Stupid question - how do you eat your dinner with a baby

[LyndzB]

I have a 3 month old ds who Goes to bed at 8-8.30 each night.

Dh and I have dinner around 7. But one of us ends up with a cold dinner while the other one rushes. Ds is lovely but needs to be entertained constantly!

How do you manage dinner with a v.young baby? Tips much appreciated!

When DC were tiny we would just put them in the moses basket next to us whilst we ate. If they started to cry we would take turns to hold them and eat one-handed. If necessary I would breastfeed whilst eating. It wasn't very relaxed, but it only lasted about 6 weeks.

After that we introduced more of a bedtime routine - bath and babygrow at about half 6 or 7, then feed to sleep in a dark room upstairs, the sneak down for dinner. Sometimes they settled quickly and we ate at a reasonable time, sometimes not.

Mealtimes are not the same once you have little ones!

We just dealt with it being exactly as you say. It only lasted until she was 6 months and then she started going down at 7; so hang in there and soon they will be going down earlier and you can eat a hot meal

We'd try the pram or bouncer but if that failed I ate one handed over DS's head while feeding or cuddling him. DP used to cut my food up for me

DS is now 14 months and still won't go down any earlier than 7.30 so we've never got into eating after his bedtime.

Up until about three months, one handed and taking turns. Or on a good day she'd go on her play mat.

DD was very sturdy and from about 3 months could be propped up in a high chair (just the IKEA one with the inflatable cushion). She'd happily sit at the kitchen table and watch us eat, it was a revelation.

Don't have dinner so early and eat at 8:30 instead?

Got really good at eating with a fork in one hand whilst balancing the baby on the other arm. We would swap baby between us during the meal. Whatever time we ate, it was the same - she would start to cry as soon as our bottoms touched the chair to sit at the table.

Look back at it fondly now.......(Know this is absolutely no use to you, except to re-assure you it's totally normal and won't last forever)

We ate after putting them down in the Moses basket or ate one-handed. Involved asking DH to cut my food for me occasionally, which was slightly undignified.

Yep, it’s just a juggle really until they’re old enough to sit in a high chair and play with a small toy / watch you eat and eventually eat too. It’s not very dignified but totally normal!

My baby doesn’t go to bed until around 8.30/9 so I’ll very often eat one handed with her on my lap. Sometimes she will happily play in her jumperoo and other times she will play on her mat. It really depends.

Swing if he was feeling very obliging but more likely sling on my front until three months, then I was happy to get him up on my back, so that was easier. He started sitting unsupported a couple of weeks later so from four months he sat in the high chair (Ikea one with inflatable insert) and had a bowl, cup, plate and baby knife, fork spoon set to play with. He loved that so I think he was just feeling left out of the rest of the family's activity.

It was much much better for me too as he had bad reflux which made me nervous of having him in the sling near my meal!

Thanks so much for your replies everyone! Baby sleeps 9-10 hours a night not quite at 12! Have tried a 7pm bed time but no. It's good to hear some one handers like me then! I kept thinking if what I was doing was normal!

Eat one handed and accept the new norm!

My newborn is programmed to cry the moment I sit down to eat. So I eat while holding him at the moment!