We were pretty much out and about right away--errandy stuff like Target and the grocery store, etc. I wore DD in the Moby most of the time and didn't let strangers touch her. IMO you are more likely to pick up germs at the doctor's office (even though we go through the waiting room into a separate newborn waiting area, there's just way more sickness in a doctor's office in general) than at Target or whatever, so I just took her out and kept her carseat covered or wore her.
We did try to limit trips out in her first couple of weeks but ONLY because it was Atlanta in August and it was brutally hot even for Atlanta in August.
If I had had a flu season baby I may have been a little more cautious, but with my second summer baby and a built in germ-vector big sister at home I am not too concerned.
I will be avoiding taking her to the Phish show(s) though. lol.
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go? ~6 weeks to grocery store
go to a store with baby? prob Carters or something similar. 6 weeks.
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? hrm... I think he was 8weeks. We went to a jewish festival. GOOD foods!
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? 6 weeks
go on a road trip with baby? How far away? a 3 hour drive at 3 months-ish. We were visitng FIL in a nursing home and I was worried about RSV. They had just renovated so there is a new conf. room i nthe front doorway, so we can hang out in there.
stay overnight someplace else with baby? 4 weeks at mom + dads. DH was out of town for a weekend and it was nice to have the help.
Are there any rules I should know about? Can you just take a walk around the block at say, three days old, or is it pretty much stay inside for two weeks no matter what? I really don't do well being cooped up so I'm trying to get a feel of what's allowed. Depends. Is it RSV season? (Fall to Winter, usually) if not, you should be ok. Talk to your pedi. If he/she feels it is ok, then go for it. We were not the type to stay indoors and DS is thriving. Anecdotal: DN (nephew) was kept inside A LOT and he has a lot more baby colds/issues. Is that an obvious AHA! factor? No. But DS and DN are very different in their upbringing.
Post by schrodinger on Mar 26, 2013 12:28:51 GMT -5
Where did you go? We went to the local baby store at 6 days old.
go to a store with baby? 6 days
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? We've been to the mall a few times (2-3 weeks?) and did a local 5k race on St. Patrick's day (7 weeks)
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? Not until 3 or 4 weeks, but that was more due to my choice. DD put on some serious weight her first few weeks and I was constantly feeding her. All I wanted to do was sit on the couch with water and snacks and nurse her.
go on a road trip with baby? How far away? Haven't done a major road trip yet. We're going to Seattle this weekend, so a 90 minute trip. DD will be 10 weeks.
stay overnight someplace else with baby? Haven't yet. We don't live close to any relatives.
Are there any rules I should know about? Can you just take a walk around the block at say, three days old, or is it pretty much stay inside for two weeks no matter what? I really don't do well being cooped up so I'm trying to get a feel of what's allowed. We try and get out and take a walk as often as possible. I prefer the stroller to the carrier because she likes to look around all the time and can't see out of the carriers. The weather kept us in for the first few weeks because it was rainy and windy and not fun for us to be outside.
When did you.... ? leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go? 3 or 4 days? We went to Target.
go to a store with baby? 3-4 days, Target.
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? 2 weeks old, outdoor festival. I wore her in the k'tan
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? 8 or 9 days (its all a blur)
go on a road trip with baby? How far away? We don't really road trip, but just driving to my parents takes about 45 minutes in traffic, so a week and a half?
stay overnight someplace else with baby? 3.5 months
Are there any rules I should know about? Can you just take a walk around the block at say, three days old, or is it pretty much stay inside for two weeks no matter what? I really don't do well being cooped up so I'm trying to get a feel of what's allowed.- We were out and about right away. We walked the neighborhood at 3 days, I think? We got out almost every day that my husband was home (the first 2 weeks). I could definitely tell though if I was overexerting myself, because I would bleed a lot more. But I didn't really let that stop me. lol. I felt pretty great, and didn't want to be cooped up. Late September and early October is beautiful here, so we spent a lot of time going places.
I know every baby is different and answers will vary depending on season and health factors but please give me an idea of what your experience was.
When did you....
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go? Sometime in the first week, I think to Costco or Target
go to a store with baby? See above
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? We haven't really done that yet
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? 2 weeks I think, he slept in the carseat
go on a road trip with baby? How far away? No road trips yet, but we did go to Seattle (3 hr flight) the week he turned 4 months old
stay overnight someplace else with baby? Seattle, 4 months old - we rented a house, he slept in a pack n play
Are there any rules I should know about? Can you just take a walk around the block at say, three days old, or is it pretty much stay inside for two weeks no matter what? I really don't do well being cooped up so I'm trying to get a feel of what's allowed. I think do what you are comfortable with. We got out every couple of days for a little bit at the very beginning. I got super tired and sore pretty easily for about the first month so we didn't do anything crazy.
