We used to have breakfast at the same restaurant every Saturday. Before I gave birth, I said goodbye to the staff for an undetermined period of time because I never believed that it would be possible for our growing family to keep the same eggs and bacon schedule.
After a few weeks, I started to analyze Alice's personality and realized that it would be feasible to enjoy again the "good old" breakfast. However, I strongly believe that my freedom ends where somebody else's freedom begins. In other words, I want to have breakfast at the restaurant with my husband and my baby but I don't want to ruin somebody's breakfast with my "could be fussy" baby, my big stroller and my breastfeeding.
Honesty, I don't think that I could start the weekend with evil eyes coming from clients or, even worst, the staff!
So I decided to make a few changes. We wake up early (On the picture, I was in the process of waking up Alice!) to be at the restaurant when it opens, we get the most "stroller friendly" table and I make sure that Alice has a belly full of milk and a clean diaper.
So far so (very) good. This weekend was our 5th consecutive Saturday breakfast. Alice always get tons of compliments...and many "what a cute little boy" from customers! Whatever!
For those of you with kids, have you ever felt unwanted in restaurants (or any public places) with your family?
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roberta jane: We are planning many trips to parks and to the country. We are also renting a cottage this summer in a really nice part of Quebec. Alice will have a very good time...she looks so happy in her little tent (we tried it many times already)!
erstwhiledear: The packaging is very nice. Small and easy to bring with you everywhere.
ingrid: I'm sure that O will eventually love it! Alice was so excited the first time we tried it. She was "talking" to the tent for 45 minutes and suddenly she fell asleep. Cute :) Oh, you will be in a play again! How cool is that! What is it?
pauper: We are lucky because the country is not too far (about 1 hour) and my parents are planning to give us rides (we don't have a car) for day trips this summer.
ulla v.: I didn't know that this tent existed until last week. People look at us funny when they see the mini tent at the park. They think it is a dog tent or something like that ;) I love what you said about the "ordinary everyday life in a family".
daniela: I really love the tent (and Alice loves it). We don't use it for night sleep so I don't know about that. We use it for little day trip and Alice is always supervise. I know that we are going to use it a LOT this summer.
ella: Exactly my point! I can't decide in advance but people don't get it. It is like if they want to know a specific date. Bizarre!
12 comments:
We've been eating out (selectively) since my son was little. For the early days, belly full of milk + clean diaper + some little toys helped us through meals. Now, we have a placemat (this one, sorry US link: http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Tiny-Diner-Green/dp/B002USCIRS) that we bring that makes cleaning up after super messy toddler a snap, and takes the burden off the waiters which they all seem to appreciate. Brunch/breakfast is the meal that my son behaves best at, so that's when we eat out most often. Every once in a while, things still go badly, but for the most part we feel welcome at the restaurants we go to.
Oh! I should add... I do think there are some restaurants where children aren't welcome guests. We save those for grown ups only outings :)
We're breakfast/brunch folk now, and rarely (like counting on one hand) the evening dinner party out. If the baby's bedtime is at 630...he's basically a howling banshee by 7. It has never worked for us.
Hunter constantly gets, such a gorgeous little girl - even though he's in cars/trucks/blue/big I'm a boy tag.
Good luck!
Definitely! I remember the first time that I breastfed in public. I had some interesting looks coming my way. But it got better. When we had our daughter.... everything was pinnk so that we never had those "cute boy" comments :)
one piece of advice i got before i had my son was to just stick to my normal routines/activities and include luke in them. that's what i've been doing so far and it's been great. he has had the odd fussy period at a restaurant but i find most people are pretty understanding as long as i make an effort to soothe him. it's easy now when he's so little and can just chill in his car seat or my arms but i imagine it will get more difficult as he gets bigger and more independent. but i think it'd be worse to just stay home - at least this way he'll be used to going out and hopefully it will be something we can continue to do easily. but i definitely agree with the full tummy and clean diaper. it makes it easier for me to enjoy my meal if i know i've got a couple of hours before he should really NEED anything more than just a cuddle or to look around.
also - babies are so cute when they sleep all splayed out like that! what a sweet little girl :)
I feel unwanted most of the time in Paris! Just yesterday as me and another mum were hoping on the bus someone said "ah, ben voilà l'invasion des poussettes!".
Restaurants and cafés are so small in Paris, people are never happy when you walk in with a baby, let alone if he/she is in a pushchair. When L. was a tiny bubba, I would laugh when the waiters would ask me "vous ne pouvez pas plier la poussette et le garder à table avec vous?" to which I always felt like replying "et vous allez me le tenir pendant que je mange?". I mean really...
ps: still today, I get compliments as to how cute my little girl is! :)
I have been eating out and hanging out in public since my baby was about a month old, and I have never felt unwelcome! I think the vast majority of people just think babies are cute. We don't use a stroller, so that was never an issue. Babywearing has really been one of the best things in our babylife. If baby gets fussy and won't nurse, we just get our food to go and leave. Most people don't even notice that you're nursing, it's not something they expect for some strange reason. The best is nursing the baby to sleep in your lap and finishing a meal out - very relaxing. It only gets harder to do this as they get older, even in just a few months, so do it now while you can!
Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, I do not care felling unwanted because my baby could cry in the middle of a restaurant.
If someone can not stand a baby cries in a restaurants or any public place, then shouldn’t be leaving his/her “peaceful” place for starting.
We are talking about a baby here, c’mon!
Both parents and the baby have the same right to enjoy some time in a nice place as well as any human being.
Cheers!
Tibi
No, but the places we go to are usually easy-going places, with plenty of family customers. Plus, we would always be prepared to take the baby outside if they decided to flip out. I don't think that they ever did, though.
Congrats on mastering the public breakfast outings :) We do take Eulalie out but we and try and time it all perfectly so that she sleeps in the buggy while we can eat. Otherwise she needs entertaining. Up in your lap, jumping around, singing silly songs, blowing raspberries on her etc etc etc... so that can get pretty annoying for anyone within a 5 meter radius.... but all in all, having a child out in public is much easier that I thought it would be! :) xx
Aside from her cute pose (my son sleeps just like that!), what I notice most about this photo are your feet! It makes me laugh because I have tons of photos just like that! :)
this post
gives me hope
that we can do
things that we love
with the baby in tow...
like
your saturday breakfasts.
:)
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