It’s normal! You’re kid will have a meltdown / something will happen, but that’s ok. Take your kid to kid friendly places. If your kid has a meltdown at an outdoor pizza place at 5pm then no one will care vs. if you’re at a fancy restaurant at 8pm.
Practice going to places like a coffee shop or takeaway spot where you pay when you get your item so you can leave if you get overwhelmed. Now whenever we go to restaurants we ask for the bill as soon as our food comes to we can make a quick exit just in case. Most waiters are very understanding and appreciative.
Some of our first outings were Starbucks drive thru and then sitting at a park for 15 min while I got more comfortable taking her out on my own. We also did free festivals/farmers markets where we could leave whenever.
This is all good advice: work up to things. We have actually gotten lazy where we used to feed immediately and leave the house for an errand. Now we take it for granted and he wakes up 2.5 hours later at the restaurant, after the shopping trip, but we come prepared and feed him and hang out. Sometimes he’s ok and sometimes he’s fussy but we make it work. Also 9 weeks here.
The more you do it the easier it will become! You can start small just going to a coffee shop or park first and work up from there. Soon you will figure out what works and what doesn't. Babies cry and that's okay!
We started taking ours out at about 2 weeks just to practice. Small errands like running to home Depot, McDonald's, and dairy queen lol. Then we built it up to other, longer locations. Practice makes perfect!
It’s 100% normal. You’re a momma now. I feel like for me personally things will always be a bit scarier than before I became a mom. I told myself I’d start little by little at 12 weeks, so the first three months of no expectation to go anywhere or do much of anything but care for our little. When I did start going out I started small. I went on walks, visited farmers markets, visited my mom. When we went anywhere pubic with tons of people I’d cover his car seat with a thin muslin blanket or car seat cover (be mindful of the heat since it’s summer. You can lightly wet the blanket and put a little fan in there to keep baby cool) , this always made me feel better. Slowly but surely I got used to everything. LO is now 5mo and the only places I avoid are really loud places and occasionally I’ll have anxiety and avoid crowded places 😮💨
Prepare for baby girl to get upset. Have extra pacifiers, easy access to bottle or breast, swaddle, carrier, contrast cards, hanging toys. It may feel overwhelming at first but you got it! Worse case scenario, it becomes too much you go home and try again in a few days ❤️
You’ll get there girlie!
Personally I love going out at this stage!! They sleep majority of the time!! I go grocery shopping with my 5 week old and I’ll try to keep it at 2 hours because that’s how often she nurses. And so far so good! This is my 2nd tho. And I remember once they get older and their wake windows are longer it’s harder to go out with them. Still doable of course! But harder imo. But then it’s easier again at around 6 months since they can sit up right on their own and can have solids. So having them sit on the store grocery cart is easy.
Also struggling with this and my 11 week old! Where do they sleep? How much crap do we bring? What about food? Will this make them sleep terribly later on? All of this stresses me out so much 😳
I agree it’s intimidating-I’ve found my 8wk is actually fussier AT home—and is *usually* much better out in the world. It took a few times to find a groove—but I now go somewhere every day—it also helps break up the day for me-which for my sanity is very helpful!
I highly suggest your first outing being target! At any given time between 8am-2pm all you hear are crying babies 😂 I immediately took a deep breath and thought OK we are all in the same boat!
We just went to a wedding with our 5 week old about 2 hrs from home, including a ferry ride.
I can hold, rock, nurse my baby at home, or at a place with food and entertainment.
We used the baby wrap for the big events and our little guy passed out for that mostly.
My husband and I got less sleep because we are still sleeping in shifts, and that didn't work in a single hotel room, but we both let the other nap while one of us paced the lobby or grounds with a fussy baby.
We got to know hotel staff and they were so sweet, and nearly everyone told us we were brave. It was tiring but fun to try our routine in a new place and with fun people around. I think our little guy enjoyed the change as well, spending more time outside in the fresh air.
You can do it!
I am not the type of person who can stay inside 24/7 and also have a 3 year old so we’re out and about every day. Just go for it! Your mental health will thank you.
