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To give a newborn a house tour

153 replies

Differentstarts · 25/02/2025 20:06

At work today I was talking to a pregnant colleague and she said it will be so strange taking a baby home and what do you actually do with a baby when you get home from hospital and I said with mine I took them on a tour of the house to show themwhere everything is and where they would be sleeping. By this point other colleagues had joined the conversation and thought it was funny and weird that I did this. I assumed most people would do this when they bring their babies home. Am i weird or is this normal 🙈🤣🤣

OP posts:
caringcarer · 25/02/2025 22:03

I did this when my DD was born. I remember showing her the bedroom she'd be sleeping in and telling her when she was bigger she could choose her own bedroom colours but for now Mummy had chosen pink 🩷 for her. I remember DH laughing.

Sugargliderwombat · 25/02/2025 22:05

This is the cutest idea! Im 39 weeks pregnant and will be getting our toddler to help us show the baby around when we get home. Thanks OP!

PinkCherryPie · 25/02/2025 22:07

I'm pretty sure we did a house tour too, but the first 3 months are such a blur I can't actually remember doing it.

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Orangeoranges42 · 25/02/2025 22:08

We did the same.
We talked to our baby ALOT from day 1 and as to expected they were quite early talkers.

TicTac80 · 25/02/2025 22:19

YANBU!! I did this with both my DC. I was on my own with DC1 so maybe then it was more because I was a bit shellshocked by the whole thing and thinking, "WTH do I do now?!" when I got back from hospital.

WhatsitWiggle · 25/02/2025 22:23

I did this! Nearly 17 years ago now, but DD had been in NICU and SCBU for 4 weeks at two different hospitals, so it was a way of saying "this is our family home, no more hospitals". She was fast asleep throughout so definitely for my benefit.

DisforDarkChocolate · 25/02/2025 22:28

I just sat on the sofa with tea and chocolate, your idea is nicer.

Smallinthesmoke · 25/02/2025 22:29

I think that is charming!

CoolNoMore · 25/02/2025 22:30

Thank you for this thread, OP. I didn't give any of mine a tour but I wish I had now. With DS1 I put his carseat on the floor, sat on the sofa and stared at him in total shock.

Normallynumb · 25/02/2025 22:31

I did that with mine as well
It's just walking around the house, chatting and soothing them
Soon enough, you pace the floor trying to get them to stop crying!
It's not like a prospective buyer viewing a house for sale.

ShamrockShenanigans · 25/02/2025 22:34

Differentstarts · 25/02/2025 20:10

Ok I didn't realise I genuinely thought everyone would do this but obviously not 🤣🤣

No you didn't.

It's still funny though and cute.

Waitingforthecold · 25/02/2025 22:34

I did this! Maybe not immediately but in the first few days on the odd occasion she was awake I was like ‘wanna see a new room!?’ ‘This is where we eat dinner’ ‘this is the garden sorry about the mess’ etc 😂

Blubbles · 25/02/2025 22:36

I remember sitting down in the sofa, she was in the moses basket...and I looked around and thought "well, what now? What do I do?"

Didn't know if I could get a cup of tea, it if I should be doing something for baby, it if I was allowed to go to bed 🤣🤣

Waitingforthecold · 25/02/2025 22:37

Waitingforthecold · 25/02/2025 22:34

I did this! Maybe not immediately but in the first few days on the odd occasion she was awake I was like ‘wanna see a new room!?’ ‘This is where we eat dinner’ ‘this is the garden sorry about the mess’ etc 😂

I also act like a YouTuber doing a haul when I’m putting food shop away or doing my makeup. It entertains them!! Might feel like a bit of a tit but all babies want is to be close and sometimes you gotta get shit done!

Nellsbell · 25/02/2025 22:47

I think it’s cute but no I didn’t do this. I was way too knackered and just glad to be home! But I do remember looking at my newborn thinking what have we done! Ultimate adulting and responsibility.

