When do you take newborns out, like on vacation or whatnot?

[Jalapeñomel]

My cousin had a baby less then a month ago, and they just went on a road trip to Florida.  They are taking him to the beach, restaurants, etc.  This baby also had to have light therapy and is having issues gaining weight.  My mom is appalled that they would do this with such a small, new baby.

So is this normal or not?

[missyny]

Eh. These days? Anything goes. Trouble gaining weight has mothing to do with exposure and etc. I think older generations are just old fashioned and like their babies in hats and 15blankets till they're 12mo.

[Ohhmm(bligo)]

We had both the girls out right away. I don't think I would have done so with a baby with issues, but I wouldn't get too worked up about it.

[Ohhmm(bligo)]

Although I do have to judge them for not taking him to the zoo. CPS worthy.

[shopgirl07]

I started taking my son out right away. We were in the hospital for a week but after that, I did errands and walks and other everyday stuff.

[Booze Raccoon]

I took my daughter out at 9 days old. A restaurant for lunch, Williams Sonoma, Walmart and the liquor store. First vacation with a plane ride was at 4 months.

[meganew]

We took Ollie to brunch a lot when he was about a month, and to a farmers market around 2 weeks old. They're basically just lumps of adorable sighs and sucking noises at that point, so you can pretty much lug them anywhere.

I'm amazed that she would want to do a road trip only a few weeks pp though! I was still so uncomfortable at that point, I couldn't imagine. Ugh.

I guess it just depends on your comfort level. I've always though getting out in the fresh air is better than being cooped up inside a house all day for weeks at a time- but that's me. Other people have "going out" parties when they will finally let their baby leave the house.

[Jalapeñomel]

I hope that she doesn't expect me to be sequestered in my home after the baby is born.

[Jalapeñomel]

Aug 4, 2013 12:27:06 GMT -5 Que? said:

Aug 4, 2013 12:23:39 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I hope that she doesn't expect me to be sequestered in my home after the baby is born.

It's actually the best time. I used to take g out for lunch and just sit and drink coffee while she slept. I would go for long dinners with friends and my H, can't do that anymore lol.

I have heard this too.  Granted, I'm sure I will not go on vacation with him, because I know that I will be an overly paranoid, first time parent, but I hope I find time to actually leave my apartment.

[meganew]

Aug 4, 2013 12:23:39 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I hope that she doesn't expect me to be sequestered in my home after the baby is born.

Lol. I'm sure you'll find out.

[missyny]

They're pretty portable little suckers when they're that tiny! Get a wrap around and do what you like!

[sawyerthedestroyer]

Eh. We flew with DS when he was three weeks because we were moving and had to find a place to live. I started taking him out for Target outings around one week and we went out to dinner for my birthday around two weeks.

[redheadk]

I wouldn't have bc dd was a colicky reflux mess of an infant but that's the only reason. It's not fun to be away from home with a screaming child while you are covered in vomit.

[Deleted]

My kid went to a Phish show.

[snickers]

One of my friends just had a baby and is doing similar things. I think it's pretty normal these days. I fear that I will be stuck in my house for a few months with my newborn because it gets so cold here in the winter plus colds/infections run ramped around that time and she won't be vaccinated yet. I am not looking forward to it since I can barely stay home one day now.

[brooklyn]

I started taking my son everywhere with me starting when he was 3 days old. My pedi says roadtrips are fine from birth, assuming baby and mama are both doing well. My pedi said no air travel until after the 2 month shots. Getting out of the house everyday is great for my mental health!

[frlcb]

Aug 4, 2013 13:01:25 GMT -5 namasteak said:

This seems like a good place to ask - we want to take baby boy to the UK as soon as is safe/healthy (for both of us) after he is born. Do y'all think when he is 2.5-3 months old is ok?

I'm due at the end of the year so the trip would be mid February - early March....we were going to go at the end of September but my midwife doesn't want me doing international travel in 3rd tri. We need to go sooner rather than later because of my grandfathers Alzheimer's.

Yes. We flew with our son overseas at 10 weeks for the first time, and then from the UK to the US at 3.5 months. All he did on the plane was sleep. 

[eddy]

Right away

We went on a road trip with Leo at 3 weeks. I can't stand being cooped up.

[AHappierHour]

I think getting out of the house and going errands early on is fine. I dont think I would take my newborn on an international flight. some babies are wonderful and just sleep and eat. Others have the horrible witching hours that last from 6pm-?? I would hate to be stuck on a 12plus hour flight with a crying baby.

[Deleted]

I was out with DS at an outdoor mall for several hours and in restaurants when he was 8 days old. I was already about to lose my shit from cabin fever at that point. No way was I waiting any longer to get out of the house.

[tdk2]

I'm sure you can guess for us... Haha c was out and about pretty much immediately. I did somewhat avoid crowds or places where she'd be in direct contact with people but I could usually just keep her close to me. The first real trip we did was a flight to Miami at 4 months but that was probably mainly the first opportunity we had. Would we have done it at a month? I don't know that I was up for a big trip then but infants are even more portable than when they start realizing there's a world around them.

[mandy0810]

We took my 3 day old dd to the museum for our first dd's birthday. She did fine. We also went back to our home town (1.5hrs) for thanksgiving and she did fine with the road trip too. I think it just depends on the baby and the parents and their comfort level.

[whitemerlot]

We took our dd on a vacation 3 hours from home when she was 6 weeks old. It was great. She snoozed in her carseat at restaurants and was just along for the ride.