Post by leonard131 on Mar 26, 2013 12:36:02 GMT -5
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go? We started taking walks right away. We took him to a local bagel shop and ate outside the day after we got home from the hospital.
go to a store with baby? Within the first week I think I took him to Target. H went back to work right away and I needed to get some stuff.
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? Not quite a street fair but we walked around this historic little town on the water with my parents at 8 days old.
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? See above, we also took him to a nice restaurant when my parents were here at about 8 days old. He slept the whole time in his carrier.
go on a road trip with baby? How far away? We started taking him to our beach house at 2 weeks old. It is about a 2 hour ride and at 7 weeks we drove to my folks wich was about 3 1/2 hours
stay overnight someplace else with baby? See above.
I could not be cooped up inside as I have a real hard time being indoors as it is and with all the post partum hormones it was even worse. I had to get out of the house so I went for tons of walks with him and the dogs. It really helped me to not feel so overwhelmed and that my whole world hadn't been turned upside down. We were probably a little to liberal at times with where we took him but he never got sick, we kept him in his carrier and he did great.
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go? He was 4 days old and we went to the grocery store.
go to a store with baby? 4 days.
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? We took him to a Seattle Sounders match at 2 weeks old.
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? 1 week.
go on a road trip with baby? How far away? He was 6 months and we drove 5 hours.
stay overnight someplace else with baby? He was 5 months.
Are there any rules I should know about? Can you just take a walk around the block at say, three days old, or is it pretty much stay inside for two weeks no matter what? I really don't do well being cooped up so I'm trying to get a feel of what's allowed.
To answer this last one is really up to the parent. You have to do what you are comfortable doing. I was comfortable leaving at just a few days old and taking him to big sporting events at 2 weeks old but I know not a lot of people are okay with that. Unless you have a preemie and your doctors give you some restrictions just do what you are comfortable doing.
Post by ilikedonuts on Mar 26, 2013 13:10:15 GMT -5
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go?
We went to Target after her first pedi appt when she was 4 days old. even if she didn't have an appt, we would have left anyways. i couldn't stand being at home.
go to a store with baby? see above
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? This one I'm not sure on because she was born in late October so we basically went to the mall, restaurants, and stores until spring.
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? when DD was 6 days old we went to the mall and out to eat.
go on a road trip with baby? How far away? when DD was 3 months old, we went to upstate NY for the weekend and stayed at my parents' winter house. its like 3 hours away.
stay overnight someplace else with baby? see above
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go? @ 4 days - BRU
go to a store with baby? @ 4 days
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? @ 4 months
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? @ 1 month
go on a road trip with baby? How far away?
stay overnight someplace else with baby? @ 1 month - H went OOT, we stayed at my parents
Are there any rules I should know about? Can you just take a walk around the block at say, three days old, or is it pretty much stay inside for two weeks no matter what? I really don't do well being cooped up so I'm trying to get a feel of what's allowed.
Do what makes you feel comfortable! I hated being cooped up, too!
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go? I was very conservative with my first and didn't go out until she was 6 weeks old. With my second and third I was out with them when they were a week old. They were in a sling/wrap and we went to Target.
go to a store with baby? A week old.
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? I don't remember.
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go?
2nd day at home- eye doctor to have my glasses repaired. I bent one pair in labor and DH broke my backup pair chasing the cat away with a pillow.
go to a store with baby?
about 2 weeks. We went grocery shopping
go to a public event like a street fair with baby?
I don't recall a street fair, but I took DS to the airport to drop DH off for a flight at about 4 weeks. This was back in the day when you could get to the airside to wait.
DS was in the NICU for the first 2 months of his life since he was 2 months premature. Had he been a full-term baby that came in June, I would have taken him out ASAP as I hate being cooped up at home! When he came home in June, his first outing was 3 days later my mom's house. We kept him home for the most part until he had to go to daycare in August.
I know every baby is different and answers will vary depending on season and health factors but please give me an idea of what your experience was.
When did you....
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go? about 2 weeks later. It was my birthday and we went to dinner. (I had a rough postpartum recovery and didn't feel up to going out before that.)
go to a store with baby? around 2 weeks as well.
