Chloe was about six weeks old the first time we ate out as a family of three. I was dying to get out of the house and it was around Christmas time, so we went to our favorite local restaurant. We figured it was noisy enough that if she fussed, no one would really hear her. The entire restaurant was lit up inside with Christmas lights and they even had two trees set up inside. She slept through our entire meal without making a peep (hallelujah!) but did get a bit fussy toward the end. Nothing a little walk through the restaurant couldn’t fix, and she was mesmerized by all the lights. Win-win for our whole family!
Eating out definitely became more of a challenge for our family as she got older, though. She started eating solids around four months old and we started BLW around 6 months of age, so we had to take that into consideration when we went out to eat. In general, we try to stick to chain restaurants or local, family friendly places that don’t mind a bit of noise. You likely won’t find us at a restaurant that requires a suit and tie, unless it’s for a very special occasion.
Until Chloe was able to sit up on her own in a highchair, she stayed in her carrier. Most places had a sling which was great! I preferred to keep her with me in the booth or in a sling. I made sure to pack a few small, soft toys with me that could attach to the carrier, as well as extra formula in my diaper bag so I could feed her if she got hungry while we were out. Papa Jumper and I took turns feeding her so we could both eat while we were out.
4 months – 6 months
Now that Chloe was able to sit up on her own and was eating solids, we bought a travel high chair to take with us. It worked wonderfully not only for vacations, but for eating out, too! In addition to packing formula, I would bring along my own spoons and lots of baby food purees. I usually fed her right after we ordered our food. That way, she was full and could play with her toys while we ate. We have a no toys at the table rule at home, but break this rule when eating out.
At this age, we made sure to avoid any and all restaurants during peak hours. There is nothing worse than a hungry baby and a long wait at a restaurant!
“This is ridiculous. I ordered my soup TWENTY MINUTES AGO.” Chloe, summer 2012, about 9 months old.
6 – 12 months
We started baby led weaning around this age, but I still fed her some purees until she was about 8 months old. I packed purees in my diaper bag, along with a sippy cup and a bottle of formula and some snacks (usually puffs). She loves wedding soup, so I always ordered her a cup as soon as we were seated at our table. We didn’t always order her her own meal at this age, but would usually cut up small pieces of whatever we were having. Chicken fingers, pasta, steamed vegetables, meatballs, and mashed potatoes were great finger foods for her and weren’t too messy to clean up. Between the puffs, a small book and toy, along with a meal she was kept happy and occupied throughout our entire meal and the three of us could really enjoy our dinner out!
12+ months
Chloe was really great at finger foods at this age, but also started to use a fork and spoon. She also moved to a regular high chair. We started becoming less concerned about wait times at restaurants, but still don’t like to wait excessive amounts of time! We can easily keep her occupied with a book and a few small toys (or the ipad!) for a short amount of time, and I always make sure to order her something small (like wedding soup, her favorite!) as soon as we are seated. The wait staff is always great about bringing her soup out right away, so it keeps Chloe occupied and curbs her hunger while my husband and I make our meal selection. We’ve started ordering her own meal for her, as she has a much bigger appetite now, and she loves making her own decisions now that she’s a big girl! We give her choices, like, “Chloe, do you want the pasta or the chicken?” Sometimes we meet Papa Jumper for lunch during the work week, and having lunch out is a bit easier than dinner. We meet at quick, low-key places like Qdoba. Chloe loves getting her own chicken taco and beans, and thinks dipping her chicken in guacamole is the coolest thing ever. It makes for a fun afternoon out together, and a welcome break in the day. Now that she’s older, I only bring along a sippy cup. I usually pack a handful of crackers and a fruit squeezie, too.
Chloe had her own taco for lunch!
Our favorite restaurants are family friendly, have a wide variety of meal choices, have high chairs or booster seats, don’t have a dress code and don’t mind if we make a little bit of a mess. This means we go to the same handful of restaurants over and over again, but I think we’re going to start to get a bit more adventurous in the future!
