How do I enjoy time out with my 9 month old?

[sarahb083]

Hello, I'm going away for a few days with 9 month old DD and my DH. I want to try some restaurants while we're there. DD is happy in the pram for a good few hours as long as we're moving, but squirmy and bored as soon as we stop for a break. It's making me dread taking her anywhere as we have to constantly move. Is it possible to sit in a restaurant or coffee shop with a 9 month old, or should I just accept that it's not going to happen until she's a bit older? Any tips?

Does he eat yet? DS was fab in restaurants at that age. I used to order him a croissant in cafes and he would go to town on it while I had a nice relaxing coffee .

Similarly in restaurants, I'd order him ask bread and a veggie side and ask for no salt and let him have at it at the table.

I also used to bring some small toys and soft books for him to play with - it generally kept him entertained enough.

Good luck!

Can you not take her out and put her in a highchair and give her some toys/food?

OP I totally get it, I remember my little one happily sitting in the pram on the move but when I’d go into a shop and the pram would stop moving it would be tantrums or she would try and squirm out. Made shopping very unpleasant to the point I only went if someone was watching her. Didn’t see the point of putting myself through a stressful trip for no good reason.

Have you tried the usual stuff like taking distractions/toys/a snack etc?

Well presumably she will be sitting in a high chair eating so that usually keeps them entertained. High chair toys are good too or fabric books.

Surely they would eat with you? High chair food, toys?

Just choose somewhere with a kids menu and they won't mind too much if she's noisy. IME a 9 month old is much easier in a restaurant than a 2.5 year old! Give her some food and enjoy it!

My second is almost 9 months and I’d say it’s totally do-able for lunch/brunch as they’ll eat with you. For dinner with that age I put them to sleep in the stroller at usual bedtime, walk to the restaurant and they sleep the entire time. If you’re doesn’t usually mind a pram nap then it might an option for you.

For lunches just give them food off your plate or order something suitable, mine loved naan bread in Indian restaurants or buttered tortilla in Mexican for instance, independent restaurants will normally go the extra mile eg the Mexican near our house would bring a bowl of beans just like she cooked for her kids! In the evening if you are lucky you can get them to sleep in the pushchair , mine slept through a jazz concert once!

Wow, thanks for all of the helpful replies. I’m struggling a lot with PPA (lots of anxiety about her choking), so she’s still mostly eating purees and very safe finger foods. It sounds like I should be expanding her diet. Or chopping up our food into tiny bites that she can feed herself.

Mother of the year award here but my just turned 8 month old has even had a couple of (unsalted) McDonald’s chips while sitting up in the high chair as I was in there with her older sister (age 7) after gymnastics (said older sister never had a McDonald’s until she was around 3yo of course- talk about PFB vs second child syndrome ).
We recently went out for brunch as a family and she had some bits of hashbrown, bits of scrambled egg and some toast.
I met some friends and their toddler at Wagamama, my 8 month old and their toddler munched on some plain noodles.
In cafes I tend to bring some Ella’s kitchen melty sticks and some sticks of cucumber, they keep her busy for a little bit.
She doesn’t have any teeth

If it helps my almost 9 month old had scrambled eggs with toast cut into fingers for brunch today. We did help with the eggs and spoon fed those. Going out for an early Italian tonight and he’ll probably have a slice of his sister’s pizza cut into fingers.