Eating out with baby

Prior to T’s arrival my husband and I would eat out every Sunday night. I’m not sure when it started, probably sometime after I moved to Long Beach, but it’s become a regular fixture over the past few years and something we look forward to.

When I was heavily pregnant, over one of our Sunday dinners, we discussed what we would do after baby’s arrival. We pretty much assumed our Sunday nights out would draw to a close. They did stop for the first few weeks after T was born but before I knew it we were back to our old ways, this time with a small baby in tow.

So far T has visited a wide range of restaurants in North/East London… Indian restaurants (Masala Zone about half a dozen times and a place I can’t remember the name of in Exmouth market)…. Caribbean restaurants (Cottons)…. pizza places (La Porchetta & Pizza East)…. gastropubs (The Canonbury)…. Teppan Yaki restaurants (Sen Nin)… cheap and cheerful places (Nandos)…

To begin with we could rely on her to sleep through proceedings. Now T is getting bigger she’s captivated by new surroundings so when we take her somewhere she likes to sit with us and be nosey. I’ve now perfected the art of eating with one hand, feeding the baby discreetly and changing the baby quickly in the ladies in the absence of baby changing facilities.

So far this week T has already been to two restaurants. On Sunday we had a family meal with T’s grandma as my mum was visiting for a few nights. We had a fantastic meal at Cottons and when we got home my mum babysat while my husband and I went out for a drink for the first time post-baby. It was already late so we decided to go to one of our locals for just one hour but it was really nice.

Yesterday T & I met my friend Kate for lunch in town at Zizzi on Charlotte Street. The restaurant was packed but fortunately T behaved beautifully. After staring at all the diners for half of our meal T started to get tired and spent the rest of the meal crashed out on the bench next to me.

Based on my experiences, I’ve discovered a few tenets over the past few months when eating out with a baby:

1. Feed her and change her before leaving the house.
2. Despite #1, don’t assume you won’t need the change bag and be prepared – when faced with a poo explosion it’s more than likely your restaurant won’t have adequate baby change facilities.
3. Avoid ordering starters or desserts in order to expedite proceedings.
4. Try to pick a meal that can requires minimal cutting so you can eat with one hand if need be. Sometimes that’s hard to do which results in me having to ask my husband to cut my food for me, or, passing the baby between us in between bites.
5. Be prepared as soon as baby gets a sniff of your food/ watches you eat she too may get hungry, even if you did feed her before setting out.
6. Carry a favourite toy in case baby gets bored.
7. If you are eating out on your own with your baby make sure you go the bathroom before you leave the house. As I found out at Zizzi, if you’re alone with baby there’s no one to watch her for you when you need the bathroom, which could be bad if you haven’t planned ahead…

Not So Yummy Mummy’s life turned upside down in the space of a few months when she got married, quit her job in LA and Moved to London. She’s now adjusting to life as a full-time, first-time mum.

Photo credit: Nate Perro

Comments

[A Modern Mother]

I remember doing that. Enjoy it while you can!

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[Jon]

Just heard that government may take milk away from kids in play school and nursery! http://www.medimise.com/news/british-government-planning-to-take-milk-away-from-playschool-adnd-nursery-children

Shocked!