How long for this transition?

[HIU8]

It was day 2 of school today. DS wakes up by 6:30 and is at the bus by 7:40 (school is 8:15-3:15). I pick him up at the bus at 3:35. He has an immediate meltdown (which is normal for him but the last two days they have been 10,000 times worse). DS, who gets an AM snack, lunch and a PM snack, eats from the moment he gets off the bus until about 8:30 pm nonstop (literally). He finally is able to function without melting down around 5:30 pm.

DD, who has gone from a 2 hour naptime (she sometimes would nap for 1 hour) to a 30 minute quiet time, loses it by 4 pm and goes into a mode where she screams at the top of her lungs for at least an hour. (she gets picked up at 2:30 from school). I cannot get food into her, get her to fall asleep or calm down. After an hour she is calm and tired from all the screaming. then she is starving and eats a huge dinner and a big snack. She is in bed by 8:30 at the latest (I would prefer it be earlier but that is difficult when DS's OT is 4-5 and we don't even walk in the door until almost 6 pm.

I'm also adjusting, but how long should I expect my kids to be a mess before they settle in and their bodies get used to the routine?

[WatchingThemGrow]

Wow, Heather. sounds like a fun time at your house! It can only get better, right?

[HIU8]

I'm hoping and praying it does. I cannot imagine what will happen when/if I pass my exam and go back to work. I barely have time now to do dinner, fill all the lunchboxes (there are 5 for 3 ppl currently--3 for DS, 1 for DD and 1 for DH), do laundry, study, get DS to OT and to Karate. Oh, and I workout from 5-5:30 am b/c honestly that is the only time I have.

[Green_Tea]

I am so sorry.

A few ideas that may or may not work:

Can you send DS to school with a "bus snack" that he can tear into on the ride home? Is that allowed? Would a little food in his belly when he steps off the bus avert the meltdown (or make it less severe)?

Not ideal, but can you feed DD dinner while DS is at OT, and then put her to bed right when you get home? Or maybe they could both eat part of their dinner on the way home from OT? PB sandwiches, bananas and sippies of milk?

It sounds like they BOTH might do better with an earlier bedtime, and like you're dealing with a combination of exhaustion and a need for calories. As a point of reference (and I know all kids are different!) I plan to have my 8.5 year old 3rd grader IN BED by 7:45 during the first month of school. If she can't fall asleep, she can read with her booklight until 8:15. She needs the extra rest to deal with "re-entry". Once we get back into the swing of things, we'll push it back a bit. In the meantime we're in triage mode.

Changes in routine are SO HARD. :hug:

[HIU8]

On the days with OT and Karate (3 nights a week), I think we will be doing dinner at OT and Karate for DD. DS is not allowed to eat on the bus. I literally hand him a snack as he walks off the bus though.

I think I can get DD to bed by 7:45 and DS by 8 (instead of 8:30 for both). DH and I can always eat afterwards.