Eat, Pray, Love, Cry, Feed, Poop

Going to movies used to be a weekly past time of mine. Because I worked from home and made my own schedule, I was able to walk into the city and catch a day time screening any day of the week. I didn't care if I was that lonely old lady with the giant box of Hot Tamales and diet Sprite (from CVS of course) in the empty theater at noon on a Tuesday...I love the movies. Like I mentioned in my last post, it is one of the things I miss most about having kids. No longer can I jet out to the movies by myself, and I miss it terribly!

Babies at the Movies

But now I have something to look forward to...

This past Thursday I attended the "Baby Pictures" screening of Eat, Pray, Love at the Legacy Place theater in Dedham. Baby M and I, along with two of my good Mama friends and their tots, sat in a theater amongst (approximately) 100 other moms and babies and took in the mediocre movie (I don't recommend rushing to see it - wait for the Netflix). But at $6 per Mama it was worth every penny. Hell, I would have paid $20 a ticket! But don't tell the theater that.

Stroller Valet

We arrived at 11:30 (30 minutes before the show) and waited amongst the newer moms in the lobby for the theater to open. Our 9 month old babies were seriously the oldest ones by a few months. Most babies were only a few weeks or months old, so we felt like we were the professional Mamas. Since you aren't allowed to bring strollers into the theater (more on that in a sec) we opted to shove our large babies into their infant car seats and sit them next to us. Fabulous idea - and hysterical because we all have the exact same car seat! Other moms had their babies in carriers (Moby's, Ergos and a few Bjorns) while some just opted to carry them in their arms. At a few weeks old that is fine, but sitting through a 2+ hour movie with a 20 pound infant on my lap did not sound like fun.

Once the theater doors open you, those with strollers checked them at the "Stroller Valet" right out side the theater. See the photo for the hilarity that was the stroller valet. When we entered we were politely greeted by the Baby Pictures Hostess who told us about the changing table area, and later went around asking about the dimness of the lights and the volume of the movie. We found our seat and settled in.

Mamas in the aisles with babies

Throughout the droll movie there was a constant din of crying baby, but you seriously learn to tune it out and are not bothered by it in the least. At about half way through I glanced to my left to see a bunch of moms in the aisle swaying back and forth with their babies in their arms and laughed out loud. Never did I think I would see that in a movie theater!

Overall it was a very pleasant experience, and one that I will take advantage of whenever I can. It helped that it was a noon showing, as that is Baby M's nap time and she slept through the entire thing. Actually I kind of wanted to sleep through the entire thing too!

Baby Pictures are held at Showcase cinemas, twice a month, at Noon on Thursdays for $6. For a listing of the upcoming movies, click here. They are also held at the Coolidge Corner Theater on alternate Fridays at 1 pm for $6.75. Click here for more info.