Any tips for bringing baby to the game?

[Forbsey-123]

Hey Guys

I've got our company tickets to the Chicago game on Friday and I also have the kid to myself this weekend while the wife heads to Banff. Hes about 9months and I'm thinking of bringing him along. Any tips on how to hold him? I'm thinking of bringing that sling so he can hang off the front of me but others saying just hold him. I've already got the big earmuffs for him so no worries there (and a Gio jersey of course).

Just wondering if anyone had any awesome ideas or 'life hacks' or whatever to make it go a little smoother. His bedtime is usually 8ish anyways so I'm guessing he'll crash pretty early on

[jeffporfirio]

I'm sorry, but I'll state the obvious. Just get a babysitter.
I feel bad for babies at games, late into the night, sleeping with their heads hanging sideways.

[tete]

Originally Posted by Forbsey-123

Hey Guys

I've got our company tickets to the Chicago game on Friday and I also have the kid to myself this weekend while the wife heads to Banff. Hes about 9months and I'm thinking of bringing him along. Any tips on how to hold him? I'm thinking of bringing that sling so he can hang off the front of me but others saying just hold him. I've already got the big earmuffs for him so no worries there (and a Gio jersey of course).

Just wondering if anyone had any awesome ideas or 'life hacks' or whatever to make it go a little smoother. His bedtime is usually 8ish anyways so I'm guessing he'll crash pretty early on

Our daughter is almost 5 and has been to about 70 hockey games in her life - when she was an infant around your son's size, I took a carrier (ring sling, then a wrap) to carry her into the dome - zipped her up inside my jacket, but then held her on my lap for the rest of the game. If I had to take her out into the concourse, I'd usually put her back into the ring sling.

She slept through the majority of the hockey games the first couple years we took her. It was glorious. I think there was only one game where she was fussy and I walked around with her in the concourse until she went to sleep. I kinda miss those days (though last game, she fell asleep for 2/3 periods, but she's harder to hold on our laps now!)

Have fun!

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by jeffporfirio

I'm sorry, but I'll state the obvious. Just get a babysitter.
I feel bad for babies at games, late into the night, sleeping with their heads hanging sideways.

Yeah, we had one next to us at the game on Saturday, and the parents got up to go in and out of the row about 10 during the first period, and left about 5 minutes into the second period. I don't really see the point.

[morgin]

Originally Posted by jeffporfirio

I'm sorry, but I'll state the obvious. Just get a babysitter.
I feel bad for babies at games, late into the night, sleeping with their heads hanging sideways.

I'm going contrarian on this. People have kids. Kids are fine to take places. Sling is a good idea. Be prepared to leave early and be mindful of other people's experience.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by morgin

I'm going contrarian on this. People have kids. Kids are fine to take places. Sling is a good idea. Be prepared to leave early and be mindful of other people's experience.

Being mindful of other's people's experiences I think is the key part. A lot of people aren't. They seem to think that having a child allows them to alter other people's experience. Thankfully the people on Saturday were extremely mindful and just up and left after it got to be too much. I wish more parents were like them.

[OutOfTheCube]

Yeah I tried this last year when my kid was about 8 months old and it did not go well. Crying, scared, angry. We left after the first period.

[Leeman4Gilmour]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Yeah I tried this last year when my kid was about 8 months old and it did not go well. Crying, scared, angry. We left after the first period.

I'd be freaking out too if I went into a building filled with 17,000 beings 20 times bigger than me yelling and carrying on

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Leeman4Gilmour

I'd be freaking out too if I went into a building filled with 17,000 beings 20 times bigger than me yelling and carrying on

Is that why the Oilers have sucked for the past decade?

[ricosuave]

Your kid needs a Gaudreau jersey, not a Gio...

[Reaper]

They fit in a duffel bag? Sorry, that's all I got.

[tvp2003]

Good luck (I mean that in a good way). Hopefully at 9 months they will just want to sleep but it depends on the baby. Where are your seats? If you need to "go for a walk" there are a few options (besides the main concourse).

[Swarly]

Originally Posted by morgin

I'm going contrarian on this. People have kids. Kids are fine to take places. Sling is a good idea. Be prepared to leave early and be mindful of other people's experience.

I've spotted the false premise that led you to this erroneous conclusion.

[corporatejay]

I did the Bjorn with my son when I took him to a baseball game when he was young. We last like 3 innings.

Started taking him to flames games at 2.5, three seasons later he's been to probably 25-30 games and totally knows how to behave.

In fact, last spring we took a boys trip just the two of us to Toronto and caught two jays games and a raptors playoff game. It was awesome.

Start them young and they're easier to mold. They really never get a chance to develop bad habits.

[Peanut]

Don't. That's my tip.

/3 kids

[automaton 3]

Have to agree with the majority of the advice, don't go or hire a sitter.

Not likely to be a great experience for you or him (probably both) at this age.

[GGG]

Grab some kind of hearing protection

Otherwise have fun. If you have a sling you can still carry two beer.

At less than 1 babies are the best to bring. At 6 weeks our first went to games. Probably hit 20 or so before her first birthday. The next year was a lot tougher when she hit about 18 months or so it stopped being fun.

[calgarywinning]

Hearing protection is a necessity.

Their hearing is still in development and can be easily damaged. When I see parents with the ear mufflers on, that's a good job, when I see them without I don't think they understand what could happen.

[troutman]

Nobody puts baby in the corner.

[bc-chris]

Originally Posted by Forbsey-123

Hey Guys

I've got our company tickets to the Chicago game on Friday and I also have the kid to myself this weekend while the wife heads to Banff. Hes about 9months and I'm thinking of bringing him along. Any tips on how to hold him? I'm thinking of bringing that sling so he can hang off the front of me but others saying just hold him. I've already got the big earmuffs for him so no worries there (and a Gio jersey of course).

Just wondering if anyone had any awesome ideas or 'life hacks' or whatever to make it go a little smoother. His bedtime is usually 8ish anyways so I'm guessing he'll crash pretty early on

Forsbey - have you ever taken your son to any rink during a game? (any hockey game... i'm not talking nhl.) in kelowna we have a complex called the 'capital news center' (cnc). in this facility are indoor and outdoor soccer fields, football fields, sports bar, physio, gym, library and 2 hockey rinks. i had my daughter (really young at the time - maybe a year old) at the library the one morning and afterwards we went into one of the rinks to watch some stick and puck (i know... just stick and puck, but it's never too early to expose your kids to 'hockey'! ha! ha!)
she was doing fine and then a puck hit the glass. well that was it - she was terrified and we had to leave immediately. she's now 3 and a half and still has major issues going into the rink. she doesn't mind watching from the foyer but going into the actual rink is pretty much a big NOPE.

i hope you have a great time, but just be ready/prepared to leave