Leaving baby over night

[Toizzy]

Im just wondering if it's common to leave your baby over night with for example grand parents?
And how old are your babies?

[Thurlow]

Totally depends on circumstances. I imagine most people don't. I did at about 8 weeks I think, but DD was formula fed, I'd already spent night's with her at my parents house, and I trusted my parents to do what I wanted them to do with her. I think that's quite rare though.

[Millie3030]

My little one is 8months and I have left him overnight with grandparents 4/5 times, and my sister once. It's all been fine and lovely!

[Millie3030]

My friend also has left her little boy overnight at her mums once a week (2/3 times a month) since he was born, he is now nearly 10 months, she gets a lay in, grandma loves it, win win.
I suppose it depends on how willing the family are to help out, my family are itching to get their hands on my son, and always ask when they get their next turn! :-)

[ScottishInSwitzerland]

I think it must depend if you are breast feeding or not

I did ebf and left my first dd at about 18 months and my second at 14 months because before then they fed at bedtime and during the night.

I probably could have left them sooner but I just didn't really want to.

I now live abroad and my mum looks after the girls every few months.

[Toizzy]

My lo is 8 months old and i am still breastfeeding him.The bf actually means it wouldn't be very practical to leave him for more than a few hours.I don't express milk because am a sahm so not much point. .
But it's not just that , he wakes 2-3 times a night generally so i can't imagine leaving someone else to deal with that.
And most importantly i suppose i can't imagine that he would be ok , he's never spent much time away from me or his dad..maybe that's a mistake and you should get babies used to staying with other ppl from an early age?I just didn't really see the point, and didn't really want to part from my pfb tbh.
Bit it does limit your social life a bit doesn't it, dp fonds that a bit difficult. .

[Thurlow]

On the coping front, I don't worry about it too much - as my parents remind me, they do a night or two of it and then get several months of sleeping through every night

I think that yes, if they start when they are really tiny then they probably are happier with it as they grow up, it seems very normal to them. But that's not a reason to do it, and in most cases it's just not practical to do.

[GingerDoodle]

Depends on you / the gp's / the baby! My DD is 17 months old today and we've never left her over night. We've never had the need to!

[TheBookofRuth]

DD is two and has spent every Friday night at her grandma's (my DM) since she was about 6 months old. I BF and in fact still do, she just had bottles once a week till she got old enough not to miss it for those few hours.

She loves it and so does DM, they have great fun together. And it probably saved DH's and my sanity, as DD didn't sleep for more two hours at a time till she was about 20 months, so that night of uninterrupted sleep was a godsend!

[Thurlow]

Have you been able to start going out for dinner for a few hours?

Little ones do limit your social life a lot though! DD might go to my parents quite regularly but it nearly always is to help when we have an insane work schedule or a few weddings, which aren't really the socialising I see as good socialising. DD is over 2 now and it's only now that we've felt comfortable with a babysitter and going out to dinner for a few hours.

[MamaPingu]

Yes DS has stopped at my parents about 4-5 nights since 2 months old, he's now 6 months.

But we did live there until he was 2 months so it was kind of normal

[Mrswellyboot]

I haven't left our five month old and he is now ff. I had a girls night put a two hour drive away when he was two months old and I brought dh and DS with me to an adjacent hotel. I just couldn't leave him that young. It didn't spoil the night at all.

Other than tha we have had two nights out locally to the theatre and a meal but collected baby from relatives after and was home by midnight.

[Toizzy]

sorry for not replying earlier.We haven't been out just the two of us yet no.We might at some point but it wouldn't be very often as it would be too expensive to pay for babysitting + meal or cinema or whatever.
I just wondered what everyone else did as ppl around me seem to think we should be leaving baby with other ppl.Even my dp said we will "have" to leave him with other ppl soon .

[emsyj]

I left DD1 with PILs overnight when she was a few weeks past 1, shortly after I gave up breastfeeding. I stopped bf DD2 a little earlier and left her last weekend aged 13 months with PILs overnight for the first time. She didn't sleep through but as far as they have told me she wasn't distressed, she just woke up had some milk and went back to sleep. She shared a room with DD1 which probably helped. They both spend all day with PILs on a Friday every week while I am at work, so the house is familar to them both and they know the PILs well.