To take my 4 month old baby to the cinema?

[Gatecrashermum]

I'm solo parenting this weekend and don't know how to fill the time.

I'll be knackered and it's only a bit windy round here tomorrow, so feel safe driving a short distance.

But will it be too noisy? Is it bad for the baby's hearing? We've been to baby cinema before and he's just slept through it.

What?! When I was knackered from sleepless nights at 4 months, no way would I want to go hang out at a school fete or Santa's grotto.

The baby won't get any particular benefit from it, they're 4 months not 4 years!

Literally the whole country is now under a.weather warning. Stay at home and watch a movie

People always say they'll take their baby out if they start crying. But in my experience this isn't true. Or they "see if they can settle it" for a while first. No one takes the baby out at the first sign of crying. They see if they can distract or feed or sooth. When that fails THEN they take it out (if you're lucky). So by that point everyone has often been disturbed for a good few minutes.
I've told this story before on here, but I was once in a cinema at 9pm on a Saturday night for a horror film. The couple behind us had a baby. Maybe 6-9 months ish. This baby was wide awake. The second the movie started the baby started screaming. (I'm assuming because of the noise. It was horror. People in the fion were screaming). They tried to soothe it for a few mins. Didn't work. One parent took it out. Great. 5 mins later brought it back. It started again. Other parent went out. Brought it back. Started again. And they were sitting at the back. So they were trudging up and down the stairs with it screaming. After about the 4th time mum took it down to the bottom of the room and paced back and forth in front of the screen rocking it to calm it down. This was the point people started shouting at her. A few people went out and complained. But thankfully they left before staff came anyway. But by this point I'd pretty much missed the first 20 mins of the film. We got a refund.

Babies should only attend baby specific screenings. Last weekend I went to see Wicked and there was a couple with 3 small children, one a baby under 1, a toddler & a 4/5 year old. The baby cried throughout, the toddler was noisy and they had flashing toys to keep the kids entertained!!

At one point the Dad’s phone rang, he switched the torch on on his phone then answered the call walking down the steps and infront of the screen. Totally clueless and selfish

They were so distracting for the other people in the cinema. The film was incredibly loud & not suitable for those ages.

We ended up speaking to the staff who came and moved them out. It wasn’t fair on their children or for everyone else in there.

even if your baby was to sleep through or not make a peep I’d be incredibly worried about the noise levels in there!

Are you in the UK? It's going to be a stormy weekend!

If I was on my own with a baby this weekend, I'd do what a poster up thread said:

"I'd be perfectly happy at home with the little fella. Just mooching around the house, napping, cuddling, playing, watching one of the million things on the TV."

More generally, OP, do you have any mum friends you can meet up with?

When mine were little you met other mums through Mumsnet local boards and Netmums "meet a mum" boards. Sadly I don't think either exist these days.

I wonder how it happens these days - I would imagine maybe local Facebook groups?

Anyway, you need to find yourself some mum friends if you don't already have some as it makes this stuff much easier.

I had a small group of friends with babies the same age I met through antenatal the first time, and Mumsnet/Netmums the second.

With the first group, we used to meet up in a local pub in the daytime - it was perfect. It had large sofas we could lounge about on, nice food and NO ONE else there at 11am when we wanted to be there, we had the run of the place. The pub loved us as it was mostly an evening venue and we brought in custom when it was usually dead.

Or, we had a local art gallery that used to be a great place for a group with babies - again comfy sofas just outside the galleries where you could sit as a group with the babies and buggies, and take turns to go see the art fitting round the babies needs.

He's only been to baby cinema, where it's quieter.

Baby screenings have different volume and light levels, that's common sense surely!

My apologies. Good parenting.

Why are you forcing yourself to go out if you’re tried? Just stay home. Baby doesn’t need to go out.

Baby cinema if there are any over the weekend, not otherwise.

unlrss it’s those children’s showings - I definitely would not. I think it’s pretty selfish for everyone else in the cinema if your baby wakes up and screams. The cinema is an experience and if there’s noise like a crying baby to distract you - you can’t just rewind, so no I don’t think it’s fair to put that on other people, especially as they pay for the experience.

the cinema will be too loud for the baby and I am not going to lie - with the daylight robbery prices of cinema these days, I wouldn't be happy to have a crying baby disturbing it. Netflix on the sofa?

People always say they'll take their baby out if they start crying. But in my experience this isn't true. Or they "see if they can settle it" for a while first. No one takes the baby out at the first sign of crying

I got absolutely flamed for saying this about weddings on an MN thread once but I agree, this is exactly what happens in my experience too.

No it's too loud even for me sometimes. Go for a stroll round the shops. Coffee and cake or treat yourself to lunch?

No. Far too loud for developing ears, irresponsible unless you plan to put hearing protection on baby.

Just back from a daytime screening where someone brought their baby along. It was really distracting and spoilt the second half of the film for me. So please don’t take yours along unless it’s a special baby screening.