How to: Date night with toddler in tow

When I saw rookie mom Hala’s post on Instagram, I was impressed and inspired by the story she shared about taking her daughter Alana along for a date night. This was not a family date during which Alana would be chilling in a high chair next to her margarita-drinking parents; this was a cocktail dress and live band date.

“Here’s how to make it work without a babysitter and still maintain a semblance of a social life,” Hala wrote.

“Daddy gives her dinner and a bath while mommy gets dressed up. Selfies are taken to document us all cleaned up. Then we put her in the car and drive around until she falls asleep. Then we high five each other.”

So then what? Well, Hala lives in Dubai, and told me, “Kids are welcome anywhere and there’s no indoor smoking. We just bring a blanket to drape over the stroller and block out the light and we’re good!”

“We drive to our actual destination, unload the stroller, tuck her into in, wheel her into the restaurant, and have a blast of an evening complete with live band and loud shenanigans and plenty of friends, most of whom don’t even notice the stroller in the corner, and she remains blissfully unaware and totally fast asleep. Then, at the end of the night, sleeping baby goes back into car and then carried up to her bed. Done. The only good thing I managed to do as a #parent is get her to sleep through all the noise. Woohoo!”

So, do you have a superstar sleeper like this? I had one who could transfer from the stroller to car, no problem. The other one? Not so much.

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Whitney

RookieMoms.com co-founder Whitney lives with her husband, son, and daughter in the San Francisco Bay Area where she writes about parenting, crafts, and activities that moms can do with babies in tow. She and Heather also publish 510Families.com, a site for East Bay parents.