- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Multiples
cocojack10
member
Dining Out - HOW?
cocojack10
member
in Multiples
Dh and I have eaten out one time with the boys since they were born, and it was for lunch. For those that go out often with their infants to lunch/dinner, how do you do it? They aren't sturdy enough IMO to sit in highchair. They don't like to be in their infant carriers too long. Their stroller (Bumbleride Indie Twin) is too large to fit in restaurants.
And since they were born, we have gone out on maybe 3 official date nights just the two of us. I'm burned out. I need a break. Our relationship is fine... but I feel the extra spark is dwindling and want to reignite it before it is too late. I've already spoken to him about making date night a necessity and a maybe monthly routine, but I don't think he feels the need for it. Babysitters we have... we are blessed to have all our family nearby... however, we just feel guilty leaving them both with one person, bc they are a lot to handle come bedtime... they fight it until they pass out. When they both cry, it is horrible, and unbearable... which is why I'm drained (see post below).
THANKS!
-- Jackie
"If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane" -- Jimmy Buffett
"If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane" -- Jimmy Buffett
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Dining Out - HOW?
I would never leave my babies at bedtime with anyone - I even feel bad for dh if he has to do it by himself!
A lot of times we've put them to sleep, then got a babysitter, and then went out to dinner.
We are just now starting to eat out with them. They didn't really want to sit in any stroller if we are not moving and resturant high chairs was too much for them. We've also gone out to dinner with other people (family) and just had them sit in our laps while everyone ate (and rotate).
You are so close to happy highchair restaurant babies! My boys are now loving eating out (although we stick to buffets/family friendly places).
4 Fresh IVF cycles + 1 FET where embies didn't survive the thaw = 2 perfect little men!
sFET 11/9/11 - Beta 11/18 BFP!
Will they sleep in their infant carriers if they have just eaten and it's around a nap time? We used to try to go out to eat right after they ate and when they would be sleepy so they hopefully slept the whole time. Your babies sound like they may already be past that point though.
The other thing you could do if you think they are really close to being ready for high chairs but aren't quite there yet is to put them in a high chair and stuff a jacket or a blanket around them to kind of keep them stabilized. This helped us a lot when our boys were at that in between stage. In my opinion, it does get a lot easier once they can sit comfortably in high chairs and are on finger foods (so they can snack on cheerios or something when they start to get irritable).
Date nights are a no-brainer for us... We put them to bed (7:30pm) and get the babysitter to come over after. That way, the sitter is basically just watching TV and listening in case someone wakes up screaming or something. I don't know how far along you are from a sleep training perspective, but given your LO's ages I'd say you're pretty close to being able to do that unless you guys have very late bedtimes for some reason.
GL!
They go down between 7-8pm... depending on the day's activities. However, that is in an ideal world. A lot of times they will wake up shortly after going down and will remain awake until their last bottle, which is @ 9-10pm. Fun times. Dh isn't a fan of CIO at this moment. He feels bad for them.
"If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane" -- Jimmy Buffett
There is a rule in my house - if YOU feel bad for them, then YOU go get them. Might be time to implement the same rule down in MIA
4 Fresh IVF cycles + 1 FET where embies didn't survive the thaw = 2 perfect little men!
sFET 11/9/11 - Beta 11/18 BFP!
We bought those Chicco portable hi-chairs that attach to the tables. My boys willl stay calm in those longer than the wooden restaurant ones. They have trays so I attach toys for them (the kind that suction cup to the trays) and feed them at some point. I still only get maybe 30min out of them before someone gets antsy. We don't go to nice dinners w/ them, just quick places and mostly lunch.
Could you hire 2 babysitters so you can have more date nights? There's no way I'd make some unsuspecting teen do my betime routine alone either. But I'd be fine w/ 2 of them. I don't even want to do it alone. My parents live nearby so they'll do it - but only together
We really don't go out to eat dinner with them. We did one time when they were 6 months old and it was a disaster. We have done breakfast as that's quick and that is their best time of day. We still have a hard time with the high chairs with DD she tends to slump back. We could maybe try lunch now because they are staying up longer in the afternoons now.
I think maybe you could recruit two people to put them to bed so you can go out. My ILs can do bed time now and thank god because it was so nice to be able to go out to dinner. They started doing that once we got the routine down. Also it may be time to look at some sleep training so that you can get a little bit of your life back. I think 7 months is definitely old enough to work on it and there are many different techniques to try that you and your husband are comfortable with.
If you have family members who are willing to do it, and volunteering, I'd accept the help and not feel bad. People volunteer when they want to do something.
DH and I have a date night alone every other week pretty much - sometimes more, every once in awhile less. I think it's really important to spend quality time with your spouse, and we both made that a huge priority once we got more comfortable with our new lives as parents. I think we started doing regular date nights right around 7 months.
As for dining out for dinner with the kids, we only started to do that fairly recently. Their bedtime is 7:30, so we'd be at the restaurant around 5:45 to make sure we were eating by 6:30, and had plenty of snacks on hand to tie them over. I do recommend doing it, it's a good experience for kids to learn to eat out and do it properly. My grandmother used to take me out to dinner ALL THE TIME when I was a baby and toddler.
We started taking them out to eat around 7 mos and putting them in the restaurant boosters with shopping cart covers ( I rolled up blankets the first couple times too for more support since the seats were a little big for them). We bring a couple toys, feed them and then usually give them a roll to suck on so we can eat and they LOVE them!
We always go out early when we go with them, that way we get home in plenty of time for bed and it's usually not crowded, just in case they were to get fussy.
The first couple times I asked them to bring to-go boxes with dinner just in case, but we never needed to use them and leave early. They like looking around and get a lot of attention, so I think it's fun for them too.
Good news, you're at the point that you can start dropping that last bottle when you're ready! Our boys went 12 hours without a feeding starting around 5 1/2 - 6 months, so yours should definitely be ok. Maybe worth a shot!