How to (or not to) eat a meal out with a baby :D

Disclaimer: This is not to be confused with an expert view on parenting or baby eating habits or recommendation of any sort! Lol!

Premise: Generally weekend brunches/lunches with the 8 month old (who has recently started crawling), with family or friends – because I am too lazy to cook 😀

I love eating out-period. I also love drinking. Now I can do both. Pre baby time, it didn’t even matter what I ate out, as long as at least three of my meals on a weekend were outside. I can see some health enthusiasts already tsk-tsking on this (aka husband dear to top the list ;)), but I still shamelessly go on practicing this habit of mine. Now all that said, everything kind of changes when you have a baby in the picture. I may not want to eat healthy or eat at home all the time, but the Lord and the Universe sees you need some intervention, and hence, they send you a baby..hmm..

So, here is what I have learnt from my experiences lately about how to eat (or rather not eat) outside, with a baby 😀 (Please note the mommy sarcasm- I had to put that in words since I couldn’t find enough emojis to put in here, that I’d normally do when I chat about my escapades ;))

1. Try not to eat out at all – the best tip!
2. However, if you’re incorrigible, like me, then choose an open place – outdoors or alfresco restaurants/dine out places are superb options.My daughter loves watching birds, trees, just being outdoors basically 🙂
3. If your baby has just started moving about by themselves- such as crawling, rolling over, toddling and the likes – have an army of people accompany you to the meal. Because, do not by any means, assume that your baby will sit like a posh disciplined ‘adult’ in her crib/stroller/pram for the entire duration of the meal. The army comes in handy to play with the baby, make faces at her, distract her, and in dire circumstances – leave their meals halfway to take the baby for a walk out, so the others might eat a few bites in peace
4. Try to avoid extreme fine dining places – its funny because everyone knows babies scream and love to get dirty and throw things around. And yet, one will invariably get those stares from other patrons at these fine dining places – if God forbid you visit one of these with your screamer of a baby. So unless you want to go into a long speech defending the right of every baby to scream and be dirty every time you get those stares, I’d suggest, skip the fine dining really 😀
5. Try to feed your baby normal food before you reach your junk food destination. Otherwise, there is always mashed potato to the rescue 😉
6. I’m not sure if this is a glimpse of things to come, but every time my baby sees me lift my glass to sip my drink, she is thirsty and wants her bottle. (Well, I think she actually wants that colored liquid that’s in my glass, but since she can’t have that, she has to make do with her bottle). Therefore, keep a supply of fresh juice, water and milk ready- to satisfy baby drinking habits (Cheers!)
7. If possible, don’t bother to dress your baby like the next fashionista- I know Beyonce and Victoria Beckham do it and I love and admire those women, but I’d recommend, not to. Why, you ask? Well firstly because babies don’t care- they’re happiest when they’re naked. And secondly, the minute they step into the car or the restaurant, they’ll have saliva, juice, milk, some spit outs and maybe some mashed potato on their awesome princess dress – so really, why bother? 😀
8. Try ordering food that don’t require you to use your fingers – say pasta and errr pasta? You don’t want to be worrying about wiping your fingers every time your baby wants you to hold her or wants to hold your hand for some strange reason. Also, soups and gravy stuff are really dangerous. My baby has a tendency to slap her palm on every surface she can find, and she doesn’t understand that yellow looking liquid has no hard surface…scary!
9. Skip dessert – Like seriously, Prachi (I tell myself)!
10. If you manage to eat an entire meal within say 2-3 hours and get back home and the baby hasn’t had a meltdown- give yourself a big pat on the back!!! It was a success!!! woo hoo!!! So, when do we go out to eat again? (I ask my husband, and he tsk-tsks :D)

This was just a humorous post, I actually do have a lot of fun going out and with my baby too- it’s a different experience altogether 🙂 Tell me how it is with the other parents out there? What are your tips for meals and any awesome memories you’ve had with your baby-eating-out-trips? 😀