Taking baby to restaurants - when does it get easier?

[atvh]

As the title says really! My four month old is a wonderful little boy, but I find it so stressful taking him out to eat. We’ve just got back from Sunday lunch at the pub. We took him out just as he was due a nap (perfect timing you’d have thought!) He fell asleep in the pram on the half-hour walk there, then almost as soon as we took our seats at the pub (which was nearly empty and not noisy at all) he woke up and was wide awake for almost all the meal.

He seems to cry a lot more when we’re out compared to when he’s at home for some reason. We take toys to distract him which works to a point, and DH sometimes puts him in the sling if he’s really crying, which does help him fall asleep but also means that DH struggles to eat (as soon as he sits down DS wakes up again!)

Is this normal for 4 months or are we just unlucky? And when does it get easier to take babies or young children out for meals? Part of me just thinks I’d rather stay home until he’s older and avoid the stress if I’m honest!

4 sounds about right for the majority of kids, maybe 3 for those of a more docile temperament. I have an almost 3yo (definitely not docile) and I actively avoid taking her to restaurants. I don’t mind grabbing a quick coffee/cake if there’s more than one adult but otherwise it’s a no. We went on holiday to Spain when she was 22 months and meals out were an entirely different experience, one waiter couldn’t believe how quickly we wolfed down our food and paid the bill

Though in saying this my DS is 2.5 months (what lots of people on here consider an ‘easy’ age) and I can think of nothing worse than taking him out to eat either tbh.

My kids are a dream in restaurants, totally charming and great company, they are 11, 13 and 16!!

I've got a 22 month old and have never found it easy to eat in a restaurant (apart from my current newborn who sleeps all the time . Found it slightly easier when he was able to sit in a high chair but still not easy enough to make it worth it. We've be we taken him anywhere nice. Just cafes (like supermarket ones), food courts and Nandos- choose somewhere people won't mind a bit of noise, sit outdoors where possible, and go to places where you pay when you order so you can make a quick getaway! If we want to eat anywhere nice we get a babysitter and go out without him. We wouldn't even take him to Wagamamas 😂 they can learn about nice restaurants when they're older. I didn't go to a decent restaurant until I was on sixth form... but there were 3 of us so it would have been expensive (plus my brothers were a bit wild when they were little!) 🙈