How Soon After Your Baby Was Born Did You Take Him/her Out in Public?

I took mine out as soon as I felt up to it. Do what you feel most comfortable doing. I know some women who like to stay home for a long while and others who don't mind going out. I was one that didn't mind going out, as soon as I felt up to it.

(Oh and FYI, I took mine to family gatherings / stores. But they kept close to me unless, family that washed their hands held them. I've seen newborns at a county fair. To me that is just crazy!)

I had my oldest one out right away and never looked back. He is a total social butterfly now and I wonder if it's because he has always been where the action is - lol! My other boy is only 13 months younger, so he was out and about right away as well.

the day I was released from the hospital I had prescriptions to pick up so I had Alex in Target at 2 days old...and a week later we were at walmart to grocery shop. I was never one to stay inside, I was kind of a stickler about people washing hands before touching my babies though.

I took my son out about a week after he was born. By that time we were settled in and were getting into our routines, and were comfortable with each other. And had just long enough to be selfish and hog him all to myself! Lol. Figured by then too, that it was time to share his awesomeness with others ;)

Oh man, I was out right away.. Interesting you say there is an Mexican old wives tale that says you shouldn't bring them out for 40 days.. My husbands family (which is Mexican) lives by another old wives tale that says anyone that meets the baby HAS to touch them.. They live by that it is good that a baby meets different bacteria from the beginning to build up their immune system (at least that is how it was explained to me) If you are breastfeeding the baby will have a lot of antibodies running through their systems which protects them from a lot. My daughter was born in Oct.. we had her out and about just days after she was born.. We were running around in Stockholm (I live in Sweden right now) at 1½ weeks.. she was wrapped up in a sling close to me, but we were everywhere walking around, in museums, restaurants at the airport.. Do what makes you comfortable, everyone has different ideas what is acceptable.. For me I didn't like being stuck indoors all day..

We took her out to dinner on day 4 and it was GREAT to get out!!

The dr told us 8 weeks but if I had something to get at the store I went real early in the morning before alot of ppl got there. If your baby gets sick he will have to go through all kinds of tests including a spinal tap. I couldn't take the chance of my daughter getting sick and putting her through that.
Call your pediatricians office and ask them. Do yourself a favor at the next visit and write all of your questions down so that you won't forget to ask. It makes life so much easier.

I was on bed rest from the second trimester on. I was so sick of being cooped up, we took my son out right away. We used common sense. Strangers were not allowed to get close. Family washed their hands before holding him. If they had been sick within the last week, they didn't visit. He's 22 months now and has never been sick!

i played by the rules, 6 weeks unless we went to the doctor. I hate to babies under that age out and about. and i geadually eased him out the house. but by about a month and a half he was almost everywhere with him. but to each her own.

8 days. And really, only because it took that long for me to heal enough to be able to sit up. Nasty tear.

We took him to a local bar and had lunch outside on the patio (June).

Our pediatrician said, to quote: "GET THAT BABY OUT! It's summer. Enjoy it!"

I took mine out on stroller walks the day after we got home from the hospital. She was running errands with me week one and went to restaurants by week 2. I did not allow her to be handled by others while on these outings, however.

We went several places, even the day we left the hospital! Just asked visitors if they had a cold or flu recently.

I have taken mine out at 2wks of age, but didn't allow anyone to hold them until they were 1 month old.

We took our son to quilt show that my mom entered when he was about 4 weeks old...don't remember if he went anywhere before that.

The day after we brought him home he had his first pediatrician appointment. Then we had to take him back the hospital every day for 3 more days for bilirubin tests. When he was 2 weeks old we started going to Mommy and Me sessions (they were at the hospital, too).
After that we'd go for mall walks early in the morning (before stores opened) and a few other places. I was a zombie from sleep deprivation and I didn't trust myself driving very much.

M.:

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

We took our son to the Outback the minute he was released from the NICU. We haven't let having children hold us back from doing things that we want to do - we do things as a family - but just because we had a baby doesn't mean we can't go out and live our lives.

He was freshly changed, nursed and was a social butterfly from the time he was born....no exaggeration!!! So we went!!

Hope this helps!

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M.:

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

We took our son to the Outback the minute he was released from the NICU. We haven't let having children hold us back from doing things that we want to do - we do things as a family - but just because we had a baby doesn't mean we can't go out and live our lives.

He was freshly changed, nursed and was a social butterfly from the time he was born....no exaggeration!!! So we went!!

Hope this helps!

hehehe... My daughter went over to a family member's house with us just a couple days after birth. We just had everyone wash their hands if they were near the baby... which laxed up after a few weeks. we took her to the grocery store at about a week old. By two months old she had been out and about several times with me.

with the little ones you don't want them to have too many people touching them (germs and whatnot) and you have to be careful of weather. So as long as they have good sun covering, and are warm but not too hot... then i don't see any reason why they can't go out with you.

