Leaving the house whilst the baby is asleep.

[Plateofcrumbs]

Which (if any) of these are reasonable reasons to leave the confines of your house whilst you are home alone and the baby is napping in their cot?

1. quickly putting the bins out at end of (short) front garden, not carrying baby monitor.

2. Gardening in largish back garden, carrying baby monitor although it occasional goes out of range for short periods (1 minute or so)

3. Sitting on patio with a glass of wine in the evening, with monitor

4. Rescuing your cat from front garden of neighbour 4 doors down (away from house for 2 mins, carrying monitor still in range)

5. Collecting a parcel from neighbour 2 doors down (out of house for 2 mins, no monitor).

6. clearing up a bin bag full of nappies that has been ripped apart by a fox and is scattered across street in front of your house (out for 5 mins, monitor in range).

I have done some of these, DH has done others. Are we U?

I am particularly pfb and over cautious and extremely anxious so I wouldn't do any of these. I can barely bring myself to leave the room to do a wee while he's asleep though so I am not a good judge for these things. I would have no qualms if someone told me they'd done these things though, I think they're reasonable enough, I just couldn't do them myself because of how I am.

4 and 5 are the only ones I wouldn't be making a habit off. As a one off maybe.

I've done similar to most of these and think it's fine.
I was always sorely tempted to go to the post office at the end of the road but never did.

I personally wouldn't do 4 or 5 as where I live it would be too far but if neighbours lived in terraced houses I would.

I have to sometimes pop to the car to get pram/car seat or something.

I try to plan the night before- doesn't always work.

I also sometimes have to load the car up if I'm going away. I get everything ready, baby goes to sleep in car seat, then do two runs.

TREASON!

I would do all of those things without a monitor. I do things regularly when DS2 is napping, once he's down, he's out for the count for hours and hours and he can't get out of his crib.

I'm guessing we're probably less risk averse here, I'd probably be more so if I was back in the UK. Here it seems totally reasonable to leave the kids sleeping and nip across the street to chat to someone for 10 minutes, or walk the dogs around the complex once the kids are in bed.

We have along garden, and cars are parked 20m or so away from the house. If I couldn't go to the car with the kids inside I would go loopy!

Saying that DPs car needed a jump start last week. He had it all set up, just needed my car key and company in case he electrocited himself In the 5 mins that it took DS(just turned 3) managed to smash a China plate and clear it up into the bin. Would have been the perfect crime if it wasn't for me catching him picking the last bit up and the tiny paper-cut on his thumb. "There is red on my hand"

But oddly enough I wouldn't have gone out of our garden to next door / the letterbox in our old house despite them both being closer than where my car is parked at our new place.

Arf at "slam shit" :o

The furthest I'd go (with monitor) is within my own small garden. I have sat in the garden for an hour or so with the back door in sight and someone going in frequently.

If the monitor went out of range I wouldn't go to that area. If you're gardening you can't constantly watch the monitor to see how often it goes out of range.

I would do all except 2 and 5, although I have a DH so I have rarely had to do them.

But what about the foxes?

I don't think any are particularly unreasonable, as long as you've made a sensible judgment based on how close you are to your front door and whether you've got the keys in your pocket. There are parts of my town where "2 doors away" almost justifies a trip in the car to get there and back (in which case you might be a tiny bit u) All of your scenarios have probably cropped up for us too though, and we've survived.

I had an ongoing internal debate during mat leave that the bakery was technically closer to the house than the washing line at the end of the garden, therefore a quick cake stop was no different to doing the laundry. Fortunately I didn't have a portable baby monitor to justify popping out for even more regular nap time cakes, that really would have been the beginning of the end.

I'd do all of those without worrying about it too much, providing I had my keys on me. I speak from bitter experience- I did 1) and got locked out of the house by my toddler slamming the door after me! Baby wasn't even asleep in his cot but was on playmat...wasn't a brilliant moment

All are reasonable, none are treasonable.

I'd do most things if DS was in his cot or playpen (and previously his high chair until I found him in the middle of the dining table playing with my car keys). He is just 1.

Possibly treasonable if you are the Duchess of Cambridge and are leaving our little Prince all alone whilst you pop round to a neighbouring estate.

Bloody foxes again!

I don't think any of them are particularly unreasonable like others say it's making a sensible judgement ensuring you have a key especially for us (Yale lock!)

5. is the one I'm personally not sure about, depends on the distance of 2 doors down and what they are like...... I know there are two of our neighbours I just cannot get away from without being rude about it. Nothing to them is more important, I would not like to divulge to them that I have to get back urgently as I've had leave DD for 2 mins to pick up the parcel as it would be on the news!!! TBH I think they might even question where my DD was!

I would do all of them without thinking, except I've never had or used a monitor so that bit doesn't apply.

I've done lots of gardening with baby's window open, can hear crying then. The furthest off my property I've been is the post box, 5 doors down. Pop letter in and then back. My doors need a key to lock them so no danger of being locked out

I think I was a bit hmm about DH collecting a parcel because it was leaving for a non-urgent reason. It could have waited until we were both home.

Whereas I've either been within the 'perimeter' or having to deal with something urgent (cat; street strewn with nappies).

I know someone that popped out to put the bin out. A gust of wind blew the door shut and her keys were inside! Baby upstairs asleep. It was panic stations for a while...

Awf with your head!

All fine.

Thought you were going to say you popped to Tesco or similar!

I run down three flights of stairs to put the bins out. No baby monitor.

I wouldn't do 2.