Tips for taking a baby to a wedding!

[Browniee]

We’re taking our baby to a close friends wedding in a few weeks (she will be 6 weeks old).

We have a hotel room booked a 2 minute walk from the venue so have somewhere to go for quiet time if necessary but she usually sleeps through noise and music in the house. It seems like a fairly relaxed venue but just wondered if anyone has any tips from experience of taking little babies to weddings?

Following to see replies, similar situation!

I did this with 6 week old baby! It was fine.

I took expressed milk to feed in the church as I felt that was easier than breastfeeding. It worked, she was the only 1 of 4 babies who was not taken out during the service (sheer good luck really!)

I only had a couple of drinks and told my husband I’d be leaving with baby once we’d had enough. He was welcome to stay and get a taxi later if he wanted (sounds like not an issue for you). We actually managed til 11pm though!

I did a ‘trial run’ of the outfit I wanted her to wear in advance (one of the first times she’d not worn a sleep suit!) I took s spare dress for her in case she pooed on her dress early on and also a couple of nice sleep suits for if it happened later on in the day!

Depends how close you are to the bride and groom - the bride asked me where I’d like to be seated and I said near the exit in case baby kicks off during speeches (which she did). Might be worth asking?

Just be prepared you may not be there long. I was fully prepared for this to be the case and was delighted we managed the whole day. Other family with babies did not and left around 7pm.

Bring a sling!

Take a sling as well as a pram.

We went to a wedding when DD1 was 9 weeks old. She went in the sling before the ceremony and slept through it!

We brought the pram too in the vague hope she would sleep in their too. She didn't, but it was useful for carrying stuff!

Thank you! Good advice about seating @modgepodge I hadn’t thought about her crying during speeches. I think the bride and groom are pretty flexible I think but DP is going to send them a message now to see what their plans are with seating plans 😊

I’m planning on expressing a few bottles milk in advance for the same reason but also so I can have a glass of fizz (or two?!).

Glad other people found the sling helpful too - she sleeps really well in it when we are out and about so hopefully it’ll be the secret to staying a bit longer 🙂. I’ll take the pram on the off chance she goes down in it but I’m assuming there will be lots of people offering cuddles as it’s the first time she will meet lots of our friends there!

Just so you know, advice now is that it is absolutely fine to drink and breastfeed so do have the fizz!

Yep I breastfed and drank. If you can look after your baby, you can feed them 🙂

bring a spare outfit for them in case of poonami or spit up .also take some gripe water in your changing bag just in case .

I took DS to a wedding when he was 10 weeks old. I'd be wary of the disco being loud. We based ourselves in the chill out area and took it in turns with my parents to hold DS and nip in for a dance.

Dd1 was 2 weeks when we attended bil's wedding. Feed before ceremony if at all possible - dd1 slept right through it and was happy for being passed around afterwards. .

Agree with easy exit strategy from both wedding and reception (if needed) so depending on relationship to bride and groom, you may find it easier to sit at the back.

Change of clothes for baby. Make sure you have a cardi and wrap (as in pashmina type thing) you can utilise in case of baby related accidents to your outfit, and maybe a change of clothes in case - anything suitable for a reception would be fine.

Breast pads and maternity pads if you need them.

Absolutely use the time between wedding and reception to take a break if at all possible.

Took DD to a wedding when she was 8 weeks. Easiest wedding with kids ever as she basically slept the entire time. She was a very laid back baby though.

Sit near the door so you can leave if needed. It was my friends wedding so our deal was DH would take her out immediately if she fussed and I could stay for the ceremony. I definitely found it helpful to be able to go to the hotel room to feed/change her and just chill out myself, although I did also feed at various points during the wedding and had a pashmina as a cover as I felt very exposed breastfeeding in my wedding outfit

DD was a v sicky baby, so lots of bibs and muslins and a spare nice outfit as well as her cutest sleep suits. Potentially a spare dress/pashmina for you if that’s possible.

I did feel very smug drinking champagne with my cute sleeping baby whilst other friends were chasing toddlers, but mostly because we left our own toddler with grandparents for the weekend.

I took my 8 month old recently, I packed enough food, snacks and toys to occupy her. It was mainly seated and it wasn’t too bad. They had open grounds so when it was nap time I took her in her pram for a walk till she fell asleep

We did this a couple of weeks ago with our 6 week old. It was in central London and we had to travel from Yorkshire.

As others have said, definitely take a sling. He was able to pass out in it but also it stopped random drunk people trying to pick him up! We also had an emergency bottle of formula on standby for the speech. In case he started crying (DH was best man so I didn’t want to miss it)

I felt a bit stressed because he was the only baby and I ended up sat near the toilet, breastfeeding while everyone walked by. I think you’ll be fine if you can go back to your hotel room for a little break and to feed.

Mine ended up passing out about 9pm and slept the best he had ever done. Good luck and enjoy the fizz!!

It is also absolutely fine to breastfeed in a church. I have done many times. And given a glass of fizz to a woman bfing when we were having celebratory drinks one week for a birthday and I was on duty handing them out.

We took DS to a wedding at 8 weeks. He slept in the sling on me during dinner and then again in his pram from 7.30-12 when we left. Wheeled him through the disco to a side room and he never stirred.

I absolutely agree it’s fine to breastfeed in a church, and actually another mum did and no one batted an eyelid. The bride was actually a midwife and would probably have loved it!! I just felt for me, having a bottle ready was easier to do discretely than faffing around removing my jacket, pulling dress down etc 🙂

Thanks for all the responses!

I’m hoping to breast feeding all day but going to take a bottle of expressed milk (and maybe one emergency bottle of the pre-made formula!) in case.

I like the idea that the idea of the sling to stop random drunk people going for cuddles - a few of my friends have offered to hold or watch her while we go off for a dance but not sure I’d want anyone else having her after a certain time (when the wines been flowing for a few hours!). Maybe I’ll have to just have a sway dance with the sling on 🤗

A change of clothes for you in case of a puking or poonami incident.
Also make sure your outfit is okay with a nursing bra - probably obvious but something I managed to overlook entirely!

Easy least they are not mobile!! Ten times worse with a toddler