Am I safe to go to Ikea or a garden centre with my baby?

[Dualipa]

I've only been out the house for local walks since March. My mental health is really starting to suffer and I'm desperate to get back to some kind of normal but I'm petrified of getting the virus.
I have a baby but usually wear him in a sling so he's always close.

How safe am I going to Ikea or a garden centre if I keep him in a sling and wear gloves and antibac my hands as soon as I get to the car?

I have a newborn and have started to now. The risk is so low.

I've taken my one year old to a couple of shops when DH has been working. I keep her in the pushchair so she's doesn't touch anything other than her own stuff.I feel safe doing that, I'm not sure I'd put her in a trolley but that's probably me being a bit paranoid.

Absolutely fine, I would check ahead that their toilets/baby change is open.

Your baby will be all the better for having a chilled out relaxed mum who is back in the real world rather than someone crouched anxiously at home worried about things that are not likely to happen.

Going to be mega hot next week, , remember the sunscreen and hats.

This makes me feel a bit more confident. I really hope I make it out tomorrow.

I've gone twice both times in the week and it was relatively quiet.
I wouldn't go if busy and it's nice to do something normal .
Pick up a few bits etc , I found if I arrived 20-30 minutes after opening no queue but then a queue for tills but not too long .

You can't say going anywhere is 'safe' as you've put in your op. But the risk is certainly much lower than it was.

I take my 13 week old to the local Sainsburys/post office .. usually in the pram, sometimes carrier. I feel quite comfortable doing this.

I wouldn’t venture to town/Ikea as yet but purely as my DD doesn’t love it when the pram stops moving & I don’t fancy a screaming baby in a queue 🙈

I would go to a garden centre in your position as it’s mostly outside and you can space out. But not to IKEA.

I personally still don't feel comfortable taking my daughter in shops so I haven't done it.

Depends some on where you live. My city has a much higher (relatively) number of cases than the adjacent county. And partly on how busy the venue is at the time you visit. Thousands are catching it each week but that is in a country of millions, so if you were careful, you'd be pretty unlucky to contract anything.

I wouldn't wear gloves - surely you'll touch your baby at some point? Just take hand sanitiser in your pocket and use it when needed.

I take my 12 week old everywhere I can in the sling - shops, park etc - and have been throughout lockdown. I avoid taking the pram into places as it would be quite awkward with social distancing. I feel that the risk of covid to him is minimal (very unlikely that he’d get it and if he did he’d almost certainly be fine) and I would have felt uncomfortable with his only experience in the first 3 months of his life being inside our house. It probably doesn’t matter too much if a newborn’s experiences are limited at first but could be quite damaging as they get older. I also wonder about the effect of lockdown on babies immune systems as they won’t have been exposed to normal germs. The dog licks ds quite regularly so hopefully that will help!

@Chessie678 😂 same here! Licky dog 🤣