# How Soon Can Newborn Go Out in Public?



## Groggie (Apr 9, 2007)

My sister has four kids and with each of them after getting home from the hospital she basically didn't take them out of the house for a month. My mom on the other hand said she ran around with us a lot even as newborns.

I am wondering because my husband and I have our green card interview scheduled for 9 days after my due date! (I'm 8 mos. pregnant w/our first.) It is not great timing but we are hoping it will work out okay as we have been waiting forEVER for the interview, and people have told us that the green card interview tends to be short, like maybe an hour (we are a pretty straightforward case as my husband is nothing more exotic than Canadian).

Our plan is that if the baby has come by then, we just bring her along to the interview. Is that realistic? Could it be dangerous, i.e. exposing her to potential weird germs & infection? What have you experienced moms done?


----------



## rmzbm (Jul 8, 2005)

A baby can go out as soon after birth as mom feels like. Why wait? That's silly, LOL! Take your baby, it's fine!


----------



## mbhf (Jan 8, 2005)

I have taken all of my kids out on the 3rd or 4th day.


----------



## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

Just keep her in the sling so people are less likely to touch her.


----------



## lil_stinkyfeet (Nov 12, 2006)

Take her out as soon as you want to. But I agree with pp I do not let people touch my newborns. My middle ds got Rsv when he was 5weeks old and had to be hospitalized, it sucked


----------



## bobbirs (Sep 27, 2006)

my baby was taken out 2 days after birth...


----------



## Momma Aimee (Jul 8, 2003)

i think it all depends







There are no rules, not even socailly accepted customs any more...... it depends on the parents and on the sitaution you are taking the child to.

first off let me say I would go to the green card meeting, with my baby in a sling and not worry too much about it.

aslo -- 8 days past EDD you may still be pregant









Things we consider

time or year and weather

general health of me and infant

why are we going where we are going?
My son was a very small Nov baby -- cold, flue and RSV sesaon. Our EDD is the same week









so we CHOOSE that save Ped vivists and Momma check up the baby and momma do not leave the house for 8 weeks.....but we DO have family over for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

He was so small and had touble with weight gain anyway -- Theo getting sick at a few weeks old woudl have ended us in the hosptial. so we had to be extra careful.

this also gave me time to get a good handle on BF and to recover and to feel at ease with T before we started going out. I will need that time again to get used to a tot and a babe.

When we do go places the baby stays in the sling the whole time, I get int eh back seat, oput the child int eh sling and wear it till i get back in the car and put it back in the car seat. no one handles or touches the baby.

If we had something importnat to go to -- wedding, funeral, DH had a majior doc appt or whatever -- would go whenever -- in teh sling.

It is all in the parents and the why -- either of going out or staying home.

A


----------



## Ianthe (Dec 19, 2006)

I took my ds to Target when he was 6 days old. It was harder on me than on him- he was facsinated by all the ceiling lights..lol. You should be fine, unless you have JUST given birth, that would be a little harder.


----------



## Gr8ful Momma (Jul 16, 2007)

As long as she/he is healthy without any complications she should be able to go out immediately. I second keeping strangers away from her and make sure you have good handwashing before touching him/her, no need to give her/him any more exposure to germs then need be.


----------



## srbushey (Sep 27, 2006)

We are at a school that has a LOT of international students, many of them new parents, esp in my dh's graduate program. We took our dd to school when she was a little over a week old to show her off, and several of our international friends FREAKED! I wonder if it's a cultural thing, b/c they say you should NEVER take your baby out of the HOUSE before it's a month old!!! What on earth??? What about the goodness of fresh air? And being by ourselves (in the sense that we live several states away from any family) we had no choice even if we thought it was a real concern. My dd is 3 mos and as healthy and bright as can be wished for--never even had a runny nose.

One of my American friends said actually if you breastfeed, a little exposure to the world won't hurt your baby, they probably won't even get a cold. But I do appreciate ppl at least washing their hands before holding my newborn...

I just hope you're not late and end up in labor on the day you have your interview!


----------



## GooeyRN (Apr 24, 2006)

As long as they are healthy taking them out early shouldn't hurt. I also second putting them in a sling/carrier so that strangers are less likely to touch them.


----------



## AllisonR (May 5, 2006)

If they are born in a hospital, then they have already been out in public - and exposed to a million times more germs than you taking them just about anywhere else.
8 days PP you could be giving birth. Find out what happens if you have to miss the appt. 40 weeks is a due date, not expiration date. And it is inaccurate anyway. First time mommas that birth naturally average 41 weeks.