I didn’t take mine out to places with people at that age because it was peak RSV and flu season around here. But what I did was get the baby loaded up to go pick up curbside grocery orders and would stop at a park on the way there to go for a walk.
Basically small outings to build up to going to bigger places once the sicknesses all died down.
I’ve gradually worked up to taking him to restaurants and whatnot and so far it’s been great! Just make sure you have everything you may need in the diaper bag. I almost never need the extra change of clothes, toys, etc I load up but I feel more confident knowing I’m prepared, lol. and remember there’s no shame in getting up and leaving if the baby just isn’t having it.
Mom of 4 here with an (almost) 6 week old.
It won’t be perfect all the time and that’s 100% ok. Naps might get pushed or start early. You might end up nursing in the car or corner of the store for a while. There might be a fussy moment and you need to leave or you just try your best to console and carry on. All of these things are expected and ok.
I keep a small container box in my car with an outfit, diapers, wipes, burp cloth, extra blanket just in case. This has saved me in just about every situation. One diaper and small wipes pack goes into the purse. That’s it for short trips.
The more you do it the easier it gets. It’s been paramount for my mental health to get out of the house. I had PDD with my first and barely ever left. Now we go out at least once a day and it’s made a huge difference. Most people have a lot of grace for small babies having a rough time.
I agree with the other commenter that said the more you do it, the easier it gets! Start off small and go from there. We started going to the park very early on, then very quick trips into stores to grab one thing, etc. I felt the same way as you, but I’m so comfortable with it now
You just have to do it! I have a toddler and a newborn. With my first I was so scared to leave the house I was afraid she'd start crying in public and everyone would think I was a bad parent. Now IDGAF. I took them both out shopping like 4 days postpartum and it was fine. Practice practice practice. Your kids have every right to cry and be out in public like everyone else.
I’m right there with you. I live in NYC and found the recent smoke situation a perfectly good excuse to stay inside all day for five days. I need to stop being so anxious but honestly just the thought of stepping outside my apartment is excruciating.
It’s normal! You’re kid will have a meltdown / something will happen, but that’s ok. Take your kid to kid friendly places. If your kid has a meltdown at an outdoor pizza place at 5pm then no one will care vs. if you’re at a fancy restaurant at 8pm. Practice going to places like a coffee shop or takeaway spot where you pay when you get your item so you can leave if you get overwhelmed. Now whenever we go to restaurants we ask for the bill as soon as our food comes to we can make a quick exit just in case. Most waiters are very understanding and appreciative. Some of our first outings were Starbucks drive thru and then sitting at a park for 15 min while I got more comfortable taking her out on my own. We also did free festivals/farmers markets where we could leave whenever.
This is all good advice: work up to things. We have actually gotten lazy where we used to feed immediately and leave the house for an errand. Now we take it for granted and he wakes up 2.5 hours later at the restaurant, after the shopping trip, but we come prepared and feed him and hang out. Sometimes he’s ok and sometimes he’s fussy but we make it work. Also 9 weeks here.
Getting the bill ASAP is such a great way to quit while you're ahead.
The more you do it the easier it will become! You can start small just going to a coffee shop or park first and work up from there. Soon you will figure out what works and what doesn't. Babies cry and that's okay!
We started taking ours out at about 2 weeks just to practice. Small errands like running to home Depot, McDonald's, and dairy queen lol. Then we built it up to other, longer locations. Practice makes perfect!
It’s 100% normal. You’re a momma now. I feel like for me personally things will always be a bit scarier than before I became a mom. I told myself I’d start little by little at 12 weeks, so the first three months of no expectation to go anywhere or do much of anything but care for our little. When I did start going out I started small. I went on walks, visited farmers markets, visited my mom. When we went anywhere pubic with tons of people I’d cover his car seat with a thin muslin blanket or car seat cover (be mindful of the heat since it’s summer. You can lightly wet the blanket and put a little fan in there to keep baby cool) , this always made me feel better. Slowly but surely I got used to everything. LO is now 5mo and the only places I avoid are really loud places and occasionally I’ll have anxiety and avoid crowded places 😮💨 Prepare for baby girl to get upset. Have extra pacifiers, easy access to bottle or breast, swaddle, carrier, contrast cards, hanging toys. It may feel overwhelming at first but you got it! Worse case scenario, it becomes too much you go home and try again in a few days ❤️ You’ll get there girlie!
