Do you take your baby for a walk even if it's raining?

[merrynelly]

I feel bad keeping my baby cooped up in the house all day but I can't bring myself to take him for a walk when it's raining. With the British weather, that would mean I don't take him very often. Should I just be sucking it up and taking him regardless?

I still used to take mine out, well wrapped up, rain cover on. He enjoyed it just as much!
Rain never bothered me but it was really coming down hard I wouldn’t

When I had a baby I did. And when I had baby + toddler.

Every single day. Other than one day when the snow was knee deep (but then my neighbours with Canadian grandchildren showed me to pull rather than push the pram).

But that was for me rather than for baby!

Make sure you have a waterproof coat with a hood.

I just used to check the weather report regularly and time my walks around them. Even on rainy days there is usually a break for an hour or so somewhere where you can get out. I wasn’t really doing it for the DC though, because when they’re little they usually just fall asleep anyway; it was more for my own mental wellbeing.

I did with PFB. Now with a toddler and DC2 to contend with it’s a bit trickier but we get some kind of outing every day.

Do I bugger it! If it's just a but of drizzle then maybe walk to the library or something but to actually go out for a walk it had to be not raining. Don't mind going when it's wet, put wellies on toddler and let him splash in puddles, that's an activity we go out to do! But with a baby as well I can't just be going out for a walk with them both in the rain, no one would enjoy it!

Light/moderate rain, yes every day. Chucking it down and blowing a gale, no. I’ve got 3 now and we just get dressed for the weather and get out. They go mad staying at home. But yes I did when they were babies too.

Nope

Yes! Good for you to get outside!

I mean, obv good for the baby too, but you’ll always feel better for a blast outside as long as you’re wrapped up warm...

I never did unless I had to go to a shop for something, that is not in pouring rain. I quite like showers so they wouldn't have deterred me.

Sometimes, yes. They are generally happy under a raincover or in a sling on your chest with an umbrella.

Nope, not unless I really really have to. It's ok for the baby all wrapped up in the buggy but I just end up soaked, cold and miserable. We do go puddle splashing in the park (with my eldest) if I've completely run out of ideas.

We have dogs, we go out every day. If DH is WFH, DS (now nearly 4) can opt out but in the pre-pandemic days, wasn't an option

Depends how heavy the rain is. If I'm going to be soaked through by the end of the road then no. If it's just light rain then yeah. Baby won't care!
And you need to get used to getting wet for when baby is a toddler, you won't want to be staying in then !

We don't go for a walk every day but we spend time outside each day. I like the rain though. DD had her lunch in her puddlesuit sat on the lawn yesterday

No and I honestly don't think there are that many people who genuinely would. If we had gotten ourselves completely ready and then it started to drizzle then I would. But if it was already raining then surely it is just sensible to wait until it has stopped... there aren't that many days when it rains constantly all day so why would I make my life harder? Also my little one loves to look out of the pram and a wet raincover ruins the view!

I don't have babies any more but yes, I went out in the rain.

Where abouts are you, up until yesterday there hadn't been rain for ages in most of England and it rarely rains all day.

In fact I remember a statistic that if you pick a time of day. say 3pm, it will only rain then 10% of the time. Are you an expat from a country that suffers from droughts? You view of the weather isn't one I hear being expressed normally

I always did, unless it was torrential before we left the house. I have dogs though so am used to being out in all weathers.

In drizzle, misty rain, yes. In a torrential downpour, no.

Absolutely! Why wouldn’t you?! DS is now 4.5. But when he was a baby, a bit (or a lot!) of rain wouldn’t stop me. I needed to get out for my own sanity. I’d pop him in the sling and off we went. As long as he was warm, he didn’t give a stuff 😂 it made the world of difference to me though.

Yes, absolutely. I was a bit precious about it when he was really tiny as he was a winter baby and it was seriously cold, but once he got a bit bigger we were out in everything. Either well wrapped up in his pushchair, or in his sling under my big coat. I got an a extra huge fleece jacket that went over both of us, and when he got big enough to go on my back I cut a hole for his head to poke out and it still covered us both - he just needed a warm hat and a pair of extra warm booties as his feet poked out! When it rained, I carried a big umbrella.

Absolutely not! I’ll happily go for a walk if it’s a nice day but not if it’s raining unless there’s something I have to go out to get or unless I’m really desperate to get baby to nap and it’s not working in the house.

I’ve always thought that walks were more for mums good than for baby (mine didn’t care if we went out or not but I sometimes feel better having a change of scenery) if it’s not cheering you up then don’t do it.

When I was a nanny years ago I went out for our daily walk no matter what , to be honest at first I thought you got to be kidding when it was part of routine but in right clothes it was great.

I struggle to find suitable clothing for myself tbh. Both DC have puddle suits / waterproof trousers & coats with wellies so it's not so bad if it has been raining & they're content to jump & splash in puddles. But mostly we've exhausted all our local walks during last years lockdowns to the extent that I can't bring myself to drag them out in all weathers

I avoid going out when it's actually raining, but I will always try to get out on a 'rainy day'. It's rare that it rains non-stop all day long, you can usually find a gap where it's dry/just light drizzle.