My second is due in the middle of June, and I will be a bridesmaid in my SIL's wedding about 2 weeks after... so she'll be "in public" then... wive's tales or not! We'll probably be pretty strict on the "no touching" rules and bring a huge container of sanitary wipes with us for the occasion.

If course... some baby's are more "fragile" than others. If baby came out to early or had a condition or complication I would probably not bring her out in public so easily... so you wouldn't make things worse. But thankfully my pregnancy is healthy (knock on wood) and I am hoping and praying she is that way after i have her!

That said, i think babies should be a few months old before they take any long trips. At least if there is a choice in the matter.

-M.

You can go out, as long as you don't take him to crowded places like the mall. Fresh air is the best thing for your baby. I took mine out for walks daily. Also, going to grandma's house as long as no one is sick I don't see a problem. I just didn't do big crowds right away. I'm Italian and my family wouldn't take a child out until they were christened lol!! I didn't follow that rule either, I would have gone out of my mind. Going for walks helped me shed some weight and got the baby some wonderful fresh air!! And it helps babies sleep better. Good luck on your new arrival!!

My daughter was a C-Section so it took me a bit to get her out, but the second I was able to take her out I did. My son, being the second child was out in public almost immediently. I had him well bundled though.

Enjoy and Congratulations!

I was a single Mom - so I didn't have a choice but to take her out with me on errands. She was out with me by her 9th day out of the womb. Her first illness was not until 2 years old when we got a lighter version of the heavy handed rotavirus going around the kids in our area.

Hi Maria, this is a personal choice question, and there is no right or wrong answer. When I had my children (80's) we were told not to take them out around people until they were 6 weeks old, that's when they got their first shots. But even after that, I didn't take mine out where people smoked, where there were a lot children, and I did not take them into other peoples homes until they were a little older. 40 days is about 6 weeks. Sounds good to me. J.

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Hi Maria, this is a personal choice question, and there is no right or wrong answer. When I had my children (80's) we were told not to take them out around people until they were 6 weeks old, that's when they got their first shots. But even after that, I didn't take mine out where people smoked, where there were a lot children, and I did not take them into other peoples homes until they were a little older. 40 days is about 6 weeks. Sounds good to me. J.

I took my daughter with me to an outdoor music festival when she was three weeks old.

within a few days I had to go to Target for supplies I didn't trust my hubby to get. Both my kids went to Disneyland at 2 weeks. We had events we had to go to. Just because you take them out does not mean they have to be exposed to other people so much. Mine were bundled in the carrier/stroller with a blankie over the top. No on really knew what I had inside. If someone gets too close tell them to back off. You can be nice or mean. you don;t know them. They don't know you. You will probably never see them again so WHO CARES? I started nnice but when people didn't get it I got mean. Oh well. Thats life when you push you get pushed back. Be cautious but definately get out of the house! =0) Congratulations!

We took our newborn twins to my grandma's for a Halloween party. We brought LOTS of hand sanitizer and passed the bottles around with the babies. Everyone was very understanding. They were two weeks old then.

It's a personal decision and in my opinion depends on what time of year the baby is born. Our son was born at the end of summer, and had to make several trips to the Dr due to jaundice. In the first month - we would only go to the Dr office. We did allow visitors after the first 2 weeks to our home and asked that people not wear perfume and they had to wash hands before holding the baby.

I would of went out sooner if I had someone drive us or someone in the back with my daughter I was afraid of her head bobbing around. My daughter was 2weeks old. I just had my first baby & I was losing my grandmother. My grandma was in the ICU and they needed to meet. They both got to see each other.. well my grandma got to see & kiss her. Even asked is she was a good baby. My grandmother died 2 days later. We were at my grandmother's house just about everyday after.

Whenever you feel is the right time to bring your bundle of joy out.. is the right time.

I ran necessary errands but I didn't go visiting nor allow visits. Visiting means they want to hold the baby, have close contact. You definitely don't want a newborn catching viral or bacterial infections. There really isnt alot of medicine they can give a newborn, so you do want to be conservative with who/what the baby is exposed to. At least when doing errands, the baby was tucked away in it's carrier or stroller.

Now, I also didn't have much bandwidth to go visiting so soon after birth. I was definitely following to old rule "sleep when the baby sleeps".

Congratulations!

With the cold and flu season still in high effect, I would limit the outings to walks and outdoor acitivities. We took our little baby out after 2 weeks to an outdoor mall and walked around. That made us feel "normal" for a bit but I laughed at how we had the blanket over the stroller shielding her from the outter air germs :) We lasted about an hour and went home. Babies love being understimulated so the chaos factor kept to a minimum is always the way to go as well.