----------



## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

My theory is that if they're healthy enough to be in your home with you, they're healthy enough to go just about anywhere. I took DD1 out for pizza on my way home from the hospital, and I actually took her to a (non-smoking!) bar when she was 10 days old. I never worried too much; just kept her from being passed around and banked on the protective value of breastmilk to keep her safe.

I didn't take the twins out much until they were almost three months old, but that's because I was sick and overwhelmed and wanted to hide at home myself; I don't think it would have hurt THEM any.


----------



## groovynaturemama (Mar 8, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bobbirs* 
my baby was taken out 2 days after birth...

same here... the only thing we didn't get for her was a comb/brush before she was born. wouldn't you know, she came out with a full head of hair!


----------



## TirzhaZ (Jun 15, 2007)

Go ahead and take your DC. There is no reason to stay house-bound. Babies are a lot more resilient than most people give them credit for and fresh air is good for them.

Also, the green card meeting is fairly low-stress and short. We had one two years ago for DH's green card. The longest part for us was the wait and everything was over in about an hour.

Good luck at the interview! PM me if you want to know any specifics to help you prepare!


----------



## Groggie (Apr 9, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AllisonR* 
If they are born in a hospital, then they have already been out in public - and exposed to a million times more germs than you taking them just about anywhere else.
8 days PP you could be giving birth. Find out what happens if you have to miss the appt. 40 weeks is a due date, not expiration date. And it is inaccurate anyway. First time mommas that birth naturally average 41 weeks.

We are planning a home birth, assuming no complications come up requiring a transfer to the hospital. And we are just hoping that given a five-week window of 37-42 weeks in which our home birth is allowed she won't choose one of the more inopportune moments to come out! But if we have to miss the appointment b/c I'm in labor or stuck in the hospital for some awful reason we will just have to work it out between the immigration people and our lawyer (we are lucky enough to have an old friend of mine as a lawyer) ... hopefully the odds are that we'll be able to make it through a one-hour appointment in some way or another.

Immigration is such an unbelievably disorganized bureaucracy that we didn't want to risk our application disappearing down some black hole if we try to reschedule, so we only want to reschedule if we end up being forced to miss the appointment ...


----------



## Groggie (Apr 9, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TirzhaZ* 
Also, the green card meeting is fairly low-stress and short. We had one two years ago for DH's green card. The longest part for us was the wait and everything was over in about an hour.

Good luck at the interview! PM me if you want to know any specifics to help you prepare!

Thanks! I think we will be just fine with the interview itself as long as we're able to get to it - my main worry has only been about exposing baby to germs if she's brand new at that point. So I am really appreciating getting everyone's thoughts on it!


----------



## ALkiMom (May 30, 2007)

I had a C-Section. The hospital staff and my pedi said I could take her out as soon as we were released from the hospital (@ 4 days)... we stopped at the drugstore to fill a prescription on the way home, went to the Apple store to get a power cable the next day...

We take DD with us everywhere, and have from the get-go. Babywearing helps keep people from being too touchy-touchy, and I think it helped my recovery!


----------



## triscuitsmom (Jan 11, 2007)

Less than 24 hours after my son was born (in a hospital, which I agree are FAR more germy than just about anywhere else you may be with a babe) I was visiting family with him.

We made a pit stop home for a nurse/change/Mama clothes change... and then I was hungry so we went to Swiss Chalet for supper. I had been almost 43 weeks pregnant when we had been in there last and then I walk in with my babe... they were pretty surprised to see me out with a 27 hour old newbie!!!

Bottom line, if you are up to going, there is no reason for babe not to come with you.







:


----------



## KayCSmommy (Jan 9, 2007)

As soon as I was released from the hospital we went to sears. I needed a new fridge. My took a dump while I was in the hospital. We ended up being there for about 5 hrs. I did alot of baby shopping while we waited, because I had a whole 2 outfits for my son.


----------



## katiedidbug (Dec 16, 2006)

I actually went out and voted with DS on the way home from the hospital. Gotta practice my patriotic duty.







I never had a problem taking him out right away. I don't worry that much about germs, though, and DS has only been sick once or twice. I also never mind having other people hold DS, and other people I know freak out about it. I all about keeping my kid social and around as many people as possible.


----------



## reducereuserecycle (Jan 16, 2007)

dd was born 20 days after her dd. my concern is that baby will not come before its dd. if u give birth even a week after the dd, u most likely will not feel like going to the meeting.


