Lila had her first meltdown in public this weekend. She usually does really well when we go out and doesn’t mind a noisy atmosphere. We went to see G-mama and G-daddy (my parents) for the weekend. They were headed out to dinner with friends and wanted Lila and I to join them. I thought, “Oh yea! A night out at a restaurant.” Wrong. There was no “yea!” about it.
I knew Lila would be ready to eat when we got there and she was getting a little antsy in the car but as soon as we walked in the restaurant she just started screeching. I felt like we were in a movie and everyone just stopped eating to turn and look as us. I quickly gathered her up and took her outside to get her calmed down. Once we walked outside she stopped and was her happy self again. So back in we go and the screaming begins again. This time I get my diaper bag and belongings together so I can go out and prepare her bottle. My mom brought me my car keys so we could be cool while she had her bottle. She quickly calmed down and ate. I thought, “wonderful, she has eaten and is happy, we can go back in and have dinner.” Nope. As soon as we walked through those doors she just broke down again. She clearly was not comfortable in this place. My mom had already ordered my food but I said there is no way we can stay so we just left and went to their house. She was just as content as could be the rest of night.
I know all children have a breakdown in public at one time or another but this was my first. I just broke out into a sweat and was so nervous. I guess I felt like I didn’t want to ruin anyone’s night. I know before I had Lila I would have been annoyed by a crying baby at a restaurant so I didn’t want to impose on anyone else. However, now when I see a child melting down in public all I feel is sympathy. It is amazing what having a child of your own will do for you and how your perspective on so many things will change.
P.S. I finally got to eat about 10:30. It’s ok it was still delicious.
thewoodsonway 
Ooh, I know- that is so stressful. Carys was pretty good about things when she was really young but around 17 months until now it has been kinda ugly. Last Friday we finally had a successful experience at our favorite local restaurant (Chez Guavara). I think the atmosphere has been a lot for her to handle in the past. Oh, the stages… 🙂
I love Chez Guavara! I haven’t been in quite a while but their food is yummy. Sometimes I find it can be hard to enjoy even if they don’t have a meltdown because the whole time you kinda hold your breath just hoping it isn’t right around the corner. She has been fairly easy to take out but I think so many things can easily put them over the edge you just never know. We took Lila to Harry Potter a few weeks ago and she was great the entire time but it was hard to watch the movie and get comfortable because I was so worried about her making noise. My how things have changed 🙂