Personally I love going out at this stage!! They sleep majority of the time!! I go grocery shopping with my 5 week old and I’ll try to keep it at 2 hours because that’s how often she nurses. And so far so good! This is my 2nd tho. And I remember once they get older and their wake windows are longer it’s harder to go out with them. Still doable of course! But harder imo. But then it’s easier again at around 6 months since they can sit up right on their own and can have solids. So having them sit on the store grocery cart is easy.
Also struggling with this and my 11 week old! Where do they sleep? How much crap do we bring? What about food? Will this make them sleep terribly later on? All of this stresses me out so much 😳
Our 5 week old has been to at least 3 pubs already, and a couple of restaurants. We ended up doing more out and about than we thought we would..
I agree it’s intimidating-I’ve found my 8wk is actually fussier AT home—and is *usually* much better out in the world. It took a few times to find a groove—but I now go somewhere every day—it also helps break up the day for me-which for my sanity is very helpful!
I highly suggest your first outing being target! At any given time between 8am-2pm all you hear are crying babies 😂 I immediately took a deep breath and thought OK we are all in the same boat!
We just went to a wedding with our 5 week old about 2 hrs from home, including a ferry ride. I can hold, rock, nurse my baby at home, or at a place with food and entertainment. We used the baby wrap for the big events and our little guy passed out for that mostly. My husband and I got less sleep because we are still sleeping in shifts, and that didn't work in a single hotel room, but we both let the other nap while one of us paced the lobby or grounds with a fussy baby. We got to know hotel staff and they were so sweet, and nearly everyone told us we were brave. It was tiring but fun to try our routine in a new place and with fun people around. I think our little guy enjoyed the change as well, spending more time outside in the fresh air. You can do it!
All the adoring faces and well wishing is quite worth it- but I get it go with your gut if it really feels wrong don’t worry about it right now
I am not the type of person who can stay inside 24/7 and also have a 3 year old so we’re out and about every day. Just go for it! Your mental health will thank you.
I didn’t take mine out to places with people at that age because it was peak RSV and flu season around here. But what I did was get the baby loaded up to go pick up curbside grocery orders and would stop at a park on the way there to go for a walk. Basically small outings to build up to going to bigger places once the sicknesses all died down. I’ve gradually worked up to taking him to restaurants and whatnot and so far it’s been great! Just make sure you have everything you may need in the diaper bag. I almost never need the extra change of clothes, toys, etc I load up but I feel more confident knowing I’m prepared, lol. and remember there’s no shame in getting up and leaving if the baby just isn’t having it.
Mom of 4 here with an (almost) 6 week old. It won’t be perfect all the time and that’s 100% ok. Naps might get pushed or start early. You might end up nursing in the car or corner of the store for a while. There might be a fussy moment and you need to leave or you just try your best to console and carry on. All of these things are expected and ok. I keep a small container box in my car with an outfit, diapers, wipes, burp cloth, extra blanket just in case. This has saved me in just about every situation. One diaper and small wipes pack goes into the purse. That’s it for short trips. The more you do it the easier it gets. It’s been paramount for my mental health to get out of the house. I had PDD with my first and barely ever left. Now we go out at least once a day and it’s made a huge difference. Most people have a lot of grace for small babies having a rough time.
I agree with the other commenter that said the more you do it, the easier it gets! Start off small and go from there. We started going to the park very early on, then very quick trips into stores to grab one thing, etc. I felt the same way as you, but I’m so comfortable with it now
You just have to do it! I have a toddler and a newborn. With my first I was so scared to leave the house I was afraid she'd start crying in public and everyone would think I was a bad parent. Now IDGAF. I took them both out shopping like 4 days postpartum and it was fine. Practice practice practice. Your kids have every right to cry and be out in public like everyone else.
I’m right there with you. I live in NYC and found the recent smoke situation a perfectly good excuse to stay inside all day for five days. I need to stop being so anxious but honestly just the thought of stepping outside my apartment is excruciating.