Tantrums are completely inevitable, and it seems like they happens at the worst possible times. We’ve had our fair share of food throwing, drink spilling, and high pitched shrieking while she arches her back. And then there’s the glances from other couples we can tell feel sorry for us. That’s fine! We roll with the punches. It happens. We can’t be hermits. We try to recognize the tantrum triggers. For instance, Chloe is now 18 months old and her brain seems to be working faster than she can communicate. I’ve noticed that she gets easily frustrated if she’s trying to use a spoon, for instance, but her meatball keeps falling off. She hasn’t quite figured out how to ask for help just yet so she starts screaming instead. It helps if I get to her eye level and tell her, “Chloe, how about mama helps you get that meatball to stay on your spoon!” and then we use the spoon together. She’s fiercely independent, though, so it takes a couple of tries… but it works!
Do you enjoy eating out as a family? How do you make it work?
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
We have the same handful of restaurants here too… I find it’s a much more enjoyable experience if the environment is one he is familiar with. We try new places too… but it’s nice to have those “back pocket” options.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
We LOVE eating out as a family. We are fortunate that she is mesmerized by people watching.
Usually she will sit there, with food in her mouth. staring at whichever table she has chosen to stare at for the duration of our meal. She will stare and stare until they respond to her. It’s quite embarrassing! In a cute hilarious way. 
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
Sounds similar to our path! We’ve been going out to eat since T was a few days old! It’s something my husband and I enjoy very much and he LOVES it too! If it’s dinner we make sure to go right at 5 to avoid crowds and to still make it home for 7:30 bedtime.
I have to say that going out to eat during months 3-5 was tough. He wasn’t content to just sit in his carseat but also couldn’t sit up well on his own so it was difficult to entertain him during meals. 6-12 months have been a joy to go out – he loves all of the action and charms the guests and wait staff ; )
apricot / 349 posts
we’ve been going out a little bit more to eat with our DS on the weekends…he used to be content sitting in his carseat (he would sleep while we eat) but lately, he has been sitting on daddy’s lap (we figured he likes to see what’s going on since his view is limited in the carseat….heheh)
coffee bean / 48 posts
Most Asian restaurants that are by design chaotic: dim sum, pho, korean bbq.
pomegranate / 3314 posts
Okay, this has me seriously worried! My LO turns one on May 26th and when we go out, she’s crazy. She doesn’t want to sit in her highchair, so she screams and thrashes about to get out. But then she just wants to cruise around the table/crawl on the floor, which is really just not acceptable in a busy place, for a multitude of reasons.
PLEASE tell me this will pass. It stresses me out and I never realized she would be such hard work so early. I always associated that with kids who are like, 2+. I’m really frustrated by it all.
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
We’re on our way?
We also lucked out that DS slept through our first few meals out!
The last few times he’s just in the carseat/stroller playing with his toys 
We are so excited to get him in a high chair with us in the next month or so
guest
@MeredithNYC I thought 12-18 months was hard…very wiggly, couldn’t communicate much. But things seemed to magically get better for us at 18 mo!
pomegranate / 3414 posts
@meredithinNYC: we made sure to have lots of snacks during that age and would also give DD one of her travel spoons to play with while we waited. She wasn’t good at actually using it to eat but worked on the skill while we were waiting.
guest
One trick we use with our 2,5 year old when out at restaurants is to take her to the bathroom to wash her hands after we’ve ordered. Sometimes she will also use the bathroom and we take a little tour of the restaurant while we’re up, check out the kitchen, if possible. This only works if the place is pretty quiet, but most places are at 5 or 5:30. If we are lucky the food has arrived and she (and I) have clean hands by the time we get back!
We also have ordered her food first, when we order drinks, so that it is delivered quickly and gives her more time to eat.
pea / 17 posts
We have been taking our 20 month old son out since he was about 6 weeks old. First, we tried me ican since our local place serves food quickly. We have gotten pretty brave and take him just about anywhere now. We still mostly bring food since he has food allergies and is still rather picky. He is still in a high chair and is used to staying in it until after we pat the bill no matter what. I have seen friends let their kids out early in the meal and it seemed to set the expectation so their child would always want to get out making it hard for the parents to eat. We will see what it’s like when our family grows someday, but for now we enjoy going out!