I was recently observing to Literal Boy that we have gone through four distinct phases in dining out with our Darlin’.
Stage #1: There was a brief time back in the day when Darlin’ too one really long nap in the midday. Now, the first four weeks I was not up to getting out at all, but during the fifth week, my Mom came back and she and I got out quite a bit. We had many adventures, including being unable to get the carseat out of the stroller and back into the car at the mall. (Fortunately, we were near to Literal Boy’s office, so he came to the rescue.) This rookie mom learned a lot that week. Anyway, we would wait until she went to sleep (these were the days when getting her to go to sleep was not an Olympic sport), pop her into the car, and go on a 3-4 hour outing. She would sleep the WHOLE TIME. Getting in and out of car, in and out of stores, through lunch at Panera — she SLEPT. At least for that one golden week. :)
Stage #2: This stage began at 5 weeks and lasted up until around 3.5 months. This was the stage when Darlin’ would do one of two things: a) go to sleep in the maya wrap sling for 25 minutes, just long enough for me to shovel food into my mouth with one hand, IF I timed it so that it was naptime anyway — not too hard since her waketime was only 1.5 hours at that point or b) nurse/hang out at the breast under my Bebe au Lait nursing cover for a good 20-30 minutes, allowing me to shovel food in with the free arm.
Stage #3: From 3.5 months – 6 months, dining out with Darlin’ was stressful and exhausting. No longer content to nurse, no longer fitting in the sling to nap, we were left to wrestle our squirmy worm in our laps. She rolled, she wiggled, she squealed, she yelled, she demanded that we get up and walk her around periodically. Stage 3 included our trip to Ireland, where we had to eat out virtually every meal. Let me tell you, it was no fun. It was so no fun that the last night of our trip, I entrusted my firstborn 5-month-old to a total stranger in a foreign country — a staff babysitter at the Ritz Carlton Powerscourt — so that Literal Boy and I could eat in peace at the Gordon Ramsey restaurant in the hotel. It was so worth it.
Stage #4: Since 6 months, we have been in a golden age of dining out. Now that Darlin’ can sit in a highchair and eat food, dining out has become fun again! We choose noisy and colorful places, I pack sanitizing wipes for the highchair and table along with plenty of finger foods and a couple toys, and we’re set. She doesn’t always last the whole dinner in the highchair, and I still have to eat quickly, but it’s enjoyable. Darlin’ and I go out for lunch together once a week or so, and it’s fun.