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? don't remember
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? 2 wks (see abovE)
go on a road trip with baby? How far away? 2 hour drive to my parents house for Christmas (does that count?). She was 4 mos.
stay overnight someplace else with baby? Xmas - 4 mos.
Are there any rules I should know about? Can you just take a walk around the block at say, three days old, or is it pretty much stay inside for two weeks no matter what? I really don't do well being cooped up so I'm trying to get a feel of what's allowed. I didn't feel worried about it, as long as people weren't touching her a lot without washing their hands.
I had a rough c/s and a rough recovery, so I know I left the house later than most moms. We were in the hospital/NICU for the first 5 days.
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go? I think the three of us went grocery shopping at 3 weeks. I went grocery shopping alone with DS at 4 weeks.
go to a store with baby? See previous answer.
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? The local Father's Day car show when DS was ~4 months. It was VERY LOUD with music through speakers and hundreds of people, but he slept in the stroller through the whole thing!
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? The three of us went out to lunch at 4 weeks I think. Even at 13mo we've only taken DS to dinner a handful of times. We don't have much $$ these days, so wasting it rushing through dinner with a cranky baby who's in bed by 8 seems silly.
go on a road trip with baby?How far away? 10 hours to visit the ILs when he was 6 weeks old. DH's grandparents are very, very old and we wanted to make sure they got to meet DS. He slept the whole time, it was fine. The trip again at 6 months though SUCKED.
stay overnight someplace else with baby? 6 weeks, the trip to the ILs discussed in the previous answer.
Are there any rules I should know about? Can you just take a walk around the block at say, three days old, or is it pretty much stay inside for two weeks no matter what? I really don't do well being cooped up so I'm trying to get a feel of what's allowed. I could barely walk at 3 days old! I needed help getting in and out of the bed, getting down the stairs, etc... I didn't feel up for a walk around the block until probably 10 days PP. But like I said, I had a rough c/s and rough recovery. I don't think there are any "rules", but I wouldn't let strangers touch my newborn, and family members had to wash their hands until I relaxed about that (probably 5-6 weeks old). I also didn't take DS anywhere I thought was "germy" like a fast food place until probably closer to 8 weeks.
I know every baby is different and answers will vary depending on season and health factors but please give me an idea of what your experience was.
When did you....
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go? Two days after we got home from the hospital. We went to the dogpark. I pushed the stroller and H took the dogs into the park. I remember sitting on a bench and nursing him bc I was so worried he would start crying on our first outing. LOL.
go to a store with baby? Um he was 8 days old. My mom and I went to Target. lol.
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? Can't remember. Definitely by the time he was a month though, and maybe when he was three weeks.
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? I think he was 3 weeks old, maybe 2. We lived in the city, he got out a lot from a young age.
go on a road trip with baby? How far away? Hmm I guess it depends on what counts as a road trip. We went to visit my parents who live an hour and a half away when he was about 16 days old. We went to my parents lakehouse when he was about 8 weeks, that is about 3 hours away.
stay overnight someplace else with baby? See above. we stayed at my parents for about 5 nights (well, I did.) DS has probably stayed at my parents for about 20 nights total, maybe 30.
Are there any rules I should know about? Can you just take a walk around the block at say, three days old, or is it pretty much stay inside for two weeks no matter what? I really don't do well being cooped up so I'm trying to get a feel of what's allowed. Um I didn't know we were supposed to stay inside. LOL. We have two big dogs, we lived downtown, we had to get out or else everyone would have gone crazy. This was mid to late May though so I wasn't worried about colds etc. He was also always in his stroller so kind of removed from people touching him, especially bc he usually slept when we were out, so people didnt want to disturb the sleeping baby ha.
Keep in mind: -It was flu season -We live a hour from the closest Target, etc. -I was in the hospital extra long -I still had collapsed lungs, pneumonia, and an infection when I went home.
When did you....
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go? My mom brought DS to the hospital every day I was in there. After we went home though it was a few weeks before I took him out, because I couldn't do it physically.
go to a store with baby? Longer than if things were different. DH works at nights so I used him being home during the day to run errands alone.
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? lol, never? We don't have this.
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? We usually did takeout because of DS' colic so I don't remember the first time we actually went into the restaurant.
go on a road trip with baby? How far away? We went to DH's nephew's bday party when DS was 6 weeks. It was 3 hours away. It took us 5 to get there and 4 to get home. It was awful.
stay overnight someplace else with baby? 10 weeks. We went to visit my extended family. At that point I could lean over the carseat to nurse and things were a lot smoother. DS was still pretty colicky but I had a little more help.