Sodullincomparison · 25/02/2025 22:59

I was sent home the day before DD and the hospital had logged it as us both leaving so the Health Visitor was there at the door as we arrived rather than the next day.

The man was finishing laying the carpet and there was no furniture back in the living room. A last minute panic about hard floors and a baby.

it was an absolute farce and chaotic and parenthood has remained the same ever since.

PurpleDiva22 · 25/02/2025 23:05

Honeypickle · 25/02/2025 20:54

I think that’s really lovely - but I bet you won’t do it with your second/third!!! Seriously though, very sweet and well done you x

Why wouldn't she do it with a second or third?

Arglefraster · 26/02/2025 00:19

I did that with our first, DH thought I was bonkers (I hadn't slept in 4 days Tbf so I probably was quite bonkers). The others were born at home so I didn't give them a tour - which makes absolutely no sense at all 🤣

HundredPercentUnsure · 26/02/2025 00:27

I took my first baby on a house tour too! Described everything like anl soothing audio book 🫣

Second baby just got plonked in the bassinet on the mat as soon as we got back from hospital because we were racing to get home for the imminent food shop delivery (and baby2 never really stopped getting plonked on the mat thereafter, either) 😂

hereismydog · 26/02/2025 00:28

We brought our 2 day old DS home and showed him to the dog through the stairgate and the dog was NOT impressed. Howling, hiding and barking like we were being burgled!

DP and I both sat in silence on the sofa, heads in hands wondering what the fuck we’d done and how we were going to negotiate this massive problem and decided to just go to bed and figure it out in the morning. DDog had got over himself by the morning and now just wants to look at his baby brother all the time and sniff his little feet, no further tantrums have been thrown! He does sigh very dramatically and shove his head under a blanket when DS cries, though 😂

JustBitetheKnotsOff · 26/02/2025 11:06

HundredPercentUnsure · 26/02/2025 00:27

I took my first baby on a house tour too! Described everything like anl soothing audio book 🫣

Second baby just got plonked in the bassinet on the mat as soon as we got back from hospital because we were racing to get home for the imminent food shop delivery (and baby2 never really stopped getting plonked on the mat thereafter, either) 😂

I remember a midwife saying, "First baby, it's in the living room on display in a lovely Moses basket. Second baby, in the playpen to stop the first baby getting it. Third baby, it's usually, 'Oh yes, where did we put the baby?'"

MargaretThursday · 26/02/2025 13:04

Can't remember for dd1.
Dd2 my mil was there and she'd planned to give dd1 (aged nearly 3) a little bag of presents as I came in. Which was a lovely idea.
Unfortunately dd1 looked in the bag, pulled out the chocolate and asked if she could have it, to which mil said "no because we're about to have dinner". So I was dealing with an upset 3yo.

Ds we arrived home at 4am so just shoved him in only place we had for him to sleep (dd2's doll cot) as we weren't ready for him to arrive that early.
4hours later the girls were dropped back off with us so they had a cuddle followed by we took him into school/preschool with them and the teachers had a cuddle. The head said he was the youngest baby she'd held.
So he got a tour of the preschool and school he went to I guess.

MemorableTrenchcoat · 26/02/2025 13:15

BansheeOfTheSouth · 25/02/2025 20:24

Not weird at all, treating your newborn as a valued member of the family. You'd show an older child around a new home why not an infant?

An older child can see properly, comprehend what they’re seeing and remember it. A newborn can’t even begin to do any of this.

Derbee · 26/02/2025 13:17

MemorableTrenchcoat · 26/02/2025 13:15

An older child can see properly, comprehend what they’re seeing and remember it. A newborn can’t even begin to do any of this.

If you only do things that a newborn can comprehend and remember, you won’t be doing much! That is much stranger than pootling around the house showing them where things are on my opinion.

Mrsttcno1 · 26/02/2025 13:19

I love this idea OP! My daughter is 10 months old now but the day we first got home from the hospital I sat down with her on the sofa for 5 mins, looked over at my husband and we both then at the same time asked “what do we do now then”😂😂