I learned most importantly, no grocery store, as bad as it sounds, no church either because these are the two places that people go even when they are sick :(

Just be aware and have a plan..babies are fragile and you will have your entire lives to venture out...maybe you can get out on your own for just a short bit and feel like you are able to breathe a little bit. A sick little person is quite frightening and RSV is the worst for the tiny ones...be careful.

My daughter is 16 now, but when I had her she was a scheduled C-section (she was frank breech presentation). She was born Wednesday morning and we checked out 3 days later, about lunchtime on Saturday. Our first stop was Wendy's for a burger, fries and a Frosty! Then to Target for Mommy supplies (pads) and baby belly button stuff and other things. We ran those few errands till I was tuckered out then home to chill out. Hubby was home with me that first week and I think we laid low, but had a few visitors.

The second week, hubby was back to work and I was still off..but out running errands and doing a few visits here and there. At 18 days old I was back to work 6.5 hours a day as a nanny for 2 small children. 2 weeks later I was back to 10-12 hour days.

I was fine, healed up great and she wasn't a sick child.

He was born on a Weds. We had a slew of visitors all touching and cradling him at the hospital. He was discharged on Friday. More visitors on the weekend, and to the pediatricians on Monday. Within 2 weeks, we bundled him up and took him to Starbucks, then via subway to Target. My parents and inlaws were firm believers that a baby needs fresh air. They would come by, bundle baby up and give him a good long walk, and me some much needed rest. He'd get one or two outings daily. He was born in October, and like the postman, neither rain, nor sleet, nor . . . would stand in the way.

We asked that people wash their hands initially. We used antibacterial lotion after dirty diapers ourselves, but never imposed that on others.

Ultimately, it is up to you. Enjoy your little bundle.

I'm pregnant right now, due in Sept. I'll take him out for walks soon as I feel like walking around, which will be immediately if it's like last time. But besides going to doctor appts., I won't take him anywhere until at least one month old, and since he'll be born right before cold&flu season starts up, I'll be limiting bringing him out until 6months or so. And limiting who comes over, mainly if anybody is sick they aren't welcome.

This question always makes me laugh... The pediatrians (and lots of traditions) recommend 8 weeks (or the 2 month mark). There was no way this was happening in my house...

I took my oldest out on her way home from the hospital, so what, like 3-days old, to Target. I was with her Daddy and we need some stuff at the house. I cannot remember what, but I do remember being able to grab an extra large mocha frap from the Starbucks inside Target on the way out. She HATED any caffeine in the womb - used to kick up a storm and make me ill to my stomach - so this was my treat!

Our second, a boy, we were taking out within about 2 weeks. It was September and the weather was SOOOOO nice! I started walking our local bike trail almost immediately upon getting home. It helped me get my strength back.

Our third, my most recent, was pretty much out immediately too, but she was a late February baby and the weather has been so cruddy that I took great pains to cover her over and protect her constantly. I also tried to go out during times when there were less folks around (especially kids) so we would go out during the week in the middle of the day. I could not wait till 8 weeks to go shopping and take care of my family just because a third baby had shown up. Hubby is working overtime (he is usually a SAHD) to cover my leave.

Basically, I think you need to do what you are comfortable with and use a little common sense too... I would never ever let anyone touch my new little one unless it was a familiar setting (like my house or a grandparents), I knew that person and everyone washed their hands before picking up the baby. When the youngest was covered, I never uncovered her when out - only in the car which was usually due to her 18m old bro pulling them off!

Good luck and congrats on the newest little one!!
~C.

I took mine out showing them off on the first day.

I had my son in August, and we took him out literally the day that we got home for the hospital for a walk in the park. He went to Wal-Mart at probably 5 days old because I needed things. It was cold/flu season for us, and honestly, I think the germs early on helped to build up his immunity because he is never sick. Son number 2 is also going to be born in August, and we will probably do the same with him!

I waited at least a month. but both of mine are late fall/winter babies.
I'd be afraid they would pick up something. like the flu, or the stomach flu , which is going around right now ( 7 were out in dh's office yesterday with it and he works in a small office) .

We took our baby out right away, a few days after she was born. Just be sure that people wash their hands before touching her or holding her. The WORST place to go is church - everyone wants to hold the baby and there's no hand washing nearby, and everyone seems to have the sniffles at church!
Luckily, flu and cold season is kind of nearing its end, so you should be a lot safer than in January!

We had to stop at the grocery store on the way home from the hospital. She was 3 days old.

Interesting you should mention old wives tales. I'm Greek and the folk wisdom is 6 weeks or 40 days as well. In church mom and baby would receive the 40 day blessing and this should be their first outing. Some of that timing is also related to when mom would be "fit" to be in public again not just to protect the baby. I certainly didn't wait that long...2 weeks maybe and I had to get out of the house to Walmart.