[montereybride]

Aug 4, 2013 12:23:39 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I hope that she doesn't expect me to be sequestered in my home after the baby is born.

Meh, she can have whatever expectations she wants. You also don't have to tell her any specifics if you think she's going to hassle you.

Oh, and become fluent in "thanks for the concern but we've got this"

[Doggy Mommy]

"Back in my day" my mom took me on an airplane when I was 9 days old to go to a convention for work. She said I slept the whole way there and back, and when she was working she gave me (in my basket) to friends to hold and apparently I slept during all that too. I guess I survived lol. I certainly wouldn't judge someone for taking a 1 month old out and about. Is the mom supposed to be confined the house for months? Some people just don't have that luxury.

[Deleted]

Jack was on his first plane at 4 weeks.

He was at his first restraunt at 3 days.

[Deleted]

Aug 4, 2013 13:01:25 GMT -5 namasteak said:

This seems like a good place to ask - we want to take baby boy to the UK as soon as is safe/healthy (for both of us) after he is born. Do y'all think when he is 2.5-3 months old is ok?

I'm due at the end of the year so the trip would be mid February - early March....we were going to go at the end of September but my midwife doesn't want me doing international travel in 3rd tri. We need to go sooner rather than later because of my grandfathers Alzheimer's.

My best friend, who lives in the UK, just brought her 12 week old to the US.  He apparently slept the whole plane ride.  And he didn't die or anything.

[tdk2]

Aug 4, 2013 12:28:28 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Aug 4, 2013 12:27:06 GMT -5 Que? said:

It's actually the best time. I used to take g out for lunch and just sit and drink coffee while she slept. I would go for long dinners with friends and my H, can't do that anymore lol.

I have heard this too.  Granted, I'm sure I will not go on vacation with him, because I know that I will be an overly paranoid, first time parent, but I hope I find time to actually leave my apartment.

I'm sure you will.  That space seems smaller when you're in it all day and night.

Also, ditto Quesera.  So much easier at that point.

You will be amazed at how many people have opinions on whether or not your baby should be wearing a hat or not, socks or not, if you should have a baby around wind (Omg, that one killed me around here.  People in this town seem to think that the slightest breeze is going to kill your kid.  Damn, it was August and hot and she LOVED a slight breeze as did I). Actually, yesterday I was at a garage sale where the husband was worrying b/c his wife had the 3 week old out and there was a slight breeze.  She was like, dude, he's hot and sweaty, he's enjoying the fresh air and peacefully sleeping b/c of it.  I had to laugh a little remembering how much that one drove me nuts.   Nature's ok for kids!  Hell, nature's better than other people germs!

Even with your parents, there will be opinions, even if they're pretty good about not being jerky about it.   Still, you probably will pull the "well, the pediatrician said..." card or the "huh, it's funny how they change recommendations so much!  They're recommending this now - what did they say back when we were kids?"  (and then let them talk about what it was and hopefully you guys get a laugh about how everything changes.  I pulled that a lot.  You can update them on  pediatrician recommendations and then they start telling all their friends about the newer recommendations b/c they like sounding like experts and super involved. And it' great to have them involved, but you know what I mean? It kind of helps ease the differences, esp considering SIDS recs are so diff than when we were babies)

[tdk2]

Aug 4, 2013 17:03:07 GMT -5 v said:

Aug 4, 2013 13:01:25 GMT -5 namasteak said:

This seems like a good place to ask - we want to take baby boy to the UK as soon as is safe/healthy (for both of us) after he is born. Do y'all think when he is 2.5-3 months old is ok?

I'm due at the end of the year so the trip would be mid February - early March....we were going to go at the end of September but my midwife doesn't want me doing international travel in 3rd tri. We need to go sooner rather than later because of my grandfathers Alzheimer's.

My best friend, who lives in the UK, just brought her 12 week old to the US.  He apparently slept the whole plane ride.  And he didn't die or anything.

namasteak - we were debating australia trip this year.   I don't think we're doing it, but would probably have still done it had we only had one kid at 2.5 months old for the trip.  I'm more concerned about managing a 2.5 mo old and a 2 yr old as well for the longass flight.   We took C at 6 mo, flew back at 8 mo.  The 6 mo trip was WAY easier than the 8 mo flight as she was less mobile. I do go back and forth whether it's manageable, and I really think it would be, but since we go for a few months, it would kind of suck to have ALL that newborn time w/ our last kid living at someone else's house.   Also, if I need to pump again like I did w/ C, that is going to be a balancing act in itself.

I do recommend having a sling - I liked that for supporting her asleep on the plane so my arm didnt' fall asleep like it did the first flight w/o (at 4 mo we took her on vacation via plane).  I also took my bjorn through the airports as it was an easy way to keep her safe.  I don't do a lot of carrying other stuff w/ kid in the sling but damn the sling was comfy on the plane.

The one thing you may want to check is vaccination schedule and when the dates are for various updates.  It also depends on how long you're going if you need to do any updates while gone (if you're only going for a few weeks, probably nbd, but if you're going for months, might be a little more balancing w/ timing)  I did feel better that she had a few rounds before we flew.

By the time C was 8 months old, I think I calculated that she had flown on 16 planes

[Deleted]

My DS had horrific MSPI & screamed at all times. Even when asleep. So yeah... Nope. We didn't go anywhere with him until those issues were resolved.

Honestly though DS is awesome to take everywhere NOW & has been since he was like 6 weeks old.

I would be prepared to go with the flow. If you get an easy NB great... but I wouldn't plan nonrefundable travel around it either.