5 Interesting Ways We Managed to Eat Dinner with a Newborn

Life with a newborn is sweet and special, but let’s be honest, it can also be a bit hectic.  With both of my newborns, there was a segment of time in the early evening where both were especially fussy, and is often referred to as the witching hour.  Coincidentally our most fussy time always occurred right when we sat down to eat dinner.  Tired and hungry, and through trial and error, we found a few methods of soothing that led to dinner time success.  Ways to calm our most fussiest of newborns and allow us at least a 15 minute window to gobble down our dinner and proceed with life!  Here’s what we found to work the best.

The Rocking Carseat

Sure lots of babies fall asleep in the car seat, but the trick is keeping them asleep once you’ve landed. We’d put the seat on the floor next to us and rock it with our feet while we ate so she’d stay asleep.

The Eternal Moving Stroller

On good days we could strap baby girl into the stroller for an early evening walk and she’d fall asleep in the stroller. To keep her asleep in there so we could enjoy dinner, we would roll the stroller back and forth with one hand and eat with the other. It worked most days.

Hanging In the Bathtub

When baby girl was just a few weeks old, she became enamored with her baths! She was as happy and content as can be sitting in there for long stretches of time. So for a brief time we set the tub up at our kitchen table and ate while she splashed and soaked. She loved it!

The Soothing Bouncy Seat

Things are constantly changing with a newborn and what worked yesterday may not always work tomorrow. But for a couple of weeks, our girl LOVED her soothing bouncy seat and propped on the table next to us, would take a catnap while we enjoyed dinner.

The Good Old Fashioned Baby Swing

Our girl’s love of the swing was brief, but for a few weeks she could sit in her swing happy and content for 15-20 minutes at a time. Newborns are constantly evolving so it’s just a matter of being flexible and switching it up when the need arises that leads to soothing success.

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Read more of Andrea’s writing at her life and family blog Four Flights of Fancy and her style blog For The Love Of
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