cry baby matinee...Take A Sip!

On Wednesday, I went to my first cry baby matinee with four other mommies from my Baby Hui group. For those of you who've never heard of such a thing, cry baby matinee is where you bring your baby to the movie with you -- basically a movie specifically for mommies complete with a changing table at the back of the theater, lights a little brighter than a regular movie and the sound a bit lower.

In theory, this sounds like a great idea. Mommy can watch a movie and if baby cries, there's no embarrassing rush out of the theater or evil stares from fellow movie goers. (Although I must admit that I am one of the evil starers because I HATE screaming babies at the theater!)

In reality? Well, it was 50/50 for me. I was glad to be out with other mommies trying out the matinee. We watched Sex and the City 2, a movie I likely would have missed on the big screen as Brian wouldn't be caught dead at that movie, never mind working around Camden's schedule to watch it alone or with girlfriends. So, yay for cry baby matinee! On the other hand, it's hard to really enjoy, or even watch a movie properly when you're tending to baby all the time.

Started off with me having to feed him as the movie started. That was somewhat stressful as Camden was hungry and fussing and I was trying to maneuver his stroller to face me in the theater seat, prepare his formula and mix his food while keeping one eye on the screen for the opening credits. I missed most of the "gay wedding" except for Liza's Single Ladies performance cause, come on, that's not to be missed.

After Cam ate, I knew he was tired so I put him in the ergo to see if he'd take a nap. (That would be so perfect, right?!) So, I rocked back and forth in the back of the theater watching the movie and trying to get Cam to go to sleep. And you know what? He took a nap! Sweet. I thought to myself that maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. If he could sleep through the rest of the movie, I'd be GOLDEN. Sat down and Cam slept. So, I got to watch a solid half hour of undisturbed puns and outrageous fashion.

Then some lady in front of us let her two babies cry and scream for a few minutes and did nothing about it. Yeah, this is "cry baby matinee" but that doesn't mean let your kids cry indefinitely! So, the crying is what woke Camden up, not the movie. SO ANNOYING.

Now I gotta keep Cam entertained for the rest of the movie. Luckily, he was a good boy and didn't cry or fuss. I put him in my lap and he watched 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there. Then I carried him some more cause I felt guilty for letting him watch a movie (plus, he was getting restless).

So, in the end I'd say the matinee was successful but stressful. I don't know if I'd go again unless it was a movie that I really wanted to see. I did have fun though! It was definitely worth the experience.

But THE BEST part of the matinee was one scene in SATC that spoke to all of the moms in that theater. It was the "Take a Sip" conversation between Charlotte and Miranda. After much searching (I love it that much!) I finally found a clip of it online. All you moms out there...enjoy!!