Feeding Your Infant at a Restaurant
Have you started solids with your baby, but the thought of feeding them while you’re out to eat at a restaurant and/or traveling is incredibly overwhelming to you?! I get it, I’ve been there! You’re stressed because feeding an infant is MESSY, especially if you’re using a Baby Led Weaning approach, and the last thing you want to do is deal with that mess in a public space. However, you also know your baby needs to eat during meal times because of the increased caloric demand to support their growth after 6-8 months. So what do you do and how do you navigate this?!
Well, I think the first thing that’s important to do here is shift your mindset. If you’re dreading the experience, then it will be dreadful. If you’re open to the adventure, it will be more of a joyful experience for you and the rest of your family. Life shouldn’t stop for you just because you have a baby - if you enjoy traveling, keep traveling; if you enjoy going out to eat, continue going out to eat. Include your baby in your favorite things (you ARE building a family, after all! Create memories as a family doing the things you love to do!) The best way to make eating out at restaurants joyful and embrace the mess is to be prepared - have the supplies to ensure feeding success for your little one: food, plates, utensils, cups, etc. for them, lots of wipes for lots of cleanup, and a portable highchair just in case you are somewhere that doesn’t have any.
We spent the month of October traveling and occasionally eating out with our nine month old and I learned A LOT about feeding your baby when traveling, especially when you’re out to eat at restaurants. I want to share what I learned from our travels in hopes that I can help other families navigate these challenges with a baby as well. A huge item for us that expedited clean-up (don’t be those people who leave their child’s giant mess behind at a restaurant!) was a drop cloth. You could use anything that can catch food debris, but I really like these disposable ones (because no one likes folding up a dirty splat mat and packing it up in the diaper bag after a meal out!)
Since not all restaurants have highchairs (and even some places’ high chairs are not a good fit for younger babies), I highly recommend bringing your own portable highchair. This is the one we have, and I really like it overall. It’s harder to clean than our daughter’s highchair at home, but at least it comes apart completely and can be washed when it gets gunked up with food. There are many similar ones on the market, but this one is very sturdy and high quality, which we like.
Another hack for traveling and eating at restaurants is bringing your own infant/toddler feeding utensils. You can easily throw some things in your diaper bag and it will make eating familiar for your baby when they’re in an unfamiliar environment, which can help consumption. Some of our favorite items include this Miniware folding silicone plate (the BEST invention - LIVEFREELYNOURISHED gets you 10% off & they have great sales often), and Avanchy utensils (ALLYMOWEN gets you 15% off). You will for sure need bibs - unless you like cleaning up messy clothes when you’re out and about…I do not! These are some we like: silicone & full long sleeve. The last thing you’ll need is wipes for cleaning (both the eating surface and baby!) We use these for wiping the surfaces our daughter will be touching, and just her regular diaper wipes for cleaning her up after a meal. Miss Mouth’s Messy Eater stain spray is also a must-have to preserve their clothes from food stains!
This next suggestion will be unique to your baby and where they are on their solids journey, but I always recommend sticking to foods your baby has already tried when you’re out to eat and saving new foods/allergens for the comfort of your home (if you need personalized help starting solids with your infant, I’m here to help you! Fill out my contact form and I’ll get back to you soon). My nine month old is currently eating modified versions of whatever we eat, so that part actually made restaurant meals a little easier because we didn’t need to modify much. I either gave her some of our food in her folding silicone plate, or ordered sides for her of foods I know she has tried and liked - such as: steamed broccoli, avocado, sliced strawberries, raspberries, plain roasted potatoes/sweet potatoes (nothing fried/breaded), mushrooms, etc. It’s super important that you emphasize to your waiter how you prefer these foods to be prepared so that you can avoid seed oils and other added ingredients you don’t want your baby consuming (that’s why I recommend requesting steamed vegetables, but even still, you may need to explicitly specify).
Another option you have is bringing your own food! If any restaurant takes an issue with you bringing food for your infant, tell them I sent you ;) This is a great little tote option for bringing food and I’d highly recommend this strategy if you are feeling anxious about restaurant food for your little one. Otherwise, if you’re comfortable, I think ordering simple foods for your baby at restaurants is a balanced option so that you can still enjoy a meal out as a family!
Although I always recommend feeding your baby whole foods and modified versions of what you’re eating, I also recognize that ‘convenience’ foods are sometimes easier when you’re out and about with your baby. In that case, I have a few high quality brands that I recommend so that you can stick to your goals of providing your child with nourishing, real food ingredient options, while also having the convenience of something packaged for on-the-go needs. Serenity Kids has a lot of nutritionally-packed sweet, savory, and smoothie pouches, as well as real food ingredient puffs. You can use my code ALLYOWEN for 15% off your online order - they’re also on sale at Whole Foods a lot! Another great option is Amara for organic baby food and smoothie melts, and these are a great fit for infants that are developing fine motor skills/their pincer grasp. I really liked bringing Mission MightyMe puffs along with us on our travels because these are a great way to continue introducing nut allergens without the mess of nut butters when you’re out to eat. You can use my code ALLY20 for 20% off your online order. Tiny Sprouts nutritional boosters (i.e. hemp, chia, flax) were a great addition to sprinkle onto my daughter’s food to boost her intake of things like fiber, iron, and probiotics. You can use my code ALLYOWEN for 10% off your online order. A few more options for you in the convenient baby food category include: Cocojune kids coconut milk yogurt pouches, Once Upon A Farm pouches, White Leaf Provisions pouches, Solely fruit leathers (broken into pieces), and Skout organic fruit bars (broken into pieces). I would only recommend the highest quality options to you that I would also feel comfortable feeding my own daughter. Sometimes, we need something easier, but we don’t want to sacrifice all our hard work developing a strong nutritional foundation for our babies - I gotchu :) With all of that said, though, over use or prolonged use of pouch foods disconnects the infant from their food (they can’t see it, touch it, smell it, etc. and the sensory component of eating is crucial!) and also can promote improper oral motor development, so please use these types of foods very sparingly.
If your baby is drinking liquids in a cup (my daughter drinks coconut water or filtered water at 9m), it’s easiest and least messy to bring your own cup that baby has already practiced using. I personally never recommend sippy cups - always straw cups or open cups because they are better for oral motor development - but I understand that sippy cups can feel more ‘practical’ in certain situations like eating out at restaurants. Instead though, opt for a straw cup with a lid: numnum (more spill-proof), grosmimi, ezpz, or miniware are my top recommendations there!
Last but certainly not least, you should bring age-appropriate items to entertain your baby while you wait for your food at a restaurant so they don’t lose their minds. Focus on screen free items for entertainment, because screens do not belong at mealtimes . These items can include easy to clean toys, Indestructible books, teethers, etc. In an effort to avoid dropping these items on the floor, you could bring a BusyBaby mat or silicone toy straps along in your diaper bag.
I think that covers all of my tips, tricks, and recommendations for eating out at restaurants with your infant, or feeding them while you are traveling. I hope my suggestions here resonate with you and help you feel more at ease when you’re traveling with your own hungry babies!
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links or coupon codes, meaning that I will make a small commission off your order if you purchase through any of the links, at no extra cost to you. I would never recommend anything I wouldn’t use with or feed to my own family, so you can trust that I have vetted these products for you :) My little family greatly appreciates your support!
