When did you first take your baby out in public?

[Anonymous]

1 week but I had a summer baby. Went to a restaurant.

[Anonymous]

Also, I never got such advice from my pediatrician as to wait 8 weeks. It was never mentioned and I didn't ask.

I wouldn't bring a newborn on a plane til at least 8 weeks though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people think there is some kind of hardcore award they get for taking their newborns out and about so early? A restaurant on the way back from the hospital? I agree with the poster who said people might change their tune once they have a newborn with a cold.

Amen!

Life goes on with baby. No need to be in a bubble so long as you use common sense. And once you have subsequent kids, you can't just become a hermit, but gotta get back into the flow and not skip a beat.

Signed,
a PP who went out with baby post hospital discharge.

Why seek medical advice if you're just going to ignore it?

There's a happy medium between being a hermit...and being reckless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people think there is some kind of hardcore award they get for taking their newborns out and about so early? A restaurant on the way back from the hospital? I agree with the poster who said people might change their tune once they have a newborn with a cold.

so what do you do in terms of allowing sibling around infants? Lock older child up for 6-8 weeks? because all the newborns I know who have been sick and hospitalized caught whatever they had from their siblings.

And because that is the extent of your personal experience, that's the advice we should go by?

[Anonymous]

I went to Target around day 5. It really freaked me out though and was too much walking for me. After that I didn't take her out until 2 weeks to go to a breastfeeding group at the hospital. By 3 weeks we were going places a couple of times a week but I was very careful about germs. I really needed to get out of the house for my mental health. It was December and getting dark at 4:45 during polar vortex and going for a walk wasn't an option.

[Anonymous]

My NICU baby was in the grocery store at two weeks old. We needed food, and at the time there was no recommendation to not take him. He had been released from hospital and no special precautions were taken until much later, when serious asthma and allergies showed up.

My full term healthy baby went to an awards ceremony at school at.. less than a week I think. Again, no recommendation to not take him. Way to soon for me though post c-section.

A friend just had a baby last week. He's already been taken on errands and gone for a newborn photo shoot.

Mind you, in none of these cases were there a bunch of people touching the baby. #1 stayed in his carrier, #2 stayed in Dad's arms, and my friend is pretty relaxed about it all. Her kids have all been healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people think there is some kind of hardcore award they get for taking their newborns out and about so early? A restaurant on the way back from the hospital? I agree with the poster who said people might change their tune once they have a newborn with a cold.

Amen!

Life goes on with baby. No need to be in a bubble so long as you use common sense. And once you have subsequent kids, you can't just become a hermit, but gotta get back into the flow and not skip a beat.

Signed,
a PP who went out with baby post hospital discharge.

...and common sense would dictate that you don't take your 2 day old newborn to a restaurant.

Does it? I've had a very sick kid. Could have died kind of sick. Different circumstances there. His healthy brother went out early, nobody ever advised against it. Very few of the people I know with newborns have been advised to not take them out, as long as they are healthy when they leave the hospital.

Whatever happened to "baby has mom's immunity?" I'm seriously.. it's been a while since I had a newborn, and I'm not sure where some of these guidelines have come from. A month? Two months? Why?

[Anonymous]

*seriously asking*

[Anonymous]

Pediatricians are often overscheduled and too busy to talk about everything. Instead of waiting for them to tell you, why not ask? Also, like people, some are more comfortable with risk than others.

[Anonymous]

Here is an example of an article on this subject:

http://www.parents.com/advice/babies/newborn-care/can-i-take-a-newborn-out-in-public/

[Anonymous]

Not only did my ped mention this, the OB and nurses at the hospital advised us about it before we left AAMC two weeks ago. Yes, baby has some of my immunities, but duh, I'm not immune to everything! It just makes sense and is common sense. Babies and the elderly are especially vulnerable during cold and flu season. Snuggle at home for a few weeks, and if you do go out, minimize exposure. Being cautious is smart and is NBD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people think there is some kind of hardcore award they get for taking their newborns out and about so early? A restaurant on the way back from the hospital? I agree with the poster who said people might change their tune once they have a newborn with a cold.

Amen!

Life goes on with baby. No need to be in a bubble so long as you use common sense. And once you have subsequent kids, you can't just become a hermit, but gotta get back into the flow and not skip a beat.

Signed,
a PP who went out with baby post hospital discharge.

...and common sense would dictate that you don't take your 2 day old newborn to a restaurant.

Does it? I've had a very sick kid. Could have died kind of sick. Different circumstances there. His healthy brother went out early, nobody ever advised against it. Very few of the people I know with newborns have been advised to not take them out, as long as they are healthy when they leave the hospital.

Whatever happened to "baby has mom's immunity?" I'm seriously.. it's been a while since I had a newborn, and I'm not sure where some of these guidelines have come from. A month? Two months? Why?

You seriously need someone to point out that no baby is immune to everything because no mother is immune to everything?

[Anonymous]

48 hours old.

[Anonymous]

In first six weeks, we went out three times: church, restaurant and store one time each, in carrier. Which is not to say I didn't go out. I ran out every other day or so while DH did one bottle per day. We breastfed but did one bottle per day for flexibility.