I've got 2 bonus kids in middle school and high school and a 10 month old baby. The older kids are involved in music, which means lots of concerts and musicals (10+ events per school year). The baby cannot stay quiet for these events and doesn't like to sit, so I do not want to take him, but his dad feels it's very important that we all attended every event. They also always seem to start at his bedtime (7pm), so that makes him extra difficult.
I don't feel it's fair to me, the baby, and everyone else attending the event that has to listen to him fuss or cry. Handling the baby during these events is solely on me since dad doesn't want to miss his daughter's performances, which I get. At the same time, if he insists on the baby being there, maybe he should have to deal with it.
The middle school is very clear that you should not leave the auditorium during a set, which I understand. They also keep the doors shut during this time so sneaking out with the baby before he starts screaming is impossible. The high school keeps the doors open sometimes, so we can either sneak out when he gets fussy 5 minutes in or just stay in the lobby the whole time where we can walk around and still listen.
I managed to avoid the middle school concerts so far since the baby and I were sick for the winter concerts, but we've got 4 concerts in the next 2 weeks and I don't know what to do. I'm dreading it.
I guess the obvious answer is get a babysitter, but then we aren't all in attendance. We also don't have one and the extended family that are involved also usually attend these events. Do we just push through and if he cries in the auditorium, oh well? There's usually at least one other baby that makes noise for a few seconds, but when my baby doesn't want to be somewhere, he makes sure everyone knows.