Going Out To Eat With Baby

Four years ago, my husband blogged about taking your baby to restaurants.  We used to take our kid everywhere we went. Now that we have two and our newest baby (who is really not that new anymore) has always had a really early bedtime, we just don’t do the same things that we once did. This summer, however, we are going on a road trip. We will be gone for about 2 weeks, in and out of many restaurants, never in the same place twice. It should be interesting.

We’ve decided to do some practice runs in hopes that our child will be okay when we go places and not just be cranky and cry because his crib is nowhere in sight. So far so good. He actually ate at two restaurants today.

We had a playdate with my friend and her baby and then went to lunch. Tonight, my husband and I took the kids out for pizza. Both times he did pretty good, but I do now have a few comments and suggestions about going out to eat with a baby.

Do:

• Bring your baby to a restaurant hungry
• Bring snacks in your diaper bag or purse for distraction purposes
• Have a toy or several toys to keep baby busy (forks, knives and plates on the table don’t count!)
• Clean up your mess (you know the one that is all over the floor) at least just a little bit
• Bring a bib (with pocket –crucial)

Don’t:

• Bring your baby fully-fed to a restaurant because what will he do while everyone else is eating?
• Bring baby to a quiet restaurant. The noisier the better.
• Discuss your baby’s toilet habits at the table if other people are in earshot. I was just reminded by my husband tonight how gross that is. Oops!

Any tips you care to share? We will definitely need them!