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Cafe Caldera
Shop F214
Spencer St DFO
Melbourne
Last Friday we took baby on her 2nd tram ride to the city to shop for some much-needed stuff. First stop was Spencer St DFO. It took a while for us to pick out the stuff we wanted, and we ended up having a late lunch at Cafe Caldera.
We’d popped our heads in while walking past, and it was packed with the weekday lunch crowd. All the tables were taken, including the comfy looking armchairs (Oooo – great place to breastfeed!)
Q needed to be changed and fed, so I tried the DFO’s very own parents room. What a sordid space! The sink and toilet were dirty, the nappy bin was overflowing and there were discarded nappies all over the floor. It stank, and there was no way I’d use the facilities, let alone change my daughter! Obviously, I couldn’t feed her with the lovely scent of eau de baby poo in the background. Yuck.
We decided to finish our shopping and returned to Cafe Caldera at about 2pm, scoring the armchair seats in the back. I was shielded by the bar and the chairs were comfy and supportive. They provided us with a water jug straightaway, which was lovely! I ordered the soup of the day (lentil) and P had the fisherman’s basket. We ate off a small, low table – enough for 2 for a light lunch, or cake & coffee for 4. Food was nice: I’d say about a decent pub-cafe standard, and service was pleasant.
Here we are waiting for the food to arrive:
Baby friendliness: There were no other babies in sight, but staff were pleasant and didn’t mind me breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding: Great privacy and comfort up the back where the armchairs are. There’s even a large, high window to watch the world go by while you feed.
Baby change facilities: Bloody awful! Not sure where you can change a baby in the cafe either. The Travellers Aid Society have a breastfeeding room at Southen Cross station. I’ve never used it but it may be the best bet.
Reviews: Can’t find any, sorry!
The damage:
It’s hard enough leaving the house with a baby, let alone taking it to a restaurant. However, we love eating out and didn’t really want to stop having culinary adventures even though we had a newborn in tow. There seems to be a distinct lack of family friendliness to the food blogs I’ve come across, so this is my way of creating some positive change. I’m not sure if other parents will find eating out with kids relaxing, but I’ll attempt to take out some of the guesswork.
When you read the Eating with baby entries, please keep in mind that:
- P and I are very relaxed parents with a very relaxed baby who (knock on wood) seems to behave exceptionally well in restaurants. If you are going to stress out while eating out, it might not be a good idea to eat out: you may not enjoy yourself.
- We live in Melbourne’s inner south, so many reviews will be concentrated in that area.
- I find prams unwieldy and do not rate not rate pram friendliness, except on the rare occasions where we did take our pram. If you have one, you may not be able to navigate into some of these restaurants.
- I breastfeed, so I don’t do any bottle feeding related posts either. I try to feed discreetly but will also be looking at staff attitudes to breastfeeding and note if there are any concerns. I’m not the sort to whip out my boob, so all the restaurants will have an area I deem private enough to feed in. I have fed in every restaurant I review.
- Booth seats are the best! If you can find some, you’ll be alot happier eating out.
- Most of these restaurants were visited outside of peak times (ie lunch hour or weekends) when we had a wider seating choice. Booths may not be available if the restaurant is crowded, but always ask (politely) if you can have baby friendly seating – we have never been refused so far!
- Most importantly, enjoy, eat, play and have lots of fun!
Cafe Sweethearts
263 Coventry St
South Melbourne, 3205
(03) 9690-6752
We’d happened upon this South Melbourne institution by chance on a Monday afternoon, and entered after spying the booth seats and a very happy baby perched on a high chair. We pointed to our little one, asked to be seated in the booths and the “Reserved” sign was promptly removed with a smile. Better and better!
The menu arrived and omg, this place has the largest eggs menu I’ve ever seen. The next time we visit (and there wil be a next time) I’m going to take a picture of it. We put baby down between us to sleep, and had a very enjoyable lunch.
I was enticed by the extensive breakfast menu and ordered the divine blueberry pancakes with bacon and hash brown. The pancakes were scrumptious, blueberries popping in my mouth. The hash brown tasted like a gourmet potato cake: crisp on the outside, soft and well-seasoned on the inside.
My friend & P ordered from the lunch menu:
P’s chicken burger
Friend’s lamb pie or something (trust me, I will get better at remembering what people ordered)
I kept stealing P’s excellent fries, and everyone enjoyed their food. We lingered over our cuppas as I breastfed baby in the privacy of the booth. It was a very stress-free eating experience and we’re looking forward to returning.
Baby friendliness: Pleasant staff, high chair provided.
Breastfeeding: Privacy to breastfeed if you ask for the booths (there is only one) and position yourself right. Otherwise it could be a bit of a challenge as the restaurant is quite light, airy and open.
Baby change facilities: The clean but tiny toilets will make changing baby a challenge. Nearest place to change baby would be the South Melbourne market, I think.
Reviews: Mietta’s summarises things; or you can read this lovely review instead.
After a happy, globetrotting pregnancy, our little baby was born.
And as the doctors stitched me up …
… they made sure she was okay.
I fell in love with her immediately (something I didn’t expect).
We started getting to know her, as she started to get to know the world.
Just like other babies, she spends some time crying:
But mostly she’s asleep, cuddly and adorable.
She has her father’s feet,
and my eyes.
Sometimes looking after her is exhausting,
but it’s always worth it, especially when she smiles like this.
A few weeks before we had Q, we learnt that she was breech. As far as the medical community is concerned, I had just gone from a very low risk to high risk pregnancy.
Therein started a very stressful week. (Actually, it was more like 3 weeks of hell that felt like a month, but more later…)
To cut the long story short, I ended up having an elective Cesarean.
Yes, me – the home birth advocate.