Are there any rules I should know about? Can you just take a walk around the block at say, three days old, or is it pretty much stay inside for two weeks no matter what? I really don't do well being cooped up so I'm trying to get a feel of what's allowed. Obviously my experience is clouded but it was awhile before I could go on a walk. My lungs were better at about 3 weeks and my c/s was a lot better around 4 weeks but it was still hard to go on walks...and then DS was colicky and hated them. Newborns are awful. I hated the "4th trimester" but it was so very real.
We went to Target at 6 days old because I listened to all of those moms who said to wait to buy nursing bras and tanks until after the baby (They are so wrong, btw. I wish I had purchased them ahead of time so I'd have something to wear). We made a 4-hour round trip at 9 days old to have newborn photos with my favorite photographer. Then, my baby turned into a force to be reckoned with. She had colic and is high-need in general. Our first restaurant meal was at 5 months because she literally would not let us put her down for more than a 30 seconds to a minute, and even being held, she wouldn't last through a meal without screaming.
Luckily, we live in a year-round nice climate. We usually walk in her in a carrier by the ocean so that people aren't bothered by my little screamer (who is now 6 months old). After she was a week old (and I occasionally got out of my PJs), we tried to go outside every day.
Post by whitepicketfence on Mar 26, 2013 19:17:45 GMT -5
DD1 was a January baby so we didn't take her out of the house much until she was around 3-4 weeks old. Before that time, we only took her out for doctor appointments.
DD2 was an August baby so we took her out pretty much right away. We were also trying not to disrupt DD1's activities after her sister was born so we took her to the zoo, the library, the museum, the playground, etc from about the time DD2 was a week old.
We still haven't taken any overnight trips with the girls and they're 3 years and 19 months. We do plan on one overnight stay at a hotel with them this summer though.
]leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? With DS1, we took a walk around the neighborhood when he was a couple days old, then ran errands with him a few days after that. DS2 had been to the playground, Target (x3), daycare to pick up DS1, etc. by the time he was 5 days old.
]go to a store with baby? Within the first week.
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? Can't remember. But I would have been comfortable taking the baby to an outdoor event like that pretty early on.
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? About a week
]go on a road trip with baby? Went to my parents house around 6 weeks. It's about a seven hour drive, and we stayed overnight.
We basically did what we wanted to, especially with DS2. I do not do well with not leaving the house and was out and about pretty much every day of maternity leave after the first few days. I tried to avoid crowded indoor places for the first few weeks and mostly worse the baby in a sling, which seemed to result in less people getting in his face. My kids were born in April and August in a warm climate, so we didn't have to deal with cold weather or flu season.
Post by rootbeerfloat on Mar 26, 2013 20:34:23 GMT -5
It's been so long that I can't remember exact dates, but with DS, I wasn't initially comfortable if I had to BF away from home, plus I was recovering from a c/s, so I wasn't supposed to drive for a few weeks. (I ignored this rule with DD.) I pretty much only went to my parents' house for the first month or so with DS. Around 4 weeks or so, I went out to dinner and to a large party.
With DD, I was out and about much sooner. I was talking walks around the neighborhood the first week. She went to the store, mall, park, etc within 2-3 weeks or so.
ETA: I live in a warm climate, but DS was born in winter, and DD was born at the beginning of flu season.
leave the house with baby not for a doctor's appointment? Where did you go? Out for walks and for coffee, etc. at approx 5 days post partum.
go to a store with baby? 5-7 days.
go to a public event like a street fair with baby? We went to a food truck event at 3 weeks and a street fair/market days at 4 weeks. The Ergo was awesome.
eat at a restaurant or cafe with baby? We went to a James Beard award winning restaurant for lunch at 7 days. Caramini slept the whole time. We took her out and NIP at 2 weeks.
go on a road trip with baby? How far away? We went to a funeral that involved several hours of driving/airplane flight at 11 weeks. We also flew overseas to Europe when she was 13 weeks. Best time ever to travel. Get the bulkhead seat and they can attach a bassinet which was great.
stay overnight someplace else with baby? 11 weeks at a relative's house. She STTN, so we were lucky.
Are there any rules I should know about? Can you just take a walk around the block at say, three days old, or is it pretty much stay inside for two weeks no matter what? I really don't do well being cooped up so I'm trying to get a feel of what's allowed. I went out for walks with Caramini in the Ergo starting at a week PP. I truly believe it helped my sanity/post partum body image/general attitude. My H went back to work at 3 days PP, so we would meet him for lunch etc. while I was on leave.