Why I started taking my kids to restaurants at 3 days old.
As a new mom, I did such extensive research on how I should proceed with parenthood. I read that you should stay in the house until 6-8 weeks. However, Having Hyperemesis Gravidarum made me stay in the house all the time. I never had the energy to do much. By the time MY kids were born I had more than Cabin Fever. I was O-V-E-R seeing my furniture and sitting in bed. Both of my children were born at the start of flu season so I knew I had to take precautions ie. wash hands before I touched them(or use hand sanitizer) Make sure that no one would touch them. Make sure they had a cover over them etc. I also reasoned that since I was breastfeeding they would get some antibodies and that was a plus side. My husband and I loved our date nights and we also love to eat out. We wanted the kids to be used to the sounds of the restaurant and make sure they would be comfortable with going out.
When they are that young you can wear them or keep them in their car seat covered and they slept most of the meal. I was able to have an adult conversation with my husband. From birth until 3 months it is smooth sailing at a restaurant. All they do is sleep and eat. You can get so many date nights and bring them with you. As they got older (and mobile)we still would take them out and about. I have so many pictures of them sitting with us and having a good time.
Some people would ask us how we would go out with a toddler and enjoy the meal. Well, let me share the five tips that have helped us over the years.
Never go out close to nap time(once they are mobile) this NEVER goes well. You are better off to go once they are well rested. This makes a big difference. we learned that the hard way. When you have a 1 yr old have a meltdown and you have to get your food to go..you learn quick.
Don 't give up. When your kids have meltdown its easy to get embarrassed. Don't give up. Go home and then try again another day. They will learn that they need to behave. Now when our child was about 2 we would take them out to the car, talk to them, redirect and try again. If that didn't work we would get the food to go and then try a restaurant another day.
3. Bring a few toys or play games with things on the table. There have been a few times where we have stacked the butter, played drums with straws. You can also bring some small toys from home that will keep them occupied like crayons or even this cute DIY mini lego table. When they are babies we would talk with them to keep them occupied as well.
4. Save the electronics as a last resort. We use a tablet or our phone when necessary. We try to wait until the end of the meal and that way the kids learn how to converse. We try to use educational apps but there are times where watching a movie is all that will work.
5: Relax Just go and have fun, I know that seems like an oxymoron, having kids and eating out can seem stressful. You basically go with the flow. Like I stated earlier if you have to leave that's ok if you have to take them out to the car to talk to them for a little bit that is ok too. They have to learn how to sit at a restaurant and practice makes perfect. One other tip I will add is that is we always eat dinner at the table at home. We have been doing that since birth. It's our way of showing them when we are at a table that means conversing and talking about our day. That helps A LOT.