O/T...when can baby go out

[bubblicous]

as long as they are wrapped up warm enough and your feeling well enough you can take them out when you want

i took my eldest dd out when she was 5 days old took her out a walk in the pram for fresh air (she was also born in april)

my youngest dd i took her out when she was 2 days only we went to asda the same day we got out the hospital

 

[Pippasdvision]

I agree. It's totally okay to take a newborn out. Prehaps using the general rules of if someone goes to touch encourage them to tough the head not hands etc

 

[Lilly12]

It's fine, as long as their and your health allows it.

Just be sure to keep her warm and do stay away from people that are sick!
Cause baby's immune system isn't very developed yet as a newborn.

 

[laura3103]

i was out 2 days after having gert up the dreaded merry hell!!!

i do know that in asian familys they dont normally take baby out of the house for the first 4 weeks not sure why but i have heard this a few times from some of my asian friends.

 

[mislaww]

i was out 2 days after having gert up the dreaded merry hell!!!

i do know that in asian familys they dont normally take baby out of the house for the first 4 weeks not sure why but i have heard this a few times from some of my asian friends.

Has a lot to do with superstition, at least for Chinese. We don't officially give baby a name until he's a month old! Otherwise, you know, the evil spirits will get jealous. Obviously.

 

[moonbeam_sea]

The thing that scares me about family gatherings in my family is that my family will attend them whether they are sick or not. My son was born a couple weeks before a big family gathering last year, and I chose to stay home because of this. I was glad I did because one of my cousins went even though she had what she thought was a cold which turned out to be the flu (during peak swine flu season last year). Her FIL whom she lives with had a confirmed case of the flu and she went anyways despite feeling a bit off. Most of my family who attended became ill after the gathering. It’s really a risk assessment. Do you think you can trust your family not to attend if they are ill, and is the gathering during a peak time for illness? If you aren’t worried about these things, attending the birthday party probably wouldn’t be an issue. Good luck.

As far as going out, we were out walking the day after we got home from the hospital, and he was with us shopping that next weekend. I just know better than to trust my family with illnesses. They really love to share them around!

 

[Janeysaney]

i was out 2 days after having gert up the dreaded merry hell!!!

i do know that in asian familys they dont normally take baby out of the house for the first 4 weeks not sure why but i have heard this a few times from some of my asian friends.

I don't know about other asians but most south asians dont take the baby out of the house due to a religious thing that they have somehow misinterpreted. According to Islam a woman is considered unclean for ritual prayers (the 5 times a day ones, not personal prayers) and sexual intercourse when she has her post-partum bleeding and is required to take an obligatory bath once the bleeding has stopped in order to resume those roles. Somehow some south asians have taken that to mean she cannot leave the house unless for medical purposes until the bleeding has stopped. Perhaps its a cultural superstition that they have linked to religion. But from what I know from an islamic perspective there's no restriction on going out after baby is born provided no harm would come to mother or baby due to health reasons.

 

[Widget]

I don't see anything wrong with taking the baby out.... but you may want to refrain from allowing people to pass him around. Also insist that people do not touch without washing up first....be careful with other children as well - they are little cesspools and often forget that you shouldn't kiss the baby!

 

[beckynbump25]

sorry but thi is s**t and what does the reason say, i took my daughter out after being a couple of days old it's not healthy for them to be couped up in a house for 4-6 weeks, aslongs you and baby are healthy and well enough to go out it shouldnt be a problem :S x

 

[sammiesmile]

i went out the same day i came home it is nothing to worry about at all xx

 

[KandyKinz]

Getting out postpartum is a very good and very healthy thing to do as it's been shown to decrease the incidence and severity of postpartum depression remarkably!

The primary concern though with bringing baby out and about is germs.... People even strangers tend to be drawn to newborns and having people touch baby (everyone seems to want to touch baby hands ) or breathe all over them increases the chances of baby getting sick. Also of note, with many illnesses individuals are contagious before they even have symptoms like with varicella so a person may look to be perfectly fine but can still pass on awful germs.

And in terms of large family gatherings.... be aware of Pass the Baby. Pass the Baby tends to be a very common highly enjoyed game and that can result in tons and tons of germ sharing so do make sure that people do wash their hands well before holding baby.

 

[HippieJess]

I think this will end up as a small family gathering, immediate family only and the youngest family member is 16. I also bought a baby carrier the other day so I'll be sure to keep her in that and the minute someone sneezes I'm getting out of there. Thank you again for everyone's help.

 

[thursday]

My mom/grandma said the same thing. I think it used to be more common years ago in the US. You're not alone, I've definitely heard that too

 

[aliss]

I put mine in a sling and went for a dog walk on day 2 (first day home from hospital). It helps heal the episiotomy to be walking and keeps some level of sanity (only a 5-10 min walk).

HOWEVER...

Aside from the germ issue

A newborn will get extremely overstimulated from a lot of attention/family, so while it's fine for family to visit, you really have to set your limits and boundaries. Family aren't going to be up all night with a screaming overtired baby, so don't feel guilty about limiting visits to 20-30 min maximum when baby is awake. Remember they've been in the dark for their whole lives. You know those Chilean miners wearing glasses when they came to the surface? Too much, too soon leads to a verrrry unhappy baby

 

[Mirinee]

i do know that in asian familys they dont normally take baby out of the house for the first 4 weeks not sure why but i have heard this a few times from some of my asian friends.

Has a lot to do with superstition, at least for Chinese.

Big cities in China are extremely polluted and overpopulated so it's safer to wait until the baby is a little older. It depends on where you live. KandyKinz is right about germs.

I think a family gathering should be alright, especially if it's a quick journey by car rather than walk the side of a dusty road for an hour to get there, for instance.

 

[lizardbreath]

I took Jaymee out to the Mall and around on the 19th of may and she was born the 18th, I will do the same with this baby, I dont think that keeping them inside is a good thing.

 

[Bmonki]

i was out 2 days after having gert up the dreaded merry hell!!!

i do know that in asian familys they dont normally take baby out of the house for the first 4 weeks not sure why but i have heard this a few times from some of my asian friends.

Has a lot to do with superstition, at least for Chinese. We don't officially give baby a name until he's a month old! Otherwise, you know, the evil spirits will get jealous. Obviously.

oh obviously.

my mil (phillippino) had a similar opinion when Naomi was born, she was most unimpressed when we had named her the second she came out and started referring to her by her name... oh and she believed that when i tickled her foot i would kill her, oh and if i patted her bottom while she was on my shoulder i'd give her meningitis.... (i could go on)

bottom line? do whats right for you and only take advice off MW's or HV's! I've been ignoring mil's old wives tales and Naomi is a healthy (apart from a cold and teething) happy cheeky little monkey at 10 months old!

I put mine in a sling and went for a dog walk on day 2 (first day home from hospital). It helps heal the episiotomy to be walking and keeps some level of sanity (only a 5-10 min walk).

HOWEVER...

Aside from the germ issue

A newborn will get extremely overstimulated from a lot of attention/family, so while it's fine for family to visit, you really have to set your limits and boundaries. Family aren't going to be up all night with a screaming overtired baby, so don't feel guilty about limiting visits to 20-30 min maximum when baby is awake. Remember they've been in the dark for their whole lives. You know those Chilean miners wearing glasses when they came to the surface? Too much, too soon leads to a verrrry unhappy baby

yep VERY good point... overstimulation is no fun for a mummy - baby will seem absolutely fine while out usually from my experience and everyone will be saying how well behaved she is... until the next day where they freak out cause they have seen too much in one go lol.