well, it’s time themummyyears helped refresh your memory!…
For some parents the arrival of a new baby marks the end of a social life, but with a bit of planning and confidence, you can still enjoy a good night out…the only difference being your hot new accessory isn’t the latest Mulberry but the latest UPPAbaby model!
From week three we had one evening a week were we would carry out HTC’s normal bedtime routine…only instead of putting him in his cot we popped him in his pram, waited for him to go to sleep, then headed off to whichever restaurant we were testing for pram friendliness that night.
You have to be relaxed – and not be too sleep deprived to attempt this – but it is do-able. The first night we only went to the Italian at the top of the road (http://www.papiliorestaurant.com). On the way there we decided to only order mains, and agreed that if HTC suddenly woke up and broke into a screaming frenzy, one of us would pay the bill and one would grab the pram and head for home. Luckily this escape route was not needed and we had a lovely 90-minute outing before I was exhausted and headed for home!
Not every night was such a success…on the second outing to another Edinburgh eaterie, Dantes (http://www.dantesrestaurant.co.uk), we arrived with a very wide awake baby and met relatives only too happy to see their nephew awake. I could see that he was getting over-tired (and got a bit stressed) and I had to give him an impromptu feed (which I felt very self-conscious about), but looking back, it was all absolutely fine – the other diners and the staff were very understanding and on leaving the staff commented on what a well -behaved baby he had been!
I am pleased to say we’ve managed to keep it up and now HTC happily has a regular night out without any disruption to his normal routine. I should say on return from a night out we lift him from his pram and return him to his cot where he usually stretches out, gives us a smile, and drops straight back to sleep…
So all I would say is, go on, give it a try… and keep reading for our pick of baby-friendly restaurants coming soon…
SC
themummyyears 