----------



## momto l&a (Jul 31, 2002)

As soon as the momma feels like going out of the house


----------



## celestialdreamer (Nov 18, 2004)

If you are feeling up to it and the baby has arrived, then it should be fine







I definitely recommend keeping the baby bundled up in a sling so people don't try to touch him/her.

I would on the other hand really highly recommend seeing if your appointment can be moved a couple weeks later in case you go past your due date. That is a big very likely and you could either be 1 day pp, in labor, etc. You don't want to be stressing out about an important appointment at that time. I'm sure that if you let them know when your due date is they will reschedule. I mean what are they going to do, require you to come in while in labor...."ok honey, don't start pushing yet we just have to sign these papers...."









It will all work out! Congrats!


----------



## mudpuddle (Mar 12, 2007)

: haha yeah I agree.

I took ds out 3 or 4 days pp to a park for a little bbq with some friends. I am completely insane about germs and what not, but it was such a nice day out. and i had a c-section, so after having been pretty much in bed for a week I needed the fresh air. I figured being outside in such nice weather would be good for baby. I did keep him in a sling though, and no one even tried to touch him. Thats the thing i was most worried about.. but it worked out wonderfully. I wouldn't worry about taking a baby out, it really is more important how you feel. If it will make you feel better to get out then go! I know I hate being cooped up inside.

However I do agree that you should change your apt. in case you're in labor. Even if you haven't delivered by then you'll likely be very uncomfortable. Would it really hurt to make it a week or two later? just to give yourself the peace of mind?


----------



## kdtmom2be (Aug 26, 2006)

I took DD to Costco when she was 3 days old (after a c-section). She and I rode together on one of the flatdeck carts!







:


----------



## bellymama (Apr 15, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rmzbm* 
A baby can go out as soon after birth as mom feels like. Why wait? That's silly, LOL! Take your baby, it's fine!









i agree. i laid in for about 4 weeks, but that was because i wanted to (and just so happened to have a c-section, so even if i hadn't planned on laying in, i woulda been anyway







)...i see no compelling reason that anyone would HAVE to stay in if they wanted to get out.


----------



## tankgirl73 (Jun 10, 2007)

Quote:

f they are born in a hospital, then they have already been out in public - and exposed to a million times more germs than you taking them just about anywhere else.
Yeah, that. And the fact that anyone who comes into your house (even if you did a nice healthy homebirth), including you, is bringing in all the germs that they have encountered out in public anyway... I just don't see how the outside world is this teeming hotbed of nasty germs while just being inside your 4 walls means a sanitary sanctuary... No house is that clean!!

Besides which, anything that baby is exposed to, I'll be exposed to too -- and I'll make the antibodies for her. That's how the system is designed.









DD was born in hospital (due to health complications with me, we'd planned for a homebirth), born at 5am, discharged at noon, we all went grocery shopping that afternoon. It was mid-December but it was a warm day -- if it was REALLY cold we might have waited. But we were all bundled up anyway, her in a fleece pouch sling. We got TONS of adoring looks, people stunned when they asked how old she was and we said "about 12 hours" lol...


----------



## trmpetplaya (May 30, 2005)

As soon as mom feels up to it, it's fine to take baby out. I keep dd2 in the sling when I take her anywhere (she's gone to church, farmer's market, and the library book sale so far and she's 2 weeks old early tomorrow morning). I did wait until she was a week old, but that was mostly because everyone in my family (except my new baby) had a bad cold right after she was born so I needed to rest to get over the cold.

With dd1, I had to take her to the hospital ER when she was a day old because I had a kidney infection. Thankfully I wasn't admitted and we got to go home after I had an IV with fluids and some antibiotics. Then when she was 4 days old I had to go in for a follow-up appointment because they gave me the wrong abx for my infection in the ER... I can't think of anyplace germier than a hospital ER (and I did NOT want to take her there...), but she was just fine and didn't catch anything. My mom held her the whole time except when I held her and nursed her.

ETA - both my dd's were born at home which is why I was so upset about having to go to the hospital with my 1 day old...

love and peace.


----------



## UrbanPlanter (Nov 14, 2003)

I walked home from the hospital in New York City with my baby in the sling, and we were out every day since then. I never waited, but always kept him snug against me in the early weeks/months.


----------



## crysmomofthree (Mar 18, 2004)

I much prefer to stay home, but there is nothing wrong with taking a baby out in the early days


----------

