Your advice needed!

DH and I plan to take our almost 1 year old boys to the park this weekend since they're finally calling for nice weather in the northeast. DH would like to give them their bottles when they wake, go for breakfast, and then hit the park. I'm trying to figure out how to feed the boys at the restaurant. The boys like to feed themselves, but I doubt they will keep the food on the plate and I really don't want them eating off the table! Can we just try feeding them? I'm hoping they'll be so distracted by the commotion of the restaurant, they won't mind being fed. What do you think?

 

When we take our girls to restaurants I usually either bring their small plastic plates, or lay our a napkin to put their food on it. Maybe order them something that they can pick up easily (like pancakes or bananas, etc), and then sneak in spoonfuls of yogurt while they are eating. The more you do it, the easier it will be.

The first time we took the girls to a restaurant they threw all their cheerios on the floor and I apologized profusely to the waitress. Turned out she had a one year old at home too! We just left her a really nice tip and cleaned up what I could.

 

We've been known to use the stick-on placemats you can get at Target or Babies-R-Us, so they can eat off the table. In a pinch, I take disinfecting wipes for the table - no matter what you do, they're going to eat SOMETHING off the table. I also bring a couple of extra cloth diapers to wipe up the floor

 

Great tips from the other posters! It will be a lot of fun for you to get out and eat in a different setting for a change. Just make sure you have a game plan beforehand, such as each of you taking responsibility for one baby... that way it will make things a bit more manageable once you get there. In a few more months, they will be using utensils, and it gets sooo much easier to take them out after they can function with a fork or spoon!

Let us know how it goes!!

 

At that age, we absolutely fed them or handed them something to hold on to chew, like a bread roll. Starting off with something like crackers while you're waiting to be served is a good idea too. Have fun!

 

I always bring something for them to eat while we wait. There is bound to be a mess so I tip nicely (and pick up what I can.) I also bring things for them to play with (though they generally are pretty content chewing on silverware.) Have fun!

 

I actually took my boys to breakfast by myself on their 1st birthday and we had a great time. We had their party the weekend before their actual birthday so on the real day we ate breakfast. Anyway,I just tore pancakes in half and let the gum at them. You have to watch them, but they can handle it pretty well. And I have always been the WORST about my kids eating off the table. It's funny because I waited tables all through college and I absolutely hated to see moms let their kids eat off the table! And look at me now. Sometimes I don't even disinfect :blush: .

 

I let mine eat off the table too :blush: Normally I will bring cheerios, puffs, some crackers for them to snack on while waiting for their meal. If the restaurant has it's menu online, usually when the waiter first arrives, I will put in the kids order right away so their food comes out quick, while the rest of us decide. Picked that trick up from my friend with two kids.
They do have mats that you can take with you for them to eat off of, I am pretty sure BRU sells them. You might be able to feed them on your own at the restaurant, it's worth a shot. Good luck and let us know how you make out!

 

My mother-in-law found this placemat that folds up and has toys to slide and compartments to open on it for when we went to a restaurant. It's a neat little thing and kept her occupied for quite a while. And you just wipe it clean afterwards. Here is the link for it at Walmart:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5420736

 

we go out to eat a few times/week, and often it's just me meeting a friend and taking the boys... i usually bring a few finger foods and possibly something to feed them. they are generally ok w/being fed as long as they have something to feed themselves, too. don't forget about teething buscuits to keep them busy, too!

we used to take the 'stick on' mats and use restaurant high chais, but they can climb out of those! so, now we just bring our booster seats w/us (healthy care, fisher price) and they have their own little trays attached.

gl!

 

We used the stick on place mats when the kids were that age. They also loved the designs and characters that are on them. I think the Target ones have Elmo and cookie monster. As a side note, we also started to use the same stick on placemats as window shades and the kids love them! We just stick the Elmo placemat on the inside of their window and it actually works better than the shades we used to use.

 

We tried the sitck on placemats but they figured out those quick! We then bought some suction placemats...and those were kinda cool. But honestly-to make life SO much easier....

We bought the boys two booster seats/high chairs.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2861762

This is one of them. And we don't EVER use the tray-so you could just get two plain ones. Anyways-it is the BEST investment we have made. We take those chairs EVERYWHERE. They do not leave our car-we go to other's people's houses for dinner, restaurants, etc.

The reason we love them? We put them right in the booth with us. No tables(we prefer booths-keeps most of the food off the floor vs an open table). There are not hot food items/drinks passing over my boys heads, no one bumping into them, no one trying to touch them, etc... They sit on the inside of the booth, they have their own tray, and like I said before, the food generally stays on the tray or the cushion, vs having to pick up a mess on the floor.

That's my two cents! If there's anything I would advise someone to put on their registry-it's these seats!

Enjoy breakfast! Just bring many different items for them to eat, they should do fine! And they may try to eat what you are having!

 

Lots of good advice, and I must say, we had this down to a science by the time they were a year old (weekly grocrey shopping we almost always went to Applebees for lunch)

Our gameplan is to get a table, each of us sit with a baby in a highchair next to us. I wipe down the table with a disinfecting wipe, and lay down one of the disposable sticky placemats. As soon as we order drinks, I take the first baby in for a diaper change (don't want to do this in the middle of lunch!) Come back, take the other. Immediately start entertaining, waitstaff will usually go as fast as possible in my experience. Start with cheerios and sippies, let them play with crayons until they start throwing, then crackers once the crayons are in the mouth or on the floor. Lots of little finger foods, they might not eat as much of their food, but it works well to keep them happy. If you think you might take food home, ask your waitress for boxes and the check as soon as you feel a meltdown coming. There is nothing worse then a screaming baby when you still have to pay!!

If its your first time, don't be frustrated if it doesn't go well. It will get better!! (And just because I do have it down to a science, doesn't mean we haven't had our fair share of meltdowns!!)

Have fun and just try to enjoy yourself, the more you do it the easier it will be, I promise!!

Shannon

 

I let mine eat off the table too. We LOVE going out to breakfast. At first I was a little squicked out by the table, but then I realized their hands are all over it anyway, so the germs are going in one way or the other. I cut up the pancakes and fruit and just give them a couple bites at a time to control the food dropping. They totally make a mess, but lucky for us - we have the twin cuteness factor which goes a long way with the waitstaff. I do try to pick up at least some of the mess, though. They'll love going out and seeing all the new stuff at the restaurant.

Quick story...Last time we went to breakfast, actually Matthew got a girl's number! He was totally flirting with this 20-something chick in the next booth over and then as she was leaving she gave me a piece of paper with her phone number and email on it. Ok, ok...she wasn't looking for a pint-sized date, it was so she could babysit for us, but I love the fact that it was all Matty's charm that won her over.

Anyway, long story short, enjoy your outing!

 

UPDATE - Breakfast was a success! We used the sticky placemats. Had cheerios handy, but the smart, smart waitress brought the fresh fruit immediately. Needless to say, she was well tipped. The boys and mommy and daddy really enjoyed ourselves.

 

:banana: :woo: :clapping: :Clap:

Hooray!! So glad to hear it!

 

Glad to hear it went so well! The more you do it the easier it gets. We eat out 2-3 times a week and the boys love it.

 

Thanks for this thread! We might actually try it this week end... They were great at their birthday party sitting in the chair and eating with us, so why not?