Eva Amurri Martino has been summer vacationing with her family, and while enjoying the getaway she discovered that she needed more dining-out options for her one-year-old daughter Marlowe, so the new mom came up with some tips on her blog, Happily Ever After. Hopefully these ideas will also help you.
Photo Credit: Eva Amurri Martino/Twitter
Gear: I cannot stress this high chair enough. It’s a lifesaver. I always get nervous about the big gaps in restaurant-provided high chairs, especially since my kid is such a squirmer/climber. Plus, this puts the baby at table height which I find is easier and more fun for them, aka better behavior.
Rice: Thank you, rice! Thank you for being easy to eat, and sticky, and a complex carbohydrate that will fill my baby without choking her! I love you!
Meatballs: Meatballs are almost always on a kids menu and they’re a perfect training food for babies with few teeth. I give Marlowe 1/4 inch pieces and she loves it.
Chicken Noodle Soup: This is an excellent emergency-hotel-menu order for a baby. The chicken is soft and bite sized, the noodles are mushy, and so are the veggies! I spoon her some broth as well and everyone is happy. Just make sure it is luke-warm and never hot!
Fruit Salad: I order this and give her some of mine. Melon, papaya, and berries are all excellent and soft options for baby.
Grilled Fish: Marlowe LOVES grilled fish. Surprise! It’s also so easy for her to handle. I just feel to make sure there aren’t any bones and let her pick pieces off and eat them.
Sunny Side Up Egg on Toast: Since Marlowe can currently only eat egg yolk (she gets a rash when I give her egg whites) I order this for her and break the yolk on top of the toast. All the yummy soaks in to the bread, and then I cut it up for her for a protein packed breakfast.
A To-Go Cup of Water with a Straw: I have no idea why, but Marlowe is obsessed with drinking from a straw out of a cup that is NOT her sippy cup. Maybe she just wants something strange, but she acts like the water is brüt Rosé. Fine by me. Restaurants love giving them these cups because what they hate more than anything is SPILLING. If I want her to go totally HAM on her water, I ask for it with ice. It’s like Christmas!
Entertainment: Keep a little bag that you only bring to restaurants. I put a couple of books in there (Yes, they will be covered in food. Breath and relax) and about five small toys that she will only see when sitting in her high chair. I recommend little animals or figurines. Then we play a game where we take her napkin and wrap up each of these animals “like a baby” and she rocks them and holds them to her chest for about thirty-five minutes. If anybody is looking for a babysitter, may I recommend Marlowe Mae Martino? I also ask the waiter to put in her order right away so she can eat first and then Kyle and I can take turns entertaining her while the other eats.
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