With my first baby, I didn't go anywhere but the midwife and pediatrician the first two weeks, since I was given orders not to drive (outdated advice really). People visited me at home, I didn't really go visiting for a couple of months. With my second, I was out and about sooner, in the bakery with him buying a cake for my husband's birthday when he was six days old, frequent visits to the lactation consultant, etc. I would avoid crowds and be careful of handwashing and avoiding illness with family members. I'd still say it's better for baby's health for people to visit YOU, who knows who else has been visiting your family/friends who may have been sick, may not be washing hands enough, etc.

very soon after she was born.. by one week old she had already been to the zoo and sea world, and hung out with both grandmothers extensively, uncles and aunts, and a cousin who was eleven months old at the time (a walking germ at that age), and family friends. She even went on a 5 hour road trip up to San Louis Obisbo for 3 days when she was 3 weeks old.
we did tote around no wash anti-bacterial lotion, or people had to wash their hands before picking her up / touching her - but you make your own call about what YOU are comfortable with =)

People came to visit me at my home within the first few days. Baby #1 also went to Target with us after her first pediatrician appt when she was 5 days old; started going to Mass with us around 30 days old, etc. My son (Baby #2) was born in November -- as cold season is getting going -- so we didn't really take him to anything until the week before Christmas when he was about 30 days old other than the pediatrician - that was a family Christmas party and then Christmas. I am currently 35 weeks prego with Baby #3- probably wait until about 4 or 5 weeks to take him out other than the pediatrician and maybe Mass. Getting fevers for little babies in the first 30 days can cause sepsis, meningitis, etc. -- I just never wanted to worry about it. However, now with 2 other kiddos in the house, they bring everything HOME with them anyway -- so I figure -- what's the difference!

I ran errands (had to buy different diapers) with DD when she was 3 days old and she had to go to the dr's on the 3rd and 7th days. She had limited contact with people the first weeks, but we did allow friends and family to come over if they were well.

I took my son to Target on the way home from the hospital. I don't remember what I bought, but I must've really needed it! That, or I had cabin fever from sitting in a hospital for three days. lol

the day after we got home. i really really really needed my Glen's fix (a restaurant and bakery). My husband and I used to eat there all the time (before they closed) and he went there the morning after our daughter was born, so when we got home, I made him take me and baby.

And yes, I ordered a cookie before breakfast came! :)

Hi Maria,

Well I got chewed out when I had my 1st bc I was out two days after he was born even though I left him w/his grandma to run home to grab some items and returned my cousin let me have it! Boy I didn't do that one again.

But the only time we went out was a quick run to the store & his check up that was it and he stayed covered up til someone spotted us in public but there was A NO TOUCHING POLICY!! I didn't allow ppl to touch him in public.

At home though everyone (family or friends) who came to visit had to use hand sanitizer before they even looked at him and they were given a towel for their clothes when they wanted to hold him. I did this bc his new baby skin could have been irritated from perfumes, colognes, etc. And I also didn't allow ppl to kiss him on his cheeks or face but only his Grandma could...and that's bc she had Granny Rights lol!!!

My first child was born on a Tuesday, we were discharged from the hospital on a Thursday, and he had his first pediatrician visit on Friday. Following the checkup, we went immediately home. Other than his pediatrician visit, I did not take him out of the house until he was 17 days old. At 17 days, it was his first holiday (Easter) and my husband and I took him to a walking trail at a local park for some fresh air. We weren't out for more than 2 hours max.

This is very much a personal choice, but factually, newborns do have immature immune systems. There is NO WAY in my right mind I would ever take my newborn to Wal-Mart or Target, that's absolutely ridiculous. My husband is amazing, and any and all items I needed following the birth (including sanitary pads) he was more than willing to pick up for us.

I'm 30 weeks pregnant with my second, and I will definitely be staying at home for awhile. I completely understand "cabin fever" but on occasions like that - a walk in the park or neighborhood will suffice. I wouldn't risk my child's health simply to "show them off" at families homes, church, the grocery store, restaurants, or retail stores. As far as I'm concerned, if anyone wants to see my children, they can visit my home, and they WILL wash their hands before they hold him. I also have a very strict "no visitors with illness" policy. RSV and other illnesses can be very scary for a newborn. Something to consider...

Staying home would drive me insane. I went out with my first when he was 5 days old (to Wal-Mart). My 2nd was 4 days old (grocery store) and my 3rd was 2 days old (welcome home party for a friend's husband who had been deployed - I was home from the hospital after 1 day). Obviously I took precautions to not let random people touch them or pick them up and family members had to be free of obvious illnesses and wash their hands, but I would say to go ahead and venture out as soon as your ready to. Keep your outings short, and bring more changes of clothes and diapers than you think you could ever use. Congratulations!