Sometimes in life things go awry and you take the best, safest opinion that you can handle. That’s what we did, with the available advice and information. I pulled and pulled strings until we saw both the head of research at the Royal Women’s Hospital, as well as another head of department. So theoretically I recieved advice from the best and most experienced obstetricians. Everyone (including 1 Oxford educated lawyer friend, my fabulous midwife, a string theorist and me) agreed that we should go for the elective Cesarean. It is something I am slowly coming to terms with, the decision was made so quickly (over a weekend, actually) but baby came out perfectly fine, and I am recoving very well, so…
In those moments, I learnt a good lesson: this child of ours will end up doing whatever she wants. Even before she is born. And there is nothing I can do about it. Knowing on an intellectual level and actually realising it are 2 different things. Now I KNOW.
A very good lesson indeed.
Signing up for motherhood, I expected to not sleep much. Never in my wildest dreams could I have known how well I can manage with about 4-6hours, but in general I am coping pretty well with all the middle of the night feeding. Most nights are pretty good. I fall asleep straight after a feed and thankfully Q does too.
However. Some nights are BAD. And I’ve had TWO bad nights in a row. With a grand total of Icannotrememberhowfew hours sleep. Coupled with a day when I was doing too much, I became a grumpy monster when P came home last night. URGH.
So, today I am taking it easy. The cleaning can wait. The email can wait. Facebook can wait. Cooking can wait: P made me 3 day’s worth of lunches, so all I have to do is press buttons on the microwave and kettle when I want a cuppa. Thank goodness for lovely husbands!
All I am doing is lying in bed. With Q next to me, making baby teradactyl noises. I feed, burp and change her. We shared a very happy bath (until I took her out of it and started dressing her, at which point she became hysterical – the bathroom is so echoey my head hurt!). I’m watching TV on ABC iView. and I’m blogging. Because even though my head feels like a wet sponge, and I can’t seem to nap in the daytime, I am having a pretty good day.
Today is Father’s Day in Australia, and the first Father’s Day for my beloved husband.
Our daughter was born 3 weeks ago, and his love, delight and care of our child is amazing to witness. He does most of the burping, bathing and most importantly: nappy changing. (The rule of the house is: I’m in charge of the input, he’s in charge of the output!!)
Our daughter is one lucky girl (who will learn so much about positive male role models and suchlike) and I am the other lucky girl.
Happy Fathers Day, P. Your girls adore you very much.
I wrote about Choosing the right car seat a while ago, but we didn’t get around to getting it checked till this week. We’d installed the car seat ourselves and drove to the Orrong Service Centre in Windsor. Our friends have warned that that it would cost anything from $30 – $50 and it ended up costing us $7. Yayyy! Well, it only took the guy 30seconds, since we’d already installed it ourselves, so I suppose it was only fair!!
Anyway, I asked our friendly installer person how many people actually got the car seat in right and didn’t need any adjustments, and he said that he had been working there for 14 years and had seen less than 10. Yikes.
So people, please, please get the car seat checked. Chances are, you probably don’t have it on right. If not for you, then for your child’s safety. It will cost less than a meal. Especially if you at least try and get the car seat set up yourself. I’m sure if you call around you’ll find a certified fitter (in Victoria) who will be willing to charge you a reasonable amount. Trust me, you don’t want to be a car accident with a dodgy car seat!
Last Sunday (12 July) I had a very happy surprise.
A baby shower: organised by a group of close friends and my darling husband, whom I thought would never be able to keep a secret like this, or even manage an event like this, without me knowing.
Well, I was wrong. And boy, was I surprised! Especially when the lovely hostess and mastermind Caroline brandished a knife in my face and said “Eeeek, you’re too early, go back outside until we’re ready!” or something similar. After getting over the shock of being chased out of my own home with my own knives (obviously, I ignored her) it finally dawned on me that there were lots of lovely people in my house and stacks of delicious food. Yay!
The best present of the day (and thanks to everyone for all your lovely gifts) was the fact that our friends in Melbourne cared sufficiently about us to pull off something as wonderful as this! I think I was on a high for a week, just celebrating privately every time I thought about this.
The only low point is my wonderful friends NOT in Melbourne (you are probably reading this) whom I would have loved to share a moment like this with. Regardless, I am very thankful for all the support, celebration and good-natured ribbing that has enriched my life from all over the world. You guys are amazing.
I’m not going to lie: today has been hard. Why?
- I have a cold = congestion + hacking cough = no sleep at night. Oh, and I can’t take decongestants because I’m pregnant + baby is moving and kicking hard most nights = really guarantees no sleep! And when I don’t sleep I turn into a grumpy monster. I shudder to think what will happen when baby arrives and I get really sleep deprived.
- I am having a “Am I fit to be a mother?” crisis moment. I recognise that this is something entirely normal, even though (like postpartum incontinence and sex during pregnancy) it’s something no one seems to like talking about, or owning up to having. But it’s still difficult to deal with lingering doubts about how I will navigate the crazy (but rewarding) world of motherhood. I’m not saying I’m not looking forward to it, but I can see some challenges ahead, and some days they feel bigger and scarier. Like today.
- Due to 2) + 1) = P and I are fighting. There are also a few other things that are overwhelming us and (due to factors beyond our control) it’s been a turbulent time for a few weeks, with barely a break to catch a breath. Considering that he is my main source of support and joy here in Melbourne (much as I like and enjoy my friends here, my really close friendships are elsewhere) life is becoming a bit of a strain.
So, I write with two goals: catharsis; and also to report that bad days will happen to everyone, even those who seem to be doing well on the surface: I have a healthy pregnancy with minimal side effects, a fabulous marriage, rewarding work that I really enjoy, plus I still look fabulous (as everyone keeps telling me).
I’ll just take comfort in the facts above, and try to get some sleep tonight. And hope I feel better tomorrow.
