How to stop people calling at your door when you have a baby

[weebigmamma]

I am pregnant and have just had a visit from the Jehovah's Witnesses. It has reminded me of what it was like when my first born was a baby and I was trying to sleep, or to get her to sleep, the door was constantly being knocked- by JW's, delivery people, neighbours, visitors. I don't want to be rude to people but I really would like to figure out a way to get people not to disturb us when we need a break. Any suggestions?

Handwritten note saying 'mum and baby asleep, please don't knock'?

Don't answer the door - leave it locked and ignore it, make people come by appointment so if it rings (and you know its not the postman) you don't have to answer it.

Tape your letter box shut (or remove your knocker) so they can only knock by hand.

You could try a note about mum and baby (inlaws neighbours did this - not sure it had much success, the brass neck of folk calling round tend not to care about disturbing babies) or could just go for one of those stickers saying you don't buy things at this door.

If you're at the back of your house can you still hear the door being knocked?

I also switched the ringer off on my phone when I had DS1 (was totally peed off with sales calls - was getting about 10 a day and that was after signign up with TPS).

Note on the door saying "baby sleeping, please do not knock/ring bell unless for planned delivery or appointment".

Then turn your doorbell off (if you can) and just ignore the door unless you have aforementioned planned delivery or appointment.

This worked so well for me that I plan to leave the note up for years No one ever dared to knock, and if they had I would have felt perfectly justified in giving them an earful.

Yes, definitely get a sign, as suggested above.

I also shut the curtains on the front of the house, when dd is napping, as we were always getting knocks on the door from delivery drivers asking us to take in parcels for neighbours who were out. I know that sounds very un-neighbourly but when it wakes your baby on an almost daily basis then needs must!

Yep I wrote a sign on the door saying 'please don't ring doorbell. please knock or call XXXXX if urgent. BABY SLEEPING!!'

Two couriers actually commented how they wished that more people put signs up because they were regularly getting a bollocking from women who's babies were asleep and woke when the doorbell went. They're not mind readers. :)

I had a sign on the porch reading 'BABY ASLEEP - YOU WAKE HIM, YOU TAKE HIM."

It did seem to work!

lol thanks everyone! It rains so much here that I'll have to find a very robust sign, but this does seem to be the consensus. It's really good to know that other people do it. I do worry about appearing rude to my neighbours, but it's really interesting to hear the views of those couriers!

Laminate a sign. A local printers should be able to help.

Sign on door - You can buy them, put your phone number on it so they can call you if it's a parcel. Woe betide anyone who knocks on my door when I've got my sign out

I put a sign up. I also hid a key for close friends/family. They only used it when I was expecting them, but if I was feeding/napping they would just make themselves at home.

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I have no knocker and disconnected the doorbell. Now if anyone knocks I can't hear it. Bliss!

There's a postbox and a porch for post.

I regularly 'forget to replace the batteries' in my doorbell and dd is 2. It is always when she has just gone down for a nap that the door goes (and working shifts, I tend to nap when she does).

Saved my sanity!