When is ok to take newborns out in public?

Hi Moms!

We are due to have our twins in 6-8wks and my husband and I were wondering...When is it safe to take babies out in public?
Should we skip the family grocery shopping trip?

Everyone says it's great to go out to eat when they are first born because they sleep so much. But I'm nervous, we live in New England and flu and cold season will be here when they are born...how confined to our house do we need to be, and for how long??

thanks!!
reb

 

You should probably wait about 6weeks. By that time they've had their newborn shots so it is safer. Since they will be born in the cold season it may be better to keep them in a little more...(just my opinion)...Congrats!!!

 

Honestly I didn't have the energy that first few months to leave the house with them, mine were a little fussy and the thought of taking them out was not appealing in the least. Plus their feeding schedule was so erratic that you never new how much time you had between feedings, and we were breastfeeding too.
For me I am glad I kept them in because they didn't get sick at all. But if you do decide to take them out just take some reasonable precautions, don't have people touching, holding them that you don't know. Make sure people wash their hands before touching the babies, and if anyone is feeling even remotely sick, ask them to not visit the babies until they are feeling 100% better.

Good luck!!

 

I live in Pennsylvania and my girls were born at the end of December. Our pediatrician had advised us to try and stay home the first 8 weeks if possible and limit the number of outings to only the essential ones like doctor's appointments etc. My girls were born at 35 weeks. I pretty much followed her instructions. I just wanted to keep them as healthy as I could. Not only was it mid winter but I think the doctor was concerned about other people in public wanting to come and see the baby (breathing on them, touching them, etc). As a side note, my girls didn't get sick.

 

I agree w/ pp's but its really up to your discretion. I think if they dont have any medical concerns when they are born, you are able to take them out as soon as you're comfortable, but I wouldnt do it often. I remember being in the grocery store with my first son when he was about 3 wks old (If I Remember Correctly), and someone made a rude comment along the lines of "Did you bring him here straight from the hospital?" That was the first time I had taken him out of the house, aside from his 2 wk weight check with the DR. I may have taken him out once or twice, before his 6 wks was up.. but he was very healthy.

 

I live in Southern California, so my situation may have been a little different because we have pretty warm weather here year round. But my girls were 28 weekers, spent 10 weeks in the NICU and once they were discharged their pedi said that I could take them out as much as I wanted but to be careful of other people coming up and touching them. I took them out at least 2-3 times a week and never once did they even so much as catch a cold. GL!

 

We live in Maine and all our kids were born in the winter. We didnt take them out till the docs appts. Then we went home. I dont think we took them grocery shopping till they were 6+ weeks.

 

My babes were born in September at 36 weeks 5 days. We were in hospital 2 days and came home. When they were 5 days old I took them out into public - I went to my girlfriends (she lives 1.5 hours away) and we took the twins to the mall. I take my twins out somewhere everyday. It's nice to get out and they are so little at this point - why not!?

 

My twins were born at 35 weeks. When we got discharged 9 days later the hospital said to wait until their original due date to take them out in public (except for doctor's appointments) just because they were small and being in their car seats for that long could cause problems. Just be prepared for your shopping trip to last twice as long because you will be stopped by everyone. On our first trip out in public we were stopped by at least 10 people in the first few minutes. I joked that I was going to write up a stat sheet to hand out to people because eveyone wanted to hear their story. It is cute for the first few people, but after 10 people it gets old real fast. At this age with multiple feedings you need to get in and out of places. We will be walking thru the mall or an aisle at the store and people will step right in front of my carriage blocking my way to just take a look. Don't get me wrong I love showing off my kids, but sometimes you just need to get something and get home.

 

My son was full term, and a singleton, but we went out to eat on the way home from the hospital, then stopped at wal-mart for milk and bread and things. It never did him any harm, though we didn't let strangers touch him, and we used lots of hand sanitizer. *shrug*