!

We have the TV on all the time, and on the kids channels, but he is usually in the kitchen with me anyway..

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We have the TV on all the time, and on the kids channels

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Oh we are of that brand too :lol: GO THE BABY SITTER :ROFL:

If you find an answer to the cooking problem hon, let me know!! I tend to frantically prep dinner in stages when E is asleep, and have things that can be cooked in ten minutes once DP is home (he doesn't finish until 8:30 two nights a week. Or I cook big batches of stuff on the weekend that just require reheating.

As for the gate, would it help to play in the room with her for an hour or so, let her get used to the gate and explore it with you there with her? She may get bored with it quickly and then you can go and cook dinner.

And if she's happy playing in her cot, I wouldn't worry about it!

I also try to get most of the preparation done during nap time or the night before.

If I'm in the kitchen I will let DD play with my tupperware draw. I put plastic containers, wooden spoons, measuring cups etc in it and she happily pulls it all out and bangs things together. Can keep her happy for half and hour or so. I change things every now and then so she gets some variety!

I agree if she's happy in her cot then pop some toys in there and let her play for a little while!

I had the same prob a while ago, esp with Za and Kane, only being 2 and 1 yr old....

So I went and got a slow cooker, and do dinner at lunch time now about every 2nd day...
The boys are asleep, and dinner is all done. If its not a full meal, then I add vege's after DH gets home and is with the kids...

As someone else said, I would just put her down on the floor and let her bang around with saucepans and wooden spoons etc, you could prepare the veges while she is napping and then you just have the last stage of cooking to do - it's hard isn't it, probably why we don't have gourmet meals at our place :)

Laurin x

this is a hard time for me too as our DD doesn't really sleep for more than an hour through the day (2 sleeps) and i am normally getting other things done. can be frustrating but i put her on the floor and give her measuring spoons/cups and the whisk! it keeps her entertained for a little while but if all else fails, i give her an empty soft drink bottle if i have one, she loves those! otherwise, i put some ice cubes in one of those meshy things you buy from woolies (that you put fruit in) and she'll suck on that for a while. the peg basket is popular too!! good luck, hope i gave you some ideas!!

Now that it's warming up, I've been giving DD a bucket of water and containers/cup/spoons on some big towels. She absolutely loves it and is quiet for ages. Or I put her on a chair and let her watch, sometimes with a container of water and a little bit of flour to mix and make a mess with and she can see what I'm doing.

i have DD in the kitchen 'helping'. basically as someone else mentioned, she goes in the tupperware cupboard and goes nuts. if/when she gets bored of that or just gets under my feet too often i pop her in the lounge and shut the baby gate (our kitchen has a doorway to the lounge). she usually doesnt like this tactic, but normally this is the last card played before dinner is served so she has to deal.