The holidays are slowly coming to an end. For a few weeks, schedules were sometimes forgotten: lunch after a nap, an afternoon snack on the beach, a later dinner because the whole family was still enjoying the sun…
And that's perfectly fine. ☀️
But with the start of the school year approaching, the alarm clocks will ring again, the days will be more structured, and baby may return to daycare, the nanny , or simply a more structured family organization.
So, do we have to put all our old habits back in place overnight?
Not necessarily.
The goal is not to abruptly switch from a holiday rhythm to a military-style organization, but rather to help the whole family gradually regain some bearings.
Did the holidays throw your schedule off? No problem
First thing: there's no need to feel guilty if habits have completely changed during the holidays.
Were mealtimes irregular? Did the baby sometimes eat differently? Were meals more impromptu?
That's also part of the holiday.
A few weeks with a different rhythm will not erase everything that baby has learned since the beginning of weaning.
We were just talking about this in our article Should we keep the same meal times during the holidays?: keeping some reference points is interesting, but it is not necessary to live with your eyes glued to the clock.
The return to school will simply allow us to gradually find a more suitable daily routine.
When should I start getting back into the swing of things?
If the schedule has changed a lot during the holidays, avoid waiting until the day before returning to work to make any changes.
A few days may be enough to start gradually bringing meals, naps and bedtimes closer to usual times.
For example, if baby currently eats dinner around 8pm when he usually eats around 6:30pm, there is no need to abruptly move his meal by an hour and a half.
You can simply move dinner time forward gradually over the course of several days.
The same principle can be applied to breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.
The goal is to facilitate the transition, not to create a new source of stress.
To return to more structured meals
During the holidays, meals are often more spontaneous.
A piece of fruit on the beach, a picnic, a restaurant, a snack that almost turns into an aperitif…
With the start of the school year, finding a certain structure can help baby get back on track.
Depending on his age, you can gradually reintroduce the different times of the day: breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner, while of course continuing to respect his milk needs.
Before 12 months, breast milk or infant formula remains the baby's main food.
If you have any questions about the evolution of the number of meals, also check out our article When to give 3 meals a day to baby BLW ?on
What if the baby eats less when you go back to work?
The start of the school year represents many changes.
Baby can return to their care environment, meet new people, discover a new rhythm or simply feel more tired.
His appetite may therefore change temporarily.
Some children eat more. Others eat much less.
Avoid focusing on the quantity consumed at a single meal. Continue to offer a variety of foods, without forcing them, and instead observe their diet as a whole.
If this situation worries you, see our article Baby refuses to eat: normal or worrying?
Plan ahead a little to lighten the weeks
Returning to work often also means less time to cook.
And it's usually around 6 p.m. that this wonderful question arises:
"What are we having for dinner tonight?" 😅
A few preparations made in advance can really simplify the first few weeks.
For example, you can prepare in larger quantities:
- vegetable patties;
- savory muffins;
- pancakes;
- meatballs;
- small cakes;
- homemade compotes.
Part of it can be kept in the refrigerator and some preparations can be frozen for days when time is short.
Find all the best practices in How to store baby food?
Prepare the snacks in advance
Back to school also means the return of snacks to plan.
When baby goes to a nanny, grandparents or a childcare setting that allows homemade meals, having a few snacks ready can save precious time.
Muffins, pancakes, cakes or biscuits suitable for the baby's age can be prepared in advance.
Add a seasonal fruit and you quickly have a simple and varied snack.
The idea isn't to fill the freezer for three months, but to have a few solutions on hand for days when everything is moving a little too fast
Continue sharing meals as a family
With the resumption of activities, schedules can quickly become busy.
However, when possible, try to maintain some shared family meals.
Babies learn a lot by watching others eat: using cutlery, discovering new foods, imitating certain gestures…
And above all, the meal remains a moment of sharing.
Even if the whole family cannot eat together every night, a few shared meals during the week are already precious.
We develop this topic in Is it important to eat at the same time as the baby?
Returning to daycare or to the nanny's
The rhythm of meals may also be different from that at home.
Baby may eat earlier, later, or sometimes differently.
The two environments do not need to function in exactly the same way.
Simply talk to the people who look after the baby to find out about the schedule, the food offered, and how meals are conducted.
This information will allow you to more easily adapt the other meals of the day.
And if a baby eats very well at daycare but much less at home, or vice versa, that can also happen. Children often adapt their eating habits to their environment.
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✨ Practical guide: 5 things to prepare before the start of the school year
A few days before the resumption of activities, you can:
✔️ gradually bring meals closer to their usual times;
✔️ prepare some snacks or meals in the freezer;
✔️ check the meal arrangements at the nursery or with the nanny;
✔️ plan a few simple recipes for the first week;
✔️ keep at least some meals shared as a family.
No need to prepare for the next four months. The goal is simply to make the first week a little easier.
What if everything doesn't go as planned?
This is probably the most important part.
You can prepare your menus, stock your freezer, adjust your schedules and perfectly organize your week…
And yet, baby might still decide that that week, they only want to eat three pieces of zucchini and half a pancake. 😅
The start of the school year requires a period of adjustment for the whole family.
Keep offering food, respect hunger and satiety cues, and gradually allow the new rhythm to establish itself.
A routine is there to make daily life easier, not to become an additional constraint.
In summary
After several weeks of vacation, it is normal for schedules and eating habits to have changed.
A few days before the start of the new term, you can gradually get back into your usual routine, plan some meals in advance and re-establish some reference points.
But there's no point in trying to control everything.
Baby may need a few days to get back into a routine, and so will you.
The start of the school year doesn't need to be perfect to get